Wabbit Twouble is a 1941 Merrie Melodies short planned by Tex Avery and finished by Bob Clampett.
Title[]
The title (and the credits) are written as Elmer Fudd would pronounce them. Ergo, "Rabbit Trouble" would be said "Wabbit Twouble."
Plot[]
Elmer is riding in his old jalopy, whose eccentric rear axle and wheel do the Conga "kick" and beat. He makes his way to Jellostone National Park, where the sign by the entrance promises "Rest and Relaxation" and "a Restful Retreat." Elmer pitches a tent near Bugs' rabbit hole and sets up camp by putting a fire stove, a mirror and a table to wash his face, and a hammock. However, he gets annoyed when Bugs steals his tent, but he gets it back, tied up in knots. Bugs welcomes Elmer to Jellostone, asiding, "Oh, brother!" He pulls Elmer's hat over his eyes. When Elmer reaches into the hole to grab Bugs, he gets his fingers tied up by the latter. He tries to prevent Bugs from getting out of his hole by hammering a board, saying that he can't get out of that. "That will hold him alright," he said. However, Bugs does get out of that, and mimics Elmer's weight and what he previously said, labeling it "phooey". Elmer lies down in his hammock and soon falls fast asleep, muttering to himself.
Bugs puts a pair of glasses on Elmer's face, paints the lenses black, and sets Elmer's alarm clock to go off. Elmer now thinks it's night, since everything seems so dark, so he retires to his tent, removes his clothes revealing his pajamas underneath, and goes to bed. Bugs takes the glasses off and crows like a rooster, making Elmer think that it's the next morning.
When Elmer goes to wash his face, Bugs keeps the towel at a distance with a branch, causing Elmer to blindly follow the towel. Bugs says, "I do this kind of stuff to him all through the picture." Elmer almost falls off a cliff. He looks at the miraculous view of the Grand Canyon. Just when he sees that Bugs is the one pulling these gags, Bugs runs off, with Elmer giving chase after retrieving a shotgun from his tent.
However, when he tries running after Bugs with his shotgun, he runs into an angry black bear instead. The bear starts growling, and so Elmer turns to a wildlife handbook for advice, which states "When confronted by a grizzly bear, lie flat on the ground and play dead. Above all, remain absolutely motionless!"
Elmer begins playing dead as the bear soon gives up after sniffing his "B.O." from his feet. But Bugs has more fun with Elmer when he climbs on Elmer and starts growling exactly like the bear. "Funny situation, ain't it?" Just as Bugs starts biting Elmer's foot, Elmer sees what's going on and grabs his shotgun. Bugs runs away when the bear returns and Elmer ends up hitting the bear instead. A chase ensues with Elmer and the bear running through the trees to the chase sequence of William Tell. Finally, the bear freaks Elmer out when he rides on top of him.
Eventually, Elmer gives up and quickly packs everything back into his car including, at first, the tree that was next to his tent. On his way out, he stops back at the sign and reads it again. This makes him think that it's baloney, and to teach the park not to give false advertisement he starts chopping the sign to bits. The park ranger appears, a stern look on his face. Elmer gets sent to prison for destruction of government property, where he's thankful that he's finally "wid of that gwizzwy bear and scwewy wabbit! West and wewaxation at wast!" But he turns to find out that somehow he's sharing his cell with both Bugs and the black bear. Each of them chews a carrot and asks, "Eh, pardon me, but ... um, how long are ya in for, Doc?"
Availability[]
Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd Cartoon Festival Featuring "Wabbit Twouble"
Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs vs. Elmer
Bugs Bunny Collection: Here Comes Bugs Bunny
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 4: Bob Clampett
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 4: Bob Clampett
Bumper Edition (Woolworths Exclusive)
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition, Vol. 11: Wabbit Tales (1995 Turner dubbed version)
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1, Disc One (restored)
Looney Tunes Collection Best of Bugs Bunny
3 Spooky DVD Treats
Bugs Bunny
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc Two (restored)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc Two (restored)
Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection, Disc 1
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- For this cartoon, Elmer was redesigned as a fat man (based on voice actor Arthur Q. Bryan's own physique) in an attempt to make him funnier. The "fat Elmer" would only make four more appearances -"The Wabbit Who Came to Supper", "The Wacky Wabbit", "Fresh Hare", and "Any Bonds Today?" - before returning to the slimmer form by which he is better known. This cartoon was the only time, though, that the Fat Elmer also had a red nose.
- The title card credits are written in "Elmer Fudd-ese"; that is, written the way Elmer would say them ("Superwision: Wobert Cwampett" and so on).
- It has been suggested on various forums dedicated to classical animation that this cartoon originally began production under Tex Avery and was completed by Clampett when Avery left the Warners' studio in 1941. The evidence given to support this contention include the reddish nose sported by Elmer Fudd in this cartoon (Avery had given Elmer such a nose in "A Wild Hare"), Bugs' design, the unique credit sequence (Avery had previously done such tinkering with the credits of "Tortoise Beats Hare"), and the credits for Dave Monahan and Sid Sutherland.[2]
- This is the only "Fat Elmer" cartoon still under copyright, the rest are in public domain.
- This is one of the rare cartoons where Bugs is the aggressor rather than the victim. Clampett would re-use this similar kind of role-reversal in "The Wacky Wabbit" the following year, again with the fat Elmer Fudd. These was made during Bugs' early days when the Warners' directors were still feeling the rabbit out.
- It is odd for a black bear to be referred to as well as portrayed in name and nature as a grizzly bear. In real life, black bears would not be fooled by humans playing dead since they are more prone to be scavengers.
- In December 2018, Bugs' fat imitation of Elmer became an Internet meme known as "Big Chungus". Big Chungus became a playable character in Looney Tunes World of Mayhem in April 2021, and made a cameo in Space Jam A New Legacy.
- On several prints of the cartoon that had been shown in syndication over the years, the 1941-42 Merrie Melodies ending was replaced by Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) with the 1939-1940 Merrie Melodies ending logo.
