French Rarebit (1951) User Reviews

Colorful, But Not Too Humorous

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 14 April 2007]

Bugs, hiding inside a crate of carrots, winds up on the streets of Paris when the crate falls off the truck. He then meanders down the street and is spotted by competing chefs. They both think the rabbit is what they need to complete their menus. The colors in here are magnificent as they make Paris look really colorful.

Our bunny hero, as he usually does, makes fools of his opponents in a variety of ways that makes them look really stupid. In this case, one of the chefs is a little too stupid for humor. Although there were a handful of funny lines at the expense of the French stereotypes at the time, this really wasn't one of the better Bugs Bunny efforts.

Starts off slow, but when it livens up it is very amusing

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 22 April 2010]

I do agree that this is not one of Bug's better efforts, but it is an amusing little cartoon. What doesn't make it as good is that the first two minutes or so is a tad slow and unfunny, but once the action moves to the kitchen it is then when it gets quite amusing. There are a number of good things, particularly the art work, as the Parisian backgrounds are beautiful to look at. The music is great, and the sight gags in the latter half range from pretty good to very good indeed. Bugs himself is great, and the two chefs are not too bad either, personally it would have been better with just one chef but oh well. Finally, Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations are stellar as always. Overall, slow to start with, but it is really quite amusing once it kicks off. 8/10 Bethany Cox

When critters chow down on humans . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 12 May 2016]

. . . it's seldom with this much fanfare. You might remember that we first meet Bruce the Great White scarfing down Bikini Girl in JAWS. Mr. B. does not take the time so much as to salt her (though perhaps this would be a redundant condiment, given her basting of seawater). Similarly, the grizzly did not waste any ketchup on Leo in THE REVENANT. And while the first title character (SPOILER ALERT!) of A BOY AND HIS DOG feeds the spunky gal to the second, Worchester Sauce is nowhere to be seen (though this pair cannot be classified as savages, as they enjoy their repast well-done over an open flame). In FRENCH RAREBIT, Bugs Bunny marinates, pickles, flours, kneads, seasons, and finally cooks two Frenchmen. Warner Bros. cannot be accused of promoting cannibalism, as these Frogs are technically human and Bugs himself is, of course, a rabbit. Since most people feel no qualms about dismembering, cooking, chewing up, and digesting their fellow mammal friends, Warner is simply presenting Bugs here in a more humane light.

Minor Bugs

[Michael_Elliott · 2 May 2009]

French Rarebit (1951)

** (out of 4)

Bugs Bunny finds himself in Paris, walking down a street when rival chefs start fighting over which one will have Bugs on their menu that night. Soon Bugs joins the fighting in order to make both of them look like fools. This was never one of my favorite Bugs shorts and I'd probably say this is one of the least entertaining over all. There's some nice imagination and good animation but outside of that this thing is pretty lifeless. You expect a lot more in terms of laughs but there's not a single one here, which is rather shocking. Another problem are the two chefs and how bland and boring they are. Not once did they make me laugh and they even manage to bring Bugs down to their unfunny level.

"Uh-oh, something tells me this little grey hare's in the middle again."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 22 September 2015]

Bugs arrives in Paris via a delivery truck carrying carrots from the US. As he's walking down the street, he catches the attention of not one but two French chefs who want to cook him for dinner. The rest of the cartoon has the two rival chefs trying to see who gets Bugs, all the while Bugs is easily outsmarting them both. It's a perfectly enjoyable cartoon but, as others have said, not one of Bugs' best. The gags are amusing but nothing really hilarious. The voice work from Mel Blanc and Tedd Pierce (who also wrote the story) is great. The music is energetic and fun. I love the animation in this one. The colors are lush and bright. The characters are well-drawn and the backgrounds are quite detailed, which wasn't always the case for a Looney Tunes short.

Always a favorite!

[badtzxo · 10/10 · 17 July 2008]

For whatever reason, (probably that I saw this cartoon 6 billion times on TV when I was a kid) this one has always stuck with me. The music stand out for me too.

