French Rarebit is a 1951 Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 Merrie Melodies

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,...

short, directed by Robert McKimson

Robert McKimson

Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...

 and written by Tedd Pierce

Tedd Pierce

Tedd Pierce , was an American animated cartoon writer, animator and artist. Pierce spent the majority of his career as a writer for the Warner Bros. "Termite Terrace" animation studio, working alongside fellow luminaries such as Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Pierce also worked as a writer at...

. The title is a takeoff on "Welsh rarebit", which is also known as "Welsh rabbit".

Synopsis

In Paris, France, a delivery truck carrying a crate marked "Carrots from U.S.A." accidentally loses the crate, along with 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...

, after driving on a bumpy road. As Bugs is trying to figure out where he is, he looks at the Rue de la Paix

Rue de la Paix, Paris

The rue de la Paix is a fashionable shopping street in the center of Paris. Located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, running north from Place Vendôme and ending at the Opéra Garnier, it is best known for its jewellers, such as the shop opened by Cartier SA in 1898...

,the Champs-Élysées, and the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...

, he realizes where he is and decides to "Stroll down this boulevard and look over the monsewers

Monsieur

' is an honorific title that used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It is also a customary French title of respect and term of address for a French-speaking man, corresponding to such English titles as Mr...

 amd mademoysels

Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle may refer to:* The French-language equivalent of "miss" * "Mademoiselle Juliette", a 2007 song by French singer Alizée...

" where two French chefs, Louis and François, both want to cook dinner specials for their restaurants, and both their dishes involve rabbits. They both spot Bugs and, after secretly measuring him while Bugs is not looking, attempt to catch him, but Bugs is already on to them and is not caught and asks François what he has in the tureen

Tureen

A tureen is a serving dish for foods such as soups or stews, often shaped as a broad, deep, oval vessel with fixed handles and a low domed cover with a knob or handle. Over the centuries, tureens have appeared in many different forms, some round, rectangular, or made into fanciful shapes such as...

, to which François says he has a rabbit. Bugs asks if he could see the "rabbit" and François agrees, but after that, Bugs comments "Hmm, Sort of a short eared critter, ain't he, doc?". This makes François realize in shock that he's got Louis instead of Bugs and accuses Louis of stealing his rabbit, to which Louis replies that the rabbit is his, to which François points out that the rabbit is his and NOT his. This gives Bugs the perfect idea to trick the two chefs into fighting over who gets to cook him, to which Bugs whispers to the audience

Fourth wall

The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...

 "What a revolting display of temper

Tantrum

A tantrum is an emotional outburst, usually associated with children or those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, yelling, shrieking, defiance, angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification and, in some cases, violence...

" until François comes out on top. Bugs tricks François into believing he has a recipe for "a good old Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 Back-bay Bayou

Bayou

A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...

 Bunny

Bunny

Bunny is a colloquial name for rabbits.Bunny may also refer to:-People:* Allu Arjun , Telugu film star, nicknamed Bunny* Andrew "bunnie" Huang , American hacker* Bunny Ahearne , British ice hockey promoter...

 Bordelaise, a la Antoine" from the famed Antoine's

Antoine's

Antoine's is a Louisiana Creole cuisine restaurant located at 713 rue St. Louis in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has the distinction of being the oldest family run restaurant in the United States, having been established in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore...

 of New Orleans. François asks for the recipe, but Bugs refuses, but decides to demonstrate it on him, he disguises françois as a rabbit, pickles and stuffs him full of every spicy ingredient in the kitchen before placing him in a bowl of vegetables. Louis comes in and demands that Bugs, who Louis obviously mistakes to be François, that he get the rabbit back until François whacks him on the head with a mallet

Mallet

A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...

, making Louis see that François is the rabbit, asking "MONSIEUR FRANÇOIS, WHAT HAPPENED?!" to which François tells him that Bugs knows the recipe from the famed Antoine, forcing Louis to demand that Bugs now show him the recipe. Bugs agrees and does the same routine to him then places them into an oven with a carrot, which also has a stick of dynamite

Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...

 in it. After the dynamite explodes, the two goofy chefs, having survived the blast, jauntily sing Alouette

Alouette (song)

"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian children's song originating in France about plucking the feathers from a lark. Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques"...

 (added with a cheer, "Vive Antoine!") to which Bugs remarks that he preferred hamburgers as the cartoon closes.

Censorship

• When this cartoon aired on ABC, the scene where the two French chefs (Louis and François) clobber each other with a mallet and a meat cleaver was shortened. Also cut was the scene where Bugs inserts a stick of dynamite into a carrot before placing the carrot with the two chefs into "La Oven".

Availability

The short can be found (uncut) on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 2, 2004. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Related releases:...

.