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Looney Tunes Review: Rabbit Seasoning (1952)

Anthony's Animation Talk

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Join us for an in-depth review of the classic Looney Tunes short 'Rabbit Seasoning' (1952), directed by Chuck Jones. I'm joined by my good friends Matt Hunter and Manny Cruz @thetooneytenor , as we dive into this iconic cartoon, discussing its memorable moments, hilarious dialogue, and brilliant animation. We also explore the behind-the-scenes trivia, including its place in the Hunter's trilogy, and the impact of Chuck Jones and Mike Maltese's creative genius. Don't miss out on our lively discussion and don't forget to like, subscribe, and check out the Looney Tunes Golden and Platinum Collections for more restored classics!

0:00 – Intro & guest greetings
0:30 – Release info & trivia
1:52 – Discussion begins
3:10 – Daffy's origins under Friz Freleng
6:37 – Cartoon Network's sped-up prints history
7:15 – HD restoration praise
9:03 – Cultural legacy of "rabbit season, duck season"
13:07 – Watching the short scene-by-scene begins
16:07 – "Pronoun trouble" scene breakdown
17:57 – Bugs cross-dresses
20:03 – Ending & "You are despicable" callback
20:43 – Music discussion begins
22:53 – The recurring "stalling cue" deep dive
28:44 – "Illustrated Radio" concept (Chuck Jones)
30:59 – Maurice Noble's first credited short
32:19 – Final score: 10/10

You can find this on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol 1 found here https://amzn.to/41onSBO
Also on the Platinum Collection Vol 2 found here https://amzn.to/3Tu5SEe

Source: http://www.whataboutthad.com/wb-produ...
Source: Cartoon Voices by Keith Scott found here https://amzn.to/3MsVLtQ
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#LooneyTunes #RabbitSeasoning #ChuckJones #VintageCartoons #AnimationHistory #ClassicCartoons #WarnerBros #DaffyDuck #BugsBunny #MelBlanc #CartoonReview

19 Comments

@christianhardtofind6349 2 years ago (edited)

I frequently quote "No more for me thanks, I'm driving!" on a daily basis, in spite of the fact I've almost never had a drink in my life!

@merriemelodiesfan7425 2 years ago

This cartoon, of course, is a perfect ten. It's hilarious from beginning to end. Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese really made magic with this one.

@MasonProductions57 2 years ago

This cartoon is undoubtedly a classic

@Mibbitmaker 2 years ago

What makes the ending gag so perfect is Daffy's smug "nyeh!" gesture as he's obviously going to his final violent indignity. Second and funniest time doing that.

Though the non-Joe Besser elephant in the room (and in the illustration to this video) is the fact that they got an Elmer hat erection (two!) past the censors. Quite an achievement for the 1950s!

@VacuumFridge 2 years ago

I appreciate that you noted that the mean-spirited or "greedy" Daffy characterization began in earlier Friz Freleng cartoons like You Ought to be in Pictures, while his classic wackiness hadn't disappeared in the 50s Jones/Maltese cartoons. The behavioral shift wasn't as entirely drastic or sudden as it's sometimes made out to be, in my opinion.

Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets scenes from Rabbit Fire and Rabbit Seasoning mixed up way too often.

@tylerensminger 2 years ago (edited)

I personally like this one the best of the three. The gags are funny and the "pronoun trouble" bit is very funny. Also love the ending where daffy gets tricked into going home with Elmer

@AnnieB097 2 years ago

Every time I see Elmer falling for bugs in his lady outfit complete with red strappy shoes is hilarious. And daffy getting tricked by bugs every time to say the wrong words hehe

@juagoguago7961 2 years ago (edited)

I appreciate the mention of that Carl Stalling cue. I've always considered it to be Bugs Bunny's theme in my mind. The cue also appears in Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers when Bugs is speaking to Elmer in the beginning.

@sf-dn8rh 2 years ago

love to hear the blooper tapes of that recording session.

