Add this to Rabbit Seasoning and Rabbit Fire and we’ve essentially got a cartoon equivalent, a cartoon prophecy of those Howard Hawks/Leigh Bracket films! All the same, all infinitely distinct. The winter backgrounds here are actually exquisite. There are striking angles all over the place. On the surface these guys are producing product and entertaining people. But scratch that surface and you uncover an ensemble of completely confident, dissertation deserving modernists.
The nerve of these guys! “Could you spare a cup of blackstrap molasses?” Of course Daffy gets his beak shot off numerous times. Look at the eyes, though. They don’t miss a trick. “Don’t go away, Daniel Boob.” Or, “there you are, Leatherstocking.” The number of times that Daffy falls for this same trick is so surpassing absurd, and very impressive. That’s because of the tension between same, structurally, and difference, small but real, in the execution of each component. Again, as too often stated, these animators (actors, sound guys) are craftsmen unto transcendence. As for the morality of all this mayhem, or not, consider the following. Bugs may be a dirty dog, but who started all of this? Now, discuss among yourselves …