Buckaroo Bugs

Buckaroo Bugs
Buckaroo Bugs
	Title card
Directed by	Robert Clampett
Story by	Lou Lilly
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Starring	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Manny Gould
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures; The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	August 26, 1944;
Running time	8:44
Language	English

Buckaroo Bugs is a 1944 American Western Looney Tunes cartoon film directed by Bob Clampett.^[1] The cartoon was released on August 26, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny in his official Looney Tunes debut.^[2]

Plot

In the quaint town of San Fernando Alley, Bugs Bunny assumes the role of the Masked Marauder, a notorious carrot thief. Red Hot Ryder, tasked with apprehending the Marauder, repeatedly fails due to his inability to discern Bugs Bunny from the actual culprit. Despite eventually catching on, Ryder remains outsmarted by Bugs, who cleverly tricks him and his horse into plunging into the Grand Canyon. As the dust settles, Ryder finally realizes Bugs's true identity, culminating in a humorous revelation.^[3]^[4]

Crew

Direction: Robert Clampett
Story: Lou Lilly
Animation: Manny Gould (As M. Gould)
Additional Animation: Robert McKimson, Rod Scribner, Basil Davidovich, A.C. Gamer (effects)
Layouts and Backgrounds: Thomas McKimson and Michael Sasanoff
Voice Actors: Mel Blanc, Robert C. Bruce
Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling
Producer: Leon Schlesinger

Home media

VHS - Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Bugs Bunny Cartoon Festival Featuring "Hold the Lion, Please"
VHS - Bugs Bunny Collection: Bugs Bunny on Parade
LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 2, Side 5: Bob Clampett
VHS - Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 7: Welcome To Wackyland
DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5, Disc 3 (with two commentary tracks: one by Michael Barrier and the other by Spumco workers John Kricfalusi, Eddie Fitzgerald, and Kali Fontecchio)
Blu-ray/DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc 1 (with two commentary tracks: one by Michael Barrier and the other by Spumco workers John Kricfalusi, Eddie Fitzgerald, and Kali Fontecchio)

Production notes

Buckaroo Bugs and The Old Grey Hare share the same opening title font and were both directed by Clampett in the same year. Buckaroo Bugs served as Bugs Bunny's inaugural short in the Looney Tunes series, coinciding with a period where both Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes were converging in style. Additionally, the Looney Tunes series transitioned to full-time three-hue Technicolor in 1944.

This marked Leon Schlesinger's final Warner Bros. cartoon as producer, as he sold the studio to Warner Bros. around the time of its release. Despite this, Schlesinger remained involved in marketing the characters until his death on December 25, 1949.

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. 153. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 165
^ Young, Young (2010), p. 746