Operation: Rabbit
Encyclopedia
Operation: Rabbit is a 1951 Looney Tunes
animated cartoon
first released theatrically in 1952. Directed by Chuck Jones
, the cartoon features Bugs Bunny
and Wile E. Coyote in the latter character's first attempt to capture and eat the former..
This was the second cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote (following 1949's Fast and Furry-ous
), and the first in which he is identified by his full name. It is also the first in which the Coyote speaks; his voice, like Bugs, was provided by Mel Blanc
. The two characters would reappear together in the cartoons To Hare Is Human
(1956), Rabbit's Feat
(1960), Compressed Hare
(1961), and Hare-Breadth Hurry
(1963).
, Operation: Rabbit opens with Wile E. Coyote
running up to Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole
and constructing a door
. He knocks on the door
and Bugs, slightly bemused by the addition to his property, opens it. The Coyote proclaims, in his very first spoken line of dialogue ever, that he is a genius, as well as being faster, taller, and stronger than Bugs, and that he intends to eat the rabbit. (Wile E. displays an enlarged self-confidence throughout not only this film but in his other appearances with Bugs aside from Hare-Breadth Hurry
.) An unimpressed Bugs replies, "I'm sorry, Mac, the lady of the house
ain't home. And besides, we mailed you people a check last week," then slams the door in Wile E's face. The Coyote goes back to his cave hideout (taking the door
with him), asking himself, "Why do they always want to do it the hard way?"
The Coyote's first plan to trap Bugs is to build a pressure cooker on top of the rabbit hole and cook Bugs alive. He chops up vegetables, throws them down the hole, adds an egg, a drop of cooking oil
, some seasoning, tosses it into a salad, then places the pressure cooker on top. Bugs watches Wile E.'s work from another hole (suggesting his burrow has a back door), then walks up to him and asks "What's cookin', Doc?" When informed that Wile E. is cooking "rabbit stew" ("Gad, I'm SUCH a genius!"), Bugs casually observes, "there's only one little thing wrong with it", that there is no rabbit (Because Bugs came up the alternate hole). As Wile E. frantically looks under the cooker, Bugs gives him a big kick down the hole and sticks the cooker on top of Wile E. He then picks up a bat, goes back down the second hole, and clobbers the Coyote at the other hole, prompting the Coyote to remark, "Well, back to the old drawing board."
In the next scene, the Coyote prepares his second plan: the use of a chute for firing a cannon ball into Bugs' hole. After the ball arrives in the hole via the chute from a cannon, Bugs uses a second chute to return the ball to the Coyote, where it explodes on target.
Bugs then goes to the Coyote's cave to claim that he is surrendering "on account of I cannot fight no more against such genius," but he wants Wile E. to sign as a witness to his last will and testament. He gives the Coyote the document and a "pen", which is really a burning stick of dynamite. Wile E. knows that it's dynamite and puts out the fuse ("Very amateurish attempt on my person".). While he gloats ("Being a genius certainly has its advantages"), it is revealed that there is another fuse at the other end of the TNT stick, which explodes on cue.
The Coyote then returns to his cave and builds a mechanical (and explosive) lady rabbit that will be used as a decoy to trap Bugs. ("Brilliance. That's all I can say. Sheer, unadulterated brilliance!") Bugs, however, has anticipated this plan, and built an explosive lady coyote in response ("Fight fire with fire, I always say"). Bugs detonates the coyote robot just as Wile is romantically embracing it. Then, because Wile E. was so distracted that he forgot about the rabbit robot ("Oh, NO..."), it explodes in his cave as well.
The Coyote then creates an exploding flying saucer with a radarscope mechanism able to detect birds, mice, and rabbits. The disc flies to Bugs' hole, but Bugs thwarts it by putting on a chicken mask. The disguised Bugs then writes in "Coyote" on the radarscope's target options and moves the dial there. The saucer speeds back to the Coyote's home, blew up the whole mountain to smithereens.
The Coyote makes one last plan: While admiring his self-status as a "Super Genius," he fills a series of carrot
s with explosive liquid nitroglycerin inside his alternate home--a ramshackle shack. Bugs, using a tractor, drags the shack to the desert's railroad track, where a train
is approaching. When the train hits the shack, all of the nitroglycerin in Wile E's stockpile explodes and launches him high into the air. "'Wile E. Coyote
- Super Genius'", he groans in self-sarcasm, finally admitting to himself that the rabbit has outwitted him.
The Coyote, still dazed and covered in ash, returns to Bugs' hole, rebuilds his door
, knocks on it and admits defeat. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mud," he says to Bugs before passing out. Bugs then tells the audience
"And remember: MUD spelled backwards is DUM!" (a parody of the famous advertising slogan for a popular vegetable laxative, "And remember: Serutan
spelled backwards is 'Natures'").
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
first released theatrically in 1952. Directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
, the cartoon features 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 Wile E. Coyote in the latter character's first attempt to capture and eat the former..
This was the second cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote (following 1949's Fast and Furry-ous
Fast and Furry-ous
Fast and Furry-ous is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, released on September 17, 1949, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese...
), and the first in which he is identified by his full name. It is also the first in which the Coyote speaks; his voice, like Bugs, was provided by 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...
. The two characters would reappear together in the cartoons To Hare Is Human
To Hare Is Human
"To Hare is Human" is a 1956 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. It stars Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote. The title is a play on the expression, "To err is human; to forgive, divine."-Plot:...
