| (Blooper) Bunny | |
| Director: | Greg Ford Terry Lennon |
| Story: | Ronnie Scheib Greg Ford Terry Lennon |
| Producer: | Greg Ford |
| Starring: | Jeff Bergman Gordon Hunt Russell Calabrese |
| Music: | George Daugherty |
| Animator: | Doug Compton Nancy Beiman Russell Calabrese Frank Gabriel Bob McKnight Nelson Rhodes Larry Ruppel Louis Tate Dean Yeagle |
| Studio: | Warner Bros. Animation |
| Runtime: | 8 minutes 20 seconds |
| Language: | English |
(Blooper) Bunny is a Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, with music by George Daugherty, produced in 1991[1] by Warner Bros. Animation. Featuring the voice talents of Jeff Bergman, Gordon Hunt,[2] and Russell Calabrese,[3] the short is a parody of some of the specials produced for Bugs Bunny's 50th anniversary the previous year. The short never received its intended theatrical release and was shelved for six years.[4] It was finally given a television premiere on June 13, 1997, after Cartoon Network discovered the film sitting unseen in the vaults. It is featured on the .
The cartoon opens with a short special, celebrating Bugs Bunny's 51st and a Half Anniversary Spectacular. Once that is finished, what happened earlier that day is shown, with a backstage look at the characters (featuring 3D rendering of the scenery). Bugs is shown rehearsing his one line in the special. Elmer Fudd is shown trying to use minoxidil to regrow his hair. Daffy Duck and Yosemite Sam are shown only begrudgingly going along with the act, complaining non-stop until called to their places by the director. They attempt a performance, which results in a series of animated "bloopers".
(Blooper) Bunny was produced between 1990 and 1991 at a time when newer Looney Tunes shorts were being released to introduce the Warner cartoon characters to a modern generation — a process that was, thanks to the tepid reception of 2003's , eventually discontinued for some time from 2004 to 2009.[5] [6] [7] Greg Ford and Terry Lennon began production on the short with the idea of working the story into a future compilation special. The idea of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam acting friendly while being filmed but being their adversarial selves off-camera was done as a critical jab toward the executives at Warner Bros. for their handling of the characters at the time (marketing them in the vein of Disney). According to Lennon, "On-camera, they've got their big marketing grins on their faces; off-camera, they want to kill each other."[6] [8] [9] The film was animated using a combination of both new computer technology (done by Bill Kroyer) and traditional cel animation — a first for a Warner Bros. cartoon — with three-dimensional rendering distorting the background in the "backstage" scenes to give the appearance of a handicam being used.[6] [10] The first "backstage" scene in the film, a sequence that goes on for nearly a minute and a half without a cut, is, according to Ford, one of the single longest uninterrupted shots ever attempted in animated cartoons.[11]
The short features several direct references to some of the previous output of Warner Bros. animation department. During the first, aforementioned "backstage" scene, the name of Bosko, the first true Looney Tunes star, can be seen on one of the dressing room doors for a few frames (ironically, the Warner Bros. studio did not own the rights to Bosko at the time).[10] Midway through the film, there is also a deliberate homage to the "Hunting Trilogy" made popular by Chuck Jones, of whom Ford reportedly holds great admiration.[10] [11] Additionally, during the end credits, the theme song of One Froggy Evening, another Chuck Jones creation, can be heard.[10]
(Blooper) Bunny is a self-parody of some of the specials produced for Bugs Bunny's 50th anniversary the previous year, 1990. Intended to be released theatrically in 1991 with the Warner Bros.-released animated film Rover Dangerfield,[12] the short, however, never received its intended theatrical release and was shelved for six years, due to the executives at the studio not liking the short's edgy humor, which included "the sound of a toilet flushing".[4] [13] [9] [14] According to Ford, the executives withheld the short's release due to one of Daffy Duck's lines where he criticizes the studio for "not having an original bone in [their] body".[15]
Kevin S. Sander stated in his book, Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation, "Unfortunately, (Blooper) Bunnys corporate irreverence proved to be its downfall. Time Warner delayed the cartoon's release in theaters, on video, or on television for six years. Possibly believing that (Blooper) Bunnys combination of hyperbole, innuendo, profanity, and wickedness might contribute to the "paradigmatic disarray" of the now-watered-down Looney Tunes characters, the heads of Time Warner in 1991 decided to shelve (Blooper Bunny) rather than risk potential public outcry."[8]
Jonathan Rosenbaum, in a review for Chicago Reader, noted: "Ironically, Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers, another Bugs Bunny cartoon directed at the same time by the same rebellious duo, Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, is even more directly critical of studio greed, yet it got a pass and wound up on the TV special Bugs Bunny's Creature Features, perhaps because it was less formally transgressive."[13]
(Blooper) Bunny would not receive a television premiere until 1997, after Cartoon Network discovered the film sitting unseen in the vaults. It is featured on disc 1 of the DVD,, along with an optional audio commentary by co-director Greg Ford.[11]
Jules Faber, in a review for DVD.net, lauded the cartoon as a "highlight" and elaborated further: "Blooper Bunny: Bugs Bunny's 51 Anniversary is a clever little blooper reel created in 1991 and utilising some brilliantly conceived early 3D rendering making a very funny behind the scenes mockumentary." Chicago Reader also gave the film a positive mention, saying:
Dawn Taylor in a mixed review for The DVD Journal, however, said: "it has some very funny moments, and falls completely flat in others."[16]