Ombega, Steven Panado Rating:

BEEd 3A October 2, 2020

Teaching English in Elementary Grades
(Language Arts)

What gives Bugs Bunny his lasting power?

Katie Nodjimbadem

More than seventy-five years ago, a gangly, gray rabbit hopped out of a hole in the
ground. He knocked on a bald man's head. Then he asked, "What's Up, Doc?"  The phrase
was made to the tune of the crunch of a large carrot.
 
Though the rabbit had appeared in previous short films, this was a fateful scene in the 1940
Warner Brothers animated short "A Wild Hare."  It introduced the version of the rabbit that
would become the cultural icon of Bugs Bunny.
 
Earlier shorts referred to "Happy Rabbit." And while "A Wild Hare" didn't use the name Bugs
Bunny, it was the first where the character had a specific personality and appearance. And a
catchphrase.
 
In the short film, Bugs takes great pleasure in eluding the "wabbit" hunting Elmer Fudd.
 
In the decades since, Bugs has appeared in over 150 films. He has earned a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. And he was the first animated character to get his face on a
postage stamp. TV Guide ranked him number one atop a list of the 50 greatest cartoon
characters.
 
The "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" films came out of the Warner Brothers
animation studios. A team of artists, directors and voice actors collaborated on the classic
cartoons. Bugs was unlike Disney's Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. They came with their
own set of physical characteristics. But they lacked personality. Bugs was defined by his wise
guy attitude and witty banter.
 
According to Linda Jones Clough, the business partner and daughter of famed animator
Chuck Jones, Bugs rocketed to fame because he was "character driven, rather than gag
driven."  And while every director put his own spin on Bugs Bunny, they all agreed on one
thing. Bugs was never to be mean-spirited.
 
That quality was very important to his fame.
 
"It was very important that he be provoked," said Chuck Jones in a 1998 interview. "Because
otherwise he'd be a bully. And we didn't want that. We wanted him to be a nice person." 
 
They wanted him to be a nice person. But not a pushover. For the directors and audiences
alike, Bugs was more than just a cartoon character.
 
"[My father's] attitude was that Bugs already existed. And they were just writing about him,"
said Jones Clough. "He would come home in the evening and say to my mother, 'You won't
believe what Bugs Bunny said today!' "

"'What do you mean?' she would say. 'You wrote it.'"

 
"'No, I discovered under the circumstances that this is what he would say."
 
For years after Bugs first spoke his signature question, it seemed as though America couldn't
get enough of the character. Or his trickster ways. Within four years, films starring Bugs
from the "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" series were popular enough to be sold to
theaters. They appeared in a separate category called "Bugs Bunny Specials."
 
In that same era, Bugs successfully overlapped the world of entertainment and politics. He
sneaked his way into World War II propaganda and advertisements for war bonds. The
Marine Corps gave him honorary status as a private. That came after he appeared in a
marine uniform exclaiming that a marine was a real superman. It was part of the 1943 film
"Super-Rabbit."  

But like any public figure, Bugs has engaged in his fair share of questionable activity. War-
era films star Bugs as the hero pitted against offensively caricatured Japanese and German
soldiers.
 
Still, Bugs moved past that questionable phase. He continues to win the hearts and laughs of
the people all over the world.
 
Perhaps what audiences love the most about Bugs Bunny is not his unique personality.
Rather, it is his ability to stay true to it. From his opera debut in "What's Opera, Doc?" to his
jaunt in live action films, such as "Space Jam", Bugs Bunny doesn't change.
 
More recent animated characters from Bart Simpson to Eric Cartman have established
themselves through a sliding scale of meanness. But Bugs remains the lovable character. He
only plays tricks on those who deserve it most.

What was the title of the 1940 short movie in which Bugs Bunny first asked his famous
question "What’s up, Doc?"
a. "A Wild Hare"
b. “What’s Opera, Doc?"
c. “Space Jam"
d. “Super-Rabbit"
What is the title of the story all about?
a. Bugs Bunny and his lasting power
b. Bugs Bunny and the seven dwarfs
 c. Bugs Bunny and the carrots
d. Bugs Bunny and Lebron James
How many years passed when a gray rabbit hopped out of a hole in the ground?
a. 55 years
b. 65 years
c. 75 years
d. 85 years
During WW II, Bugs Bunny successfully straddled the world of entertainment and ________?
a. Policy
b. Police
c. Politics
d. Possibility
As used in the story, the word "signature" most closely means:
a. A person’s name written in their handwriting
b. A quality or feature closely associated with someone
c. The act of signing something
d. A sign or group of signs at the beginning of music