Southern Fried Rabbit
Encyclopedia
Southern Fried Rabbit is a Looney Tunes
cartoon
by Warner Bros.
starring Bugs Bunny
and Yosemite Sam
. Directed by Friz Freleng
and produced in 1952, the animated short was first released on May 2, 1953.
In it, Bugs Bunny attempts to shake off Yosemite Sam (here, cast as a Civil War-era colonel), who is preventing him from crossing the Mason-Dixon Line
.
and has received orders from General
Robert E. Lee
to guard the borders between the Confederate States and the United States
. When an annoyed Bugs points out that the "War Between the States"
ended nearly 90 years earlier, Sam says that "I ain't no clock watcher!" and shoots Bugs away, prompting the rabbit to make several attempts to shake his antagonist.
First, Bugs disguises himself as a banjo-playing slave, singing "My Old Kentucky Home." When Sam asks for something "more peppy", Bugs promptly sings "Yankee Doodle," leading Sam to call Bugs a traitor. Bugs then begs Sam not to beat him, pulls out a whip (disguised as a banjo string), and forces it into Sam's hands, making Sam look guilty. After fleeing, the rabbit immediately comes in disguised as Abraham Lincoln
, scolding Sam for "whipping slaves." Sam tries to protest with repeated "buts" but Bugs in response hands him a card to "look me up at my Gettysburg Address
". Bugs' cover is blown, however, when his cotton tail shows through Abe's trenchcoat, prompting a frustrated Sam to chase Bugs into a tree. Bugs twice blows out Sam's match as he's trying to light a cannonball (the second time with an extended pipe), but the third time (even though Sam takes the precaution of going even further away from the tree than the second attempt) results in Sam taking an explosion.
Bugs then disguises himself as Stonewall Jackson
(here as "General Brickwall Jackson"), fooling Sam into marching into a well. Later, Bugs flees into a mansion, where he disguises himself as Scarlett O'Hara
(from Gone with the Wind
), and when Sam searches the mansion for Yankees, he takes a cannon explosion looking inside a closet.
Bugs at last succeeds in getting Sam when, disguised as an injured Confederate soldier, he informs him that "the Yankees are in Chattanooga
" in Tennessee
. Sam marches to "Chattanoogee", and the finale has him using a hand gun to threaten the New York Yankees
, preventing them from competing in an exhibition baseball
game against the Chattanooga Lookouts
:" The first dang Yankee to step out of that dugout gets his head blasted off!!!".
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...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
by 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,...
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 Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
. 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....
and produced in 1952, the animated short was first released on May 2, 1953.
In it, Bugs Bunny attempts to shake off Yosemite Sam (here, cast as a Civil War-era colonel), who is preventing him from crossing the Mason-Dixon Line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
.
Plot
A severe drought has ruined the carrot crop up north in Bugs Bunny's northern home. Upon learning of a boom crop in Alabama, Bugs decides to make the trip to the fertile soils (later exhaustedly asking, "I wonder why they put the South so far south?"). As soon as he crosses the Mason-Dixon Line, he is shot at by "Colonel" Sam, who believes he is a soldier of the Confederate States of AmericaConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and has received orders from General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
to guard the borders between the Confederate States and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. When an annoyed Bugs points out that the "War Between the States"
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
ended nearly 90 years earlier, Sam says that "I ain't no clock watcher!" and shoots Bugs away, prompting the rabbit to make several attempts to shake his antagonist.
First, Bugs disguises himself as a banjo-playing slave, singing "My Old Kentucky Home." When Sam asks for something "more peppy", Bugs promptly sings "Yankee Doodle," leading Sam to call Bugs a traitor. Bugs then begs Sam not to beat him, pulls out a whip (disguised as a banjo string), and forces it into Sam's hands, making Sam look guilty. After fleeing, the rabbit immediately comes in disguised as Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, scolding Sam for "whipping slaves." Sam tries to protest with repeated "buts" but Bugs in response hands him a card to "look me up at my Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
". Bugs' cover is blown, however, when his cotton tail shows through Abe's trenchcoat, prompting a frustrated Sam to chase Bugs into a tree. Bugs twice blows out Sam's match as he's trying to light a cannonball (the second time with an extended pipe), but the third time (even though Sam takes the precaution of going even further away from the tree than the second attempt) results in Sam taking an explosion.
Bugs then disguises himself as Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
(here as "General Brickwall Jackson"), fooling Sam into marching into a well. Later, Bugs flees into a mansion, where he disguises himself as Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
(from Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
), and when Sam searches the mansion for Yankees, he takes a cannon explosion looking inside a closet.
Bugs at last succeeds in getting Sam when, disguised as an injured Confederate soldier, he informs him that "the Yankees are in Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
" in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Sam marches to "Chattanoogee", and the finale has him using a hand gun to threaten the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, preventing them from competing in an exhibition baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
game against the Chattanooga Lookouts
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...
:" The first dang Yankee to step out of that dugout gets his head blasted off!!!".
Censorship
- On Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network (United States)Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
, WB!The WB Television NetworkThe WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
, ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and the syndicated version of "The Merrie Melodies Show", the entire scene where Bugs impersonates a black slave to get past the Mason-Dixon line, blows his cover by playing "Yankee Doodle", places a whip in Yosemite Sam's hand and begs Sam not to beat him, then comes in as Abraham Lincoln reprimanding Sam for what he supposedly done ("What's this I hear about you whipping slaves?"), is cut. While ABC, Cartoon Network, and WB showings deleted the entire part after Sam shoots at Bugs (fading out after that point and falsely fading in to the part where Bugs runs to hide in a tree), the syndicated "Merrie Melodies Show" showed Bugs crossing the Mason-Dixon line as a slave and singing "Yankee Doodle" before Sam catches him, but cut the part where Bugs places a whip in Sam's hand, begs Sam not to beat him, then comes in as Abraham Lincoln to reprimand him.- "The Merrie Melodies Show" also replaced the shot of Sam being blasted by a cannon with a shot of Bugs (dressed as Scarlet O'Hara) backed up against a door.
- The Cartoon Network version also cuts the brief introductory shot of Colonel Sam yelling, "Charge!" as he jumps out of a trench due to the presence of the Confederate flag.
Availability
- Southern Fried Rabbit is available (uncut and restored) on Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4, Disc 1.
Previous Cartoon References
- The part where Bugs places a whip in Yosemite Sam's hands and begs him not to beat him, then comes in as Abraham Lincoln and accuses Sam of whipping slaves was previously used as the end gag in the 1949 Daffy/Elmer cartoon Wise Quackers, which, much like Southern Fried Rabbit, has rarely been shown on American TV uncut due to its references to black slavery.