Rabbit Transit (film)
Rabbit Transit is a 1947 Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng.[1] The short was released on May 10, 1947, and features Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle.[2] The title is a play on "rapid transit".
| Rabbit Transit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Story by | Michael Maltese Tedd Pierce |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Manuel Perez Ken Champin Virgil Ross Gerry Chiniquy Morey Reden (uncredited) A. C. Gamer (effects animation) |
| Layouts by | Hawley Pratt |
| Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date | May 10, 1947 (USA) |
Running time | 8:04 |
| Language | English |
Cecil and Bugs had previously raced each other in 1941's Tortoise Beats Hare and 1943's Tortoise Wins By a Hare. This cartoon was their final encounter. Unlike Tortoise Wins by a Hare, this cartoon presumes that Bugs and Cecil have never met before now.
Plot
While relaxing in a steam bath, Bugs reads about the original fable and, as he did reading the credits of Tortoise Beats Hare, becomes incensed at the idea of a turtle outrunning a rabbit. Cecil, also in the steam bath, claims that he could outrun Bugs, prompting Bugs to challenge him to a race (again, as in Tortoise Beats Hare, although at least here Bugs receives some provocation). This time, Bugs and Cecil agree to no cheating. Cecil, however, quickly reveals that his shell is now rocket propelled, allowing him to go a surprising combination between fast and slow. Bugs tries to counter Cecil's advantage, first by snagging the shell and trying to dismantle the rockets, then later catching a ride on the shell and dumping water into to choke the engine out. Bugs also tries to set up a false tunnel, but Cecil (in a gag later repeated in Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote cartoons) goes right through it like a regular tunnel. Bugs makes a last desperate dash to the finish line. Cecil is in the lead but notices something and turns off his rockets, letting Bugs beat him. Bugs gloats to Cecil at the finish line that he was "doing 100 easy" in his last dash, and Cecil reveals that Bugs did it in a 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) speed zone. Bugs is taken away by the police to enjoy his victory—behind bars. Cecil closes the cartoon by restating one of Bugs's famous catch-phrases: "Ain't I a...um...stinker?"
Availability
- VHS- Bugs!
- VHS- Bugs Bunny's Zaniest Toons
- VHS- Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol 10: The Art of Bugs
- VHS- Looney Tunes Collectors Edition: A Looney Life
- Laserdisc- Bugs! And Elmer!
- Laserdisc- Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol. 1
- DVD- Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2
- Blu-ray- Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2
- Streaming- HBO Max
References
- Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 175. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
| Preceded by Rhapsody Rabbit |
Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1947 |
Succeeded by A Hare Grows in Manhattan |