Foxy by Proxy
Encyclopedia
Foxy by Proxy is a 1952 Merrie Melodies
cartoon starring Bugs Bunny
and directed by Friz Freleng
. Mel Blanc
voices Bugs Bunny and one of the dogs that talks in the short, while an uncredited Stan Freberg
voices the large hound. This is a remake of Of Fox and Hounds from 1940. In fact, the opening sequence was "borrowed" directly from the original version.
dogs. A number of smaller hounds come out of a giant dog house, followed by a large fox hound (this is the dog voiced by Freberg) who is excited by the prospect of the hunt- especially the moment where the fox's tail is to be cut off. The hunters and dogs then pass over Bugs' hole, waking him, with the larger fox hound lagging behind. Once Bugs directs the larger fox hound to where the others went, Bugs digs out a fox costume he had from his hole and begins to play tricks with the large fox hound, leaving Bugs amazed at the dog's inability to recognize a rabbit from a fox. Once the large hound realizes the difference, he runs back to the tree where Bugs was standing, only to find Bugs undressed. The rabbit giggles at the dog's intelligence, declaring, "I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer!".
At this point, Bugs (with his fox costume back on) stamps fox tracks to mislead this hound, which lead to train tracks, which the dog continues to follow. When the dog finally reaches Bugs (in costume) and tries to get him, Bugs questions what kind of tracks the dog was following, which ends up putting the dog on the front of a locomotive
, while the dog exclaims that he caught a train.
Meanwhile, the other dogs have caught up to Bugs in his costume, and he tries to evade them, but to no avail. When he reveals that he is a rabbit, one of the dogs (voiced by Blanc) declares that they are now after rabbits. After a short chase, which includes Bugs running through an open log, Bugs then runs back into the log, and while the dogs run into it, Bugs turns the log three times to ensure that the crowd of dogs always run off the cliff, with the crowd falling to the ground after the third turn. While Bugs is chuckling at their misfortune, the large fox hound sneaks up behind Bugs, cuts Bugs' tail off, and runs away with the tail. Bugs shrugs to the audience, "Just call me Stubby!". He walks away, his cottontail missing, as the scene irises out.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon starring Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
and directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
. Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
voices Bugs Bunny and one of the dogs that talks in the short, while an uncredited Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
voices the large hound. This is a remake of Of Fox and Hounds from 1940. In fact, the opening sequence was "borrowed" directly from the original version.
Plot
The cartoon opens with hunters (aboard horses) blowing horns to awake fox huntingFox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
dogs. A number of smaller hounds come out of a giant dog house, followed by a large fox hound (this is the dog voiced by Freberg) who is excited by the prospect of the hunt- especially the moment where the fox's tail is to be cut off. The hunters and dogs then pass over Bugs' hole, waking him, with the larger fox hound lagging behind. Once Bugs directs the larger fox hound to where the others went, Bugs digs out a fox costume he had from his hole and begins to play tricks with the large fox hound, leaving Bugs amazed at the dog's inability to recognize a rabbit from a fox. Once the large hound realizes the difference, he runs back to the tree where Bugs was standing, only to find Bugs undressed. The rabbit giggles at the dog's intelligence, declaring, "I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer!".
At this point, Bugs (with his fox costume back on) stamps fox tracks to mislead this hound, which lead to train tracks, which the dog continues to follow. When the dog finally reaches Bugs (in costume) and tries to get him, Bugs questions what kind of tracks the dog was following, which ends up putting the dog on the front of a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
, while the dog exclaims that he caught a train.
Meanwhile, the other dogs have caught up to Bugs in his costume, and he tries to evade them, but to no avail. When he reveals that he is a rabbit, one of the dogs (voiced by Blanc) declares that they are now after rabbits. After a short chase, which includes Bugs running through an open log, Bugs then runs back into the log, and while the dogs run into it, Bugs turns the log three times to ensure that the crowd of dogs always run off the cliff, with the crowd falling to the ground after the third turn. While Bugs is chuckling at their misfortune, the large fox hound sneaks up behind Bugs, cuts Bugs' tail off, and runs away with the tail. Bugs shrugs to the audience, "Just call me Stubby!". He walks away, his cottontail missing, as the scene irises out.
Censorship
- In some syndicated prints (particularly on ABC), the part where the large, dopey foxhound cuts Bugs' tail with a pair of scissors and runs off with it was deleted http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutsf.html (though the actual cutting is implied, not shown), leaving the end joke where Bugs says, "Eh, just call me stubby," unclear.
Availability
- Foxy by Proxy is available restored on Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare ExtraordinaireLooney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare ExtraordinaireLooney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire is a DVD of 15 new-to-DVD Bugs Bunny cartoons released on August 10, 2010. Along with Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl, these two DVDs are the successor to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series...
.