Rabbit's Kin

Rabbit's Kin
Directed byRobert McKimson
Story byTedd Pierce
Produced byEdward Selzer (uncredited)
StarringMel Blanc
Stan Freberg
Music byCarl Stalling
Animation byCharles McKimson
Herman Cohen
Rod Scribner
Phil DeLara
Keith Darling[1]
Layouts byRobert Givens
Backgrounds byRichard H. Thomas
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • November 15, 1952 (1952-11-15)
Running time
6:54
LanguageEnglish

Rabbit's Kin is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce.[2] The cartoon was released on November 15, 1952, and stars Bugs Bunny.[3] The cartoon was animated by Charles McKimson, Herman Cohen, Rod Scribner, Phil DeLara and Keith Darling. The music was scored by Carl Stalling while the layouts and the backgrounds were done by Robert Givens and Richard H. Thomas.

Plot

A rabbit named Shorty seeks refuge from the pursuing cougar, Pete Puma, within Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole. Bugs, sympathetic to Shorty's plight, employs comedic strategies to outwit Pete. Utilizing a faux rabbit dynamite decoy, Bugs orchestrates an explosive surprise for Pete, leading to a humorous exchange over cigars.

Subsequently, Pete's attempts to deceive Bugs, including disguising himself as Shorty's mother and employing protective headgear, are met with Bugs' repeated tea-time trickery involving sugar lumps. Despite Pete's efforts to anticipate Bugs' moves, he repeatedly falls victim to Bugs' cleverness. Shorty, captivated by the spectacle, desires to participate, leading to a confrontation wherein Bugs assumes a disguise to rescue Shorty from Pete. However, Pete's attempt to outwit Bugs backfires, resulting in self-inflicted head trauma.

As Bugs and Shorty escape, Bugs acknowledges Pete's ingenuity while mimicking his distinctive laugh.

Production notes

Mel Blanc provided the voice for Bugs Bunny and Shorty Rabbit,[4] while Stan Freberg voiced Bugs' adversary, Pete Puma, imitating Frank Fontaine's character, John L. C. Silvoney, from The Jack Benny Show and later, Crazy Guggenheim on The Jackie Gleason Show. The title plays on the phrase "rabbit skin," referencing Bugs' kinship with another rabbit. Blanc initially used a modified version of Sylvester the Cat's voice for Shorty before adjusting its pitch.[1]

Home media

Rabbit's Kin is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1.

References

  1. ^ a b "Robert McKimson's "Rabbit's Kin" (1952) |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  2. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 242. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  3. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. ^ Lawson, Tim; Persons, Alisa (9 December 2004). The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-57806-696-4.
Preceded by Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1952 		Succeeded by