If you think about all the animated characters that have been drawn and given life since the first animated features saw the light of day in 1908, it makes what Bugs Bunny has achieved all the more astonishing. The hilarious hare is a national treasure and has managed to stay relevant since his inception eight decades prior.
To celebrate that fact, and to give new and veteran fans alike, an eightieth birthday collection has just hit retailers—in time for the holidays. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray to review in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own. Be prepared because those opinions and thoughts are going to be about as raving as exist!
The Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection collector’s gift set houses 60 theatrical shorts but also includes a full-size glitter Funko figure that was immediately absconded by my seven-year-old. I couldn’t be prouder!
The three-disc collection (which includes codes for digital download) also features bonus content that will exponentially enhance your appreciation for the rabbit with a fondness for uttering, “What’s up, Doc?”
Adding to that exhilaration that will surely accompany unboxing this treat will be 10 episodes of the cultural institution that is Looney Tunes Cartoons. A pitch-perfect brand-sparking-new documentary digs deep into Bugs’ backstory (and future journeys—Space Jam: A New Legacy, anyone?!) and HBO Max is including the new Bugs Bunny series, from the legendary Warner Bros. Animation.
Besides all the bunny-ness that will overcome you like a tsunami of animated awesomeness, prepare to be wowed with a “greeting” by animation historian Jerry Beck. His introductory letter frames what Bugs Bunny means to the art form, our culture at large, and even the impact on broader society.
There has always been something about the wascally wabbit. He is like the older brother that got away with… everything while you were contemplating your month-long grounding! We love him for it!
When Bugs first hopped into our hearts, it was 1940 and the world was at war. Within a year, the entire planet would be engulfed in the fiery battles that would define us for another half a decade. As was the case during The Depression, a nation turned to the cinemas as a refuge from the headlines and the Bugs Bunny serials did their part to take our collective minds off the news of the day.
Over the next 80 years, 60 theatrical shorts would be crafted that would feature the most unlikely of bouncing protagonists. His grasp on our hearts was strong, resonant, and welcomed by each successive generation. The adoration of Bugs Bunny was something that would be passed on from parent to child, and then from child to friends, and then their own children. One could see this continuing as long as there is a medium to showcase the king of animated slapstick.
If animated characters could be quantified in terms of global reach, just a hair (or hare!) behind a certain mouse named Mickey would be a bunny named Bugs.
His pop-culture legendary status is rooted in something simultaneously elusive and ever-present. Bugs says (and does) whatever he wants and at the same time doesn’t let anyone get away with even the slightest bit of wool being pulled over eyes. Bugs’ actions are what we wish we could do, but societal mores keep us from employing the Acme company to deliver whatever it is we need to our friends and foes!
We love him for all of that, but also due to the fact that he outsmarts antagonists in a manner that we also wish we could do… every second of the day!
These Bugs Bunny gems are available on a restored, remastered (to the original 4X3 aspect ratio) on Blu-Ray for the first time ever. That alone would be a reason to celebrate. But as a longtime fan, I have to sing to the heavens about how there is so much more to find joy with on the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection. Everything you could ever want from Bugs is available on this one set. In addition, there are featurettes and elements included that enhance our bonafide bliss about all things Bugs Bunny.
This collection features a myriad of iconic animators, including Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, and others—with each taking their role in carrying the Bugs Bunny legacy torch seriously.
Among the greatest shorts featured on this set is some Oscar-nominated/winning shorts—such as A Wild Hare and Knighty Knight Bugs. That operatic Bugs? What’s Opera Doc is here! Bugs and baseball? You bet! Baseball Bugs is also joined by Bugs Bunny Rides Again, 8 Ball Bunny, The Rabbit of Seville, and so much more.
Another enjoyable aspect of a collection like this is witnessing the visual and auditory evolution of the shorts and the characters themselves over the course of history.
Plus, the dumpster fire that is 2020, every single Bugs moment on this collection would turn our 2020 frown upside down.
When it comes to the animated shorts, here is exactly what is included:
Featured Cartoon Shorts:
Disc #1:
- Elmer’s Candid Camera
- A Wild Hare
- Hold the Lion, Please
- Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid
- Super-Rabbit
- Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk
- What’s Cookin’ Doc?
- Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears
- Hare Ribbin
- The Old Grey Hare
- Baseball Bugs
- Hair Raising Hare
- Racketeer Rabbit
- Bugs Bunny Rides Again
- Haredevil Hare
- Hot Cross Bunny
- Hare Splitter
- Knights Must Fall
- What’s Up Doc?
- 8 Ball Bunny
Disc #2:
- The Rabbit of Seville
- Rabbit Every Monday
- Fair Haired Hare
- Rabbit Fire
- His Hare Raising Tale
- Hare Lift
- Upswept Hare
- Robot Rabbit
- Captain Hareblower
- No Parking Hare
- Yankee Doodle Bugs
- Lumber-Jack Rabbit
- Baby Buggy Bunny
- Hare Brush
- This is a Life?
- Rabbitson Crusoe
- Napoleon Bunny-Part
- Half Fare Hare
- Pikers Peak
- What’s Opera, Doc?
Disc #3:
- Bugsy and Mugsy
- Show Biz Bugs
- Hare-Less Wolf
- Now, Hare This
- Knighty Knight Bugs
- Hare-Abian Nights
- Backwoods Bunny
- Wild and Woolly Hare
- Bonanza Bunny
- People are Bunny
- Person to Bunny
- Rabbit’s Feat
- From Hare to Heir
- Compressed Hare
- Prince Violent
- Shishkabugs
- The Million Hare
- The Unmentionables
- False Hare
- Blooper Bunny
The bonus content should be devoured! There is little doubt that the first featurette to dive into is the brand spanking new documentary Bugs Bunny’s 80th What’s Up Doc-umentary! The hour-long doc adds layers of insight into the making of the shorts, the creative process of crafting the character in the first place as well as a terrific way of putting the entire entity of Bugs Bunny into a larger context.
There are also 28 audio commentary tracks. That means that almost half of the shorts feature audio commentaries that take viewers on the most priceless of journeys. How awesome is that?!
Don’t miss the Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary—which was previously released and is a captivating look at the impact our favorite animated rabbit had on the world 30 years ago. And yes, it only exponentially has grown in the subsequent three decades.
Little treats arrive along the way, including the Hare Ribbin’ Director’s Cut, which was previously extremely rare.
Among the behind the scenes featurettes that speak to specific animated shorts that one must check out are:
Forever Befuddled
Bugs: A Rabbit for all Seasonings
Mars Attacks! Life on the Red Planet with My Favorite Martian
A Hunting We Will Go: Chuck Jones’ Wabbit Season Trilogy
Bugs Bunny: Ain’t He A Stinker?
Wagnerian Rabbit: The Making of What’s Opera, Doc?
Hard Luck Duck
Short Fuse Shootout: The Small Tale of Yosemite Sam
50 Years of Bugs Bunny in 3 and a half Minutes
There are also those 10 Bonus Looney Tunes Cartoons (adding up to almost an hour of running time).
The entire package grade: A+