Transylvania 6-5000 (1963 film)
Encyclopedia
Transylvania 6-5000 is a short Merrie Melodies
animated film directed by Chuck Jones
and starring Bugs Bunny
. Bugs demonstrates how to handle a pesky vampire
with six simple magic incantations. The title is a pun on "Pennsylvania 6-5000
", a song made famous by Glenn Miller
, and referring to the old telephone number system of an "exchange" of two letters plus a digit, instead of a three-digit exchange (i.e. PE6-5000 vs. TR6-5000). Voiced by: Mel Blanc
as Bugs Bunny, Ben Frommer as Count Bloodcount, and Julie Bennett as Agatha and Emily Vultures.
", but instead ends up in "Pittsburghe Transylvania
". Initially he asks a two-headed female vulture (the two heads are named "Agatha" and "Emily") for directions to "Pittsboig", but the girls seem to be talking about making him into a meal. Bugs sees an old castle nearby, mistakes it for a motel, and calmly makes an exit.
At the castle, Bugs meets a vampire
, who introduces himself as Count Blood Count and invites him in. Although Bugs is only looking for a telephone to call his travel agency, the Count leads him to a guest room and says, "Rest first, telephone tomorrow. Rest is gooood for the blooood."
Unable to sleep, Bugs picks up a book titled "Magic Words and Phrases" because all the other books' subject matter was blood. Despite his initial skepticism about their effect, he is about to treat the viewers to a classic sequence of gags featuring the use of the magic words "hocus pocus
" and "abacadabra" (Bugs' Brooklyn-esque pronunciation of "abracadabra
").
As Bugs begins to read the phrasebook, the Count sneaks up behind him and is just about to strike when Bugs says "abacadabra", turning the Count into a bat
. Bugs mistakes the bat/Count for a big mosquito and clobbers the bat with a fly swatter. As the bat dizzily flies out of the window, Bugs says "hocus pocus", which causes the Count to turn back into a vampire and fall into the moat
surrounding his castle. Agatha and Emily watch the Count take the plunge, while they wonder who he is (Emily: "Anyone we know, Agatha?", Agatha: "No. Splendid-looking specimen, though.").
Shortly afterward, Bugs is searching for the house restaurant. The Count sneaks up from behind again, but Bugs is humming a song (to the tune of the popular song "It's Magic
," sung by Bugs in other WB cartoons as "Oh, carrots are divine, you get a dozen for a dime, it's magic!") and inadvertently turns the Count back into a bat with "abacadabra". Once again mistaking the bat for a mosquito ("Another one? They oughta screen this place!"), Bugs sprays the bat with a fumigator. As the bat/Count is hanging his head down from an archway, coughing insecticide out of his lungs, Bugs sings "hocus pocus" during a continuation of his song, and the Count crashes to the floor on his head.
Fed up with the situation, the Count reveals his true identity to Bugs, resulting in a duel of "magic phrases" in which Bugs transforms into an umpire. Bugs gets the best of the Count throughout the duel, as might be expected.
Bugs eventually says "abraca-pocus" which gives the vampire his human body and a bat's head, then says "hocus-cadabra" and the vampire now is only a head with bat wings. Afterward he uses "Newport News
" and turns him into Witch Hazel
. Unimpressed, Bugs comments to himself, "I can do better than that." Then finally he uses the incantation "Walla Walla, Washington
", and the Count is turned into a two-headed male vulture. Bugs calls out to Agatha and Emily, who are just outside the castle; and the Count is horrified to find himself the object of their amorous pursuit. The Count flees the castle with the female vulture in pursuit as Bugs watched in amusement.
In an epilogue, Bugs finds a working pay phone (in a coffin), but while waiting for the operator to reach his travel agency in Perth Amboy, he mumbles "abraca-pocus", and his ears turn into bat wings. Bugs hangs up and decides to fly home with those wings.
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,...
animated film 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...
and 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...
. Bugs demonstrates how to handle a pesky vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
with six simple magic incantations. The title is a pun on "Pennsylvania 6-5000
PEnnsylvania 6-5000
PEnnsylvania 6-5000 is claimed by its owner, the Hotel Pennsylvania, to be the oldest continuing phone number in New York City. The telephone number is based on the old telephone exchange name system. The first two letters "PE" in PE6-5000 stand for the rotary dial numbers 7 and 3, making the...
