Rabbit Fire (1951)

Absolutely the worst movie.

Absolutely Fantastic

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Season time! But what season is it actually? Rabbit season or duck season? This is the first of a trilogy of cartoons that is considered to be among the finest (and certainly most famous) of Warner Bros's cartoon work in the 1950s. These 7 minutes were made almost 65 years ago by the usual trio of Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese and Mel Blanc, who voices the two protagonists and the elephant. Only Elmer was done by somebody else. Of course, as always, Bugs is way too smart to be caught and Daffy gets his fair share too, but the ending this time shows us Elmer as the loser. Not too often the case in short films where Bugs and Duffy appear. He is usually more of an observant despite being the hunter of course. I think this is a solid little short film. It has its moments, such as the aforementioned elephant, Bug in drag, Bugs posing as Daffy and Daffy posing as Elmer and a funny little discussion contest by our two heroes which season it currently is. Good stuff. Recommended.

One of the creme de la creme of the Looney Tunes cartoons (almost overplayed when I was a kid, though never under-valued by me), Rabbit Fire is the cartoon that puts a different kind of edge on the cartoon form- it's funny, but almost in a satirical way. This is the kind of stuff that almost shouldn't be funny for kids, but more for adults; if not for the randomness of it all, the banter might go over their heads completely.Although I always thought of this episode as one unto itself and not part of a "trilogy" as I have read, this is definitely the most popular of the three, as I remember practically every line by memory. Elmer is having his Jonesin' for 'Hunting Wabbits', and gets perpetually mixed up as Bugs and Daffy have a back and forth over 'Duck season...rabbit season'. There's one scene involving cross-character dressing that is the key gag in the short, and it always keeps me cracking up. The last moment, in a way, is kind of deep. Who knows what season it is for hunting anyone, anyway? It's a little classic in the world of hand-drawn insanity, and one of only several times Daffy Duck has worked perfectly in a three-piece grouping.

If you ask Looney Tunes fans, I predict the vote would be even with regards to which is better: this or "Rabbit Seasoning". My vote goes to this one but "Rabbit Seasoning" is also excellent. They compliment each other very well. The verbal interplay is great, the elephant bit is inspired as well as unexpected and the ending is very clever.

10/10 It is hard to say what is the best trilogy ever made. Some would say Star Wars, others The Godfather, some Die Hard, and a few would say Evil Dead. Oh, and the Tim Burton Batman trilogy. You know what? None of them reach the height of the shorts Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, and Duck! Rabbit! Duck!; aka The Hunting Trilogy. If more people watched these shorts, they would agree, but so far, I'm lonely in this compartment. If you liked this one, Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit! Duck! are even better. Watch, and enjoy.