@glowworm2 2 years ago

The hunting trilogy itself was brilliant. Each short has perfect chemistry between Bugs, Daffy and Elmer and hilarious sight gags and memorable lines. In this short, the "Pronoun trouble" and "Would you like to shoot him now or wait til you get home?" running gag is the standout. However, I also really love the gag where Daffy is trying to run through everything with Elmer and Bugs chimes in with "And if he was a rabbit, what would you do?" and Daffy falls for it, hook, line and sinker. 🤣I also love the "Take a peek and see if he's still around" bit where Daffy does the "No more for me thanks, I'm driving." after Bugs suggests he act as a decoy to distract Elmer. The drag scene is hilarious though. Elmer is surprisingly adorable at this part trying to get Bugs' attention. I just find it to be cute that he's just that smitten.

@CJ_Vecinator 2 years ago (edited)

An absolutely perfect cartoon and my favorite of the Hunting Trilogy. The timing, writing, backgrounds, as well as the layouts/animation are amazing and used the shrinking budgets of the time to their advantage in order to create a comedic masterpiece. Speaking of which, almost the entirety of this cartoon up until the Bugs drag scene is the three characters talking to each other in one location, and yet it’s not only able to keep the viewer’s attention but leave them laughing with tears in their eyes. Mel Blanc’s performance is also a huge standout, one of the best he ever did in my opinion, you can feel Daffy’s anger and pettiness boiling to a point where it can’t be contained anymore and it’s absolutely hilarious. I could talk about this cartoon all day but I’ll stop for now. Easy 10 out of 10.

Edit: I’m so glad that you guys talked about those two specific Carl Stalling cues, on my recent re-watch of every cartoon that the WB studio made, I kept track of the various appearances of those two tracks and I didn’t realize they were different until this video. Thanks!

@djmoch1001 1 month ago (edited)

This is definitely one of the greatest shorts of all time. The whole “pronoun trouble” argument was a surprisingly intelligent and cerebral addition to the cartoon. And the sheer number of ways poor Daffy’s beak gets mangled in this short and the others is just magical.

@PrinceEden01 2 years ago

An excellent cartoon every bit of dialogue in this one is golden and the animation and backgrounds are superb.
10/10 Short a Chuck/Maltese Masterpiece

@RollingClone221 2 years ago

Really good buga and daffy cartoon, the gags are just great and iconic all throughout the short with the rabbit season jokes and more, the animation and music are also great as well, 9.5/10.

@PetProjects2011 2 years ago

I have kind of a love/hate thing with this cartoon. I've discussed this in LT forums before, but way back when, people hyped this short up a bit too much for me, and I didn't see it until around the time Cartoon Network became the exclusive home for LT. Beforehand, of the Hunter Trilogy, I had only seen "Rabbit Fire", but for some reason many fans were very dismissive of that one, saying it was one of Jones' weaker shorts, while praising "Rabbit Seasoning".
Now, I have always considered Rabbit Fire a classic, and it's still one of my favorite LT shorts, but my thinking was "Wow, Rabbit Seasoning must be this AMAZING cartoon if it's better that Rabbit Fire". So when i finally did manage to see it it.... I was severely let down, and kept thinking, "Um... that's it? That wasn't that great."
Even today, I have a difficult time warming up to it, but I think it's just because I keep comparing it to Rabbit Fire. Even "Duck, Rabbit! Duck!" I think has more funny moments than this one. My main beef with Rabbit Seasoning is, as funny as the "Pronoun trouble" bit is, it's dragged on for two long, and takes up almost the whole first half of the short.
Ignoring all that though, this short does have some very funny facial expressions, and a lot of the characters' movements are more detailed and fluid than they are in Rabbit Fire.

@supermariojoshua9837 10 months ago (edited)

I saw this short on tooncast but it's the 1998 Dubbed Print. (With the dub notice).

@JustinCoasters 2 years ago

Was there a McKimson Bugs where he dressed in drag for Elmer?

I know he did in Backwoods Bunny but that wasn't Elmer

@BrianLT 1 year ago

This one was also in the 50 greatest cartoons at 30. (I think that’s a higher honor than being in the 100 greatest Looney Tunes, so why don’t you just mention that all the time? It’s of Looney Tunes channel, but still it’s the only one of the trilogy to make it in the greatest cartoons)

@acholl980 2 years ago

As good as the hunting trilogy is you need to review their forth short no one talks about and that's Beanstalk Bunny. An obvious spoof of Fun and Fancy Free but more cynical.