", a song made famous by Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, and referring to the old telephone number system of an "exchange" of two letters plus a digit, instead of a three-digit exchange (i.e. PE6-5000 vs. TR6-5000). Voiced 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...
as Bugs Bunny, Ben Frommer as Count Bloodcount, and Julie Bennett as Agatha and Emily Vultures.
Plot
Bugs is heading for "Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
", but instead ends up in "Pittsburghe Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
". Initially he asks a two-headed female vulture (the two heads are named "Agatha" and "Emily") for directions to "Pittsboig", but the girls seem to be talking about making him into a meal. Bugs sees an old castle nearby, mistakes it for a motel, and calmly makes an exit.
At the castle, Bugs meets a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, who introduces himself as Count Blood Count and invites him in. Although Bugs is only looking for a telephone to call his travel agency, the Count leads him to a guest room and says, "Rest first, telephone tomorrow. Rest is gooood for the blooood."
Unable to sleep, Bugs picks up a book titled "Magic Words and Phrases" because all the other books' subject matter was blood. Despite his initial skepticism about their effect, he is about to treat the viewers to a classic sequence of gags featuring the use of the magic words "hocus pocus
Hocus Pocus (magic)
Hocus Pocus or hocus-pocus is a generic term that may be derived from an ancient language and is presently used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. It was once a common term for a magician, juggler, or other similar entertainer.The origins of the...
" and "abacadabra" (Bugs' Brooklyn-esque pronunciation of "abracadabra
Abracadabra
Abracadabra is an incantation used as a magic word in stage magic tricks, and historically was believed to have healing powers when inscribed on an amulet...
").
As Bugs begins to read the phrasebook, the Count sneaks up behind him and is just about to strike when Bugs says "abacadabra", turning the Count into a bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. Bugs mistakes the bat/Count for a big mosquito and clobbers the bat with a fly swatter. As the bat dizzily flies out of the window, Bugs says "hocus pocus", which causes the Count to turn back into a vampire and fall into the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
surrounding his castle. Agatha and Emily watch the Count take the plunge, while they wonder who he is (Emily: "Anyone we know, Agatha?", Agatha: "No. Splendid-looking specimen, though.").
Shortly afterward, Bugs is searching for the house restaurant. The Count sneaks up from behind again, but Bugs is humming a song (to the tune of the popular song "It's Magic
It's Magic
"It's Magic" is a popular song.The music was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was introduced by Doris Day in her film debut, Romance on the High Seas, and was published in 1947....
," sung by Bugs in other WB cartoons as "Oh, carrots are divine, you get a dozen for a dime, it's magic!") and inadvertently turns the Count back into a bat with "abacadabra". Once again mistaking the bat for a mosquito ("Another one? They oughta screen this place!"), Bugs sprays the bat with a fumigator. As the bat/Count is hanging his head down from an archway, coughing insecticide out of his lungs, Bugs sings "hocus pocus" during a continuation of his song, and the Count crashes to the floor on his head.
Fed up with the situation, the Count reveals his true identity to Bugs, resulting in a duel of "magic phrases" in which Bugs transforms into an umpire. Bugs gets the best of the Count throughout the duel, as might be expected.
Bugs eventually says "abraca-pocus" which gives the vampire his human body and a bat's head, then says "hocus-cadabra" and the vampire now is only a head with bat wings. Afterward he uses "Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
" and turns him into Witch Hazel
Witch Hazel (Looney Tunes)
Witch Hazel is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Disney, MGM, Famous Studios, and the Little Lulu comic book also had characters named Witch Hazel, and Rembrandt Films had one named Hazel Witch. This article is chiefly concerned...
. Unimpressed, Bugs comments to himself, "I can do better than that." Then finally he uses the incantation "Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
", and the Count is turned into a two-headed male vulture. Bugs calls out to Agatha and Emily, who are just outside the castle; and the Count is horrified to find himself the object of their amorous pursuit. The Count flees the castle with the female vulture in pursuit as Bugs watched in amusement.
In an epilogue, Bugs finds a working pay phone (in a coffin), but while waiting for the operator to reach his travel agency in Perth Amboy, he mumbles "abraca-pocus", and his ears turn into bat wings. Bugs hangs up and decides to fly home with those wings.