(1956), Rabbit's Feat
Rabbit's Feat
Rabbit's Feat is an animated 1960 Warner Bros. cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. As Maltese had left for Hanna-Barbera, his name was removed from the credits .-Synopsis:Bugs is pursued by Wile E...
(1960), Compressed Hare
Compressed Hare
"Compressed Hare" is a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It stars Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny , and was released on July 29, 1961. That was the final time in a first-run Golden Age short in which Wile E. Coyote speaks.- Plot :...
(1961), and Hare-Breadth Hurry
Hare-Breadth Hurry
Hare-Breadth Hurry is a 1963 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny in his fifth and final pairing with Wile E. Coyote. Unlike the previous four pairings, this cartoon follows the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner formula . As such, Wile E. Coyote is silent, although Bugs does speak...
(1963).
Plot
Set in the desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, Operation: Rabbit opens with Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
running up to Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole
Burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite popular among the...
and constructing a door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
. He knocks on the door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
and Bugs, slightly bemused by the addition to his property, opens it. The Coyote proclaims, in his very first spoken line of dialogue ever, that he is a genius, as well as being faster, taller, and stronger than Bugs, and that he intends to eat the rabbit. (Wile E. displays an enlarged self-confidence throughout not only this film but in his other appearances with Bugs aside from Hare-Breadth Hurry
Hare-Breadth Hurry
Hare-Breadth Hurry is a 1963 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny in his fifth and final pairing with Wile E. Coyote. Unlike the previous four pairings, this cartoon follows the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner formula . As such, Wile E. Coyote is silent, although Bugs does speak...
.) An unimpressed Bugs replies, "I'm sorry, Mac, the lady of the house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
ain't home. And besides, we mailed you people a check last week," then slams the door in Wile E's face. The Coyote goes back to his cave hideout (taking the door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
with him), asking himself, "Why do they always want to do it the hard way?"
The Coyote's first plan to trap Bugs is to build a pressure cooker on top of the rabbit hole and cook Bugs alive. He chops up vegetables, throws them down the hole, adds an egg, a drop of cooking oil
Cooking oil
Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
, some seasoning, tosses it into a salad, then places the pressure cooker on top. Bugs watches Wile E.'s work from another hole (suggesting his burrow has a back door), then walks up to him and asks "What's cookin', Doc?" When informed that Wile E. is cooking "rabbit stew" ("Gad, I'm SUCH a genius!"), Bugs casually observes, "there's only one little thing wrong with it", that there is no rabbit (Because Bugs came up the alternate hole). As Wile E. frantically looks under the cooker, Bugs gives him a big kick down the hole and sticks the cooker on top of Wile E. He then picks up a bat, goes back down the second hole, and clobbers the Coyote at the other hole, prompting the Coyote to remark, "Well, back to the old drawing board."
In the next scene, the Coyote prepares his second plan: the use of a chute for firing a cannon ball into Bugs' hole. After the ball arrives in the hole via the chute from a cannon, Bugs uses a second chute to return the ball to the Coyote, where it explodes on target.
Bugs then goes to the Coyote's cave to claim that he is surrendering "on account of I cannot fight no more against such genius," but he wants Wile E. to sign as a witness to his last will and testament. He gives the Coyote the document and a "pen", which is really a burning stick of dynamite. Wile E. knows that it's dynamite and puts out the fuse ("Very amateurish attempt on my person".). While he gloats ("Being a genius certainly has its advantages"), it is revealed that there is another fuse at the other end of the TNT stick, which explodes on cue.
The Coyote then returns to his cave and builds a mechanical (and explosive) lady rabbit that will be used as a decoy to trap Bugs. ("Brilliance. That's all I can say. Sheer, unadulterated brilliance!") Bugs, however, has anticipated this plan, and built an explosive lady coyote in response ("Fight fire with fire, I always say"). Bugs detonates the coyote robot just as Wile is romantically embracing it. Then, because Wile E. was so distracted that he forgot about the rabbit robot ("Oh, NO..."), it explodes in his cave as well.
The Coyote then creates an exploding flying saucer with a radarscope mechanism able to detect birds, mice, and rabbits. The disc flies to Bugs' hole, but Bugs thwarts it by putting on a chicken mask. The disguised Bugs then writes in "Coyote" on the radarscope's target options and moves the dial there. The saucer speeds back to the Coyote's home, blew up the whole mountain to smithereens.
The Coyote makes one last plan: While admiring his self-status as a "Super Genius," he fills a series of carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s with explosive liquid nitroglycerin inside his alternate home--a ramshackle shack. Bugs, using a tractor, drags the shack to the desert's railroad track, where a train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
is approaching. When the train hits the shack, all of the nitroglycerin in Wile E's stockpile explodes and launches him high into the air. "'Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
- Super Genius'", he groans in self-sarcasm, finally admitting to himself that the rabbit has outwitted him.
The Coyote, still dazed and covered in ash, returns to Bugs' hole, rebuilds his door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
, knocks on it and admits defeat. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mud," he says to Bugs before passing out. Bugs then tells 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...
"And remember: MUD spelled backwards is DUM!" (a parody of the famous advertising slogan for a popular vegetable laxative, "And remember: Serutan
Serutan
Serutan was an early fiber-type laxative product which was widely promoted on U.S. radio and television from the 1930s through the 1960s. It was manufactured by the J. B. Williams Co., which was founded in 1885 and bought out by Nabisco in 1971....
spelled backwards is 'Natures'").