When Bugs is 'kneading" the two Chefs—that "urmf! oof! arf!" sound Bugs makes has cracked me up for almost fifty years!

I also love the characterizations of the two chefs: their outrageous, over-the-top accents of the Chefs and just their whole look—particularly with rabbit teeth.

I admit, there's not much to the script. Perhaps it stands out for the never-before-seen characters...

Nom de plume! This is a great cartoon!

[StSangue · 9/10 · 3 June 2001]

This is the epitome of great comic satire. No one is safe when they try to conquer Bugs, not even the French.

Ever the victim of species-ism, Bugs is caught between two rival French chefs. But the tables are turned in the end when Bugs turns them both into rabbits and serves up a tasty dish of revenge.

Quoi est up, Doc?

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 8 October 2006]

Bugs Bunny gets caught between two snooty Parisian chefs trying to turn him into their main course. Once again, the team behind the Looney Tunes cartoons created a clever, irreverent litany of wackiness. If "French Rarebit" has any problem, it's that the cartoon stereotypes France. But hey, this is a joke here! The point is to luxuriate in Bugs's antics. And believe me, you're sure to have a good time. As we should all know by now, nothing is sacred to Bugs, as he trashes the rules day in and day out. It's a hoot from start to finish. In conclusion: Vive la France! Because we might just all be the pickle.

Moan-sirs and madame-oizels. Ha!

Too many cooks...

[phantom_tollbooth · 5/10 · 1 October 2008]

When two French chefs face off against each other over who gets to cook Bugs Bunny, Bugs winds up cooking them in this rather bizarre Robert McKimson short. The main problem with 'French Rarebit' is the chef characters who are both grating stereotypes, less offensive than they are just plain annoying (think the leprechauns from Chuck Jones's 'The Wearing of the Grin'). The whining pseudo-French takes up far more time than it should. The early scenes in which Bugs plays the two chefs off against each other are slow and unfunny but once he accompanies just one of the chefs to the kitchen, the cartoon begins to liven up. The scene in which Bugs walks him through a recipe by using him as the main ingredient is very funny indeed. When the other chef returns, however, the cartoon just begins repeating itself with gags that don't stand up to a second appearance in the same short. It seems that writer Tedd Pierce over-reached himself by including two chefs as rivals to Bugs when one would have been sufficient and made the film less cluttered. 'French Rarebit', then, is a quintessential example of "Too many cooks spoil the broth".

Cooking with Bugs

[slymusic · 26 January 2008]

"French Rarebit" is a brilliant Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. While in Paris, Bugs becomes the subject of two competing chefs' dinner menus. As all of us Bugs Bunny fans have come to expect by now, the "wascawwy wabbit" manages to outwit the two French culinary blowhards. And how!

Highlights from "French Rarebit" include the following. The cartoon opens with the two chefs battling each other in order to capture Bugs. Bugs shows one of the chefs his "secret recipe" by switching places with him and dressing him up as a rabbit while the popular song "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" (also heard in countless other Warner Bros. cartoons) plays in the background; Bugs then tortures the chef by immersing him in a wine barrel, stuffing his mouth with tons of HOT ingredients, dipping him in flour, and kneading him!

What's the moral of this story? Don't ever mess with Bugs Bunny, no matter how hungry your customers are!

Another lackluster Bugs short from McKimson

[movieman_kev · 5/10 · 29 October 2005]

Mention the name Robert McKimson to any TRUE Looney Tunes fan and you're likely to get a sad sigh in return. The man just did not know how to make good Bugs Bunny cartoons. This one about Bugs in France mixing it up with two rival chefs who each want the rabbit for their own respective cuisines, is not an exception to the rule. On the contrary, it proves the rule by being yet another lackluster effort by McKimson indeed. I mean any bugs is good bugs, but his shorts are pretty mundane and I find myself saddened when I have to sit through one. This animated short can be seen on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C