#mitchumsstinkums

[ducktracy]

I'm sure you've addressed this before:

How come Bugs Bunny is occasionally staring me down with death eyes in the intro of a Looney Tunes cartoon? Why is he so mad?

this ask—like everything else in my inbox—has been ruminating for awhile, and part of that is because i didn’t have an answer! i truly did not know other than “uhhhhh Art Davis animates one version of it :)”. but. i am thrilled to say that i DO have some speculation! and it is complete speculation and interpretation, nothing more, but it’s something! SO

the first short to have that title variant is Tex Avery’s The Heckling Hare. it’s pretty important to note Avery’s involvement here—his Bugs was very wily and combative. it could depend on the needs of the cartoon—he’s pretty cool and calm in A Wild Hare, and at least comparatively so (save for some moments) in The Heckling Hare. Tortoise Beats Hare has him ranting and raving as soon as the cartoon starts, driven by rage and conceit throughout the whole thing; it’s been a few years since i’ve seen All This and Rabbit Stew, and i’ve only seen it once, but my recollection is that Bugs was pretty reactionary in that one too.

i think noting its attachment to The Heckling Hare in particular is also important because the cartoon’s titles follow that same principle—a confrontational Bugs looms over the typography, obscuring the audience’s view and thereby heckling even them, too. likewise, his arms are bent and on his hips, shadow cast at a diagonal angle, which immediately reads as confrontational and aggressive. i don’t think the Bugs on the shield logo was made explicitly for this cartoon and nothing else, but knowing that this short opens with a particularly aggressive tone, it does add some context as to why he behaves the way he does.

MY POINT BEING that Avery’s Bugs is much more aggressive than the Bugs we know today. thus, that was reflected in the opening titles—whereas most titles with cartoon characters in them were pleasant and amiable (Woody Woodpecker pecks holes and laughs! Popeye blows his pipe! Porky—later to be accompanied by Daffy—continually greets the audience with his happy, shining mug!), Bugs greets you with contempt and disdain. you’re intruding on his privacy; he makes a point to remind you that his time could be much better spent chewing carrots and luxuriating rather than entertaining your attention, but he’ll do it anyway.

obviously, Bugs got less abrasive as his personality was explored more in-depth. so, there comes a little bit of a dissonance when stretching into the mid ‘40s or so. that Art Davis variation (basically, the one where Bugs looks like Bugs) is fashioned after a synonymous intro that was more representative of the Bugs of its time. by 1945 or whenever the intro started appearing, he was much more mellow and less confrontational/disdainful, so having him seem so angry does kind of feel out of nowhere. but it isn’t! it just rides on the coattails of a previous variant that was more applicable for its time

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Requested by @mitchumsstinkums

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Requested by @mitchumsstinkums

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Requested by @mitchumsstinkums