Super-Rabbit (1943) User Reviews

An enjoyable Bugs Bunny cartoon

[ja_kitty_71 · 6/10 · 24 January 2009]

I found this an enjoyable Bugs Bunny cartoon with story written by Tedd Pierce. Normally I don't really like parody; in fact I hate it! Also I'm not too crazy about Superman either because I'm rooting for Batman. But I do love it when Bugs becomes "SUPER RABBIT!" defending the rabbits of "Deepinharta," Texas from Cottontail Smith the rabbit hater. I mean, dude! What have you got against rabbits huh?

One more thing to point out is that I really against animal testing - in real life that is. Like Bugs was a test subject in the laboratory of a scientist who has invented a "super carrot," which when eaten by Bugs gives him Superman-like powers. Overall I give this short an 6/10 stars for a mediocre story-line.

"Time out whilst I think up some more deviltry."

[utgard14 · 8/10 · 8 September 2015]

Classic Looney Tunes take on Superman (probably one of the very first such parodies). In this story, Bugs Bunny eats a carrot created by a mad scientist and gains super powers. He decides to use these powers to take on famous Texas rabbit hunter Cottontail Smith. Many funny lines and gags follow, ending with Bugs deciding to become a REAL Superman in a nicely patriotic ending. The animation is wonderful with lovely colors and backgrounds. I especially liked the scientist's laboratory. The music is lively and fun. Superb voicework from Mel Blanc and Kent Rogers. It's a great cartoon with a still-evolving Bugs Bunny that should please any Looney Tunes fan. Plus it should be of interest to Superman fans who might not typically watch these old cartoons.

BUGS BUNNY! BUGS BUNNY! RAH! RAH! RAH!

[Draco1138 · 26 May 2002]

This of one of the best Bugs Bunny films ever. Aside from the comedy it is also memorable due to both the coming of WWII. I loved the bit with Bug's hoping along with the cowboy as all the characters switch positions. Also...when Bug's "assumes the role of a woodland creature" he's a perfect Clark Kent. The best has to be the Bugs Bunny Cheer.

"Bricka bracka firecracker sis boom bah! Bugs Bunny!Bugs Bunny! Bugs Bunny! RAH RAH RAH!"

Finally Bugs' admitting that, "This looks like a job for a REAL super hero," and emerges as a Marine. :)

Yes, 'Superman'' Was Already Known By This Time

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 5 May 2007]

People would find it hard to believe that "Superman" was around in the early '40s, early enough to be parodied in this 1943 cartoon. George Reeves made the character famous on television but that wasn't for about another eight or nine years. Before that, there were two serials. I was shocked myself that they were imitating Superman this early on in a cartoon.

Superman began on the radio in 1941 and Bud Collyer, who became famous years after as host on TV's "To Tell The Truth" voiced the title role!

Anyway, in this cartoon we get the tale of "Bugs Bunny: Super-Rabbit" and what "caused this extraordinary metamorphose of a timid woodland creature into the super-dynamic rabbit of tomorrow!"

It seems a wild-looking scientist (aren't they all in classic movie era?) has an experimental rabbit which has a scientific name: rabbitus idiotus americanus. I wonder if the Road Runner cartoon writers got their inspiration for that watching this? Anyway, Richard Haydn's unmistakable voice plays "Professor Canafrazz," so that's an unexpected bonus. Haydn was always fun to hear in regular movies. Eating a special carrot gives Bugs his new super powers. Looking a newspaper headline about a guy who wants to wipe out all the rabbits gives Bugs his first assignment as the new superhero.

For an early BB cartoon, this was great stuff and not far off his wise guy character of the next decade which brought him super fame. True, it has that early '40s cornball humor that is more stupid than the better material of the '50s, but it's still Bugs and it's still pretty clever and unpredictable most of the time. Bugs' disguise with the Clark Kent-glasses and the phone booth out in the middle of Texas was hilarious!

A classic parody of the Fleischer Brothers' 'Superman' series

[phantom_tollbooth · 10/10 · 4 November 2008]

Chuck Jones's 'Super Rabbit' is an excellent parody of the Fleischer Brothers 'Superman' cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny in the title role. Starting with an incisive comic recreation of the Fleischer opening sequences, 'Super Rabbit' quickly shows us the origins of Bugs's super powers before segueing into an extended battle in the Texas desert with the Yosemite Sam prototype, Cottontail Smith (via a wacky Clampett-esquire gag involving a horse walking in the sky). The early parts of the cartoon are good but once the main plot kicks in, 'Super Rabbit' goes from great to classic. Particularly exceptional is a basketball game with a cannonball in which Bugs manages to dupe his enemies into actually cheering for him. 'Super Rabbit' is as gorgeous to look at as it is funny and, while I was disappointed with the patriotic ending as a child (I didn't really get it), I now find it a fascinating climax which gives us a glimpse at the mentality of cinema goers during World War 2. It's even more interesting to note that the US Marines were so flattered by Bugs deeming them as the greatest superheroes of all that they officially made him a US marine. It's perhaps the most telling example of just how important these cartoons were in keeping up morale during wartime and how seriously this issue was taken. It's a historically significant climax to a classic early Bugs Bunny short which has been one of my favourite of the rabbit's films since I was very young.

Bugs as Super-Rabbit

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 8 May 2010]

This was a fun parody on the superhero genre, and Bugs couldn't have been a more perfect choice as the one and only "Super-Rabbit". The story is a nice one, not the best structured one there is, but it is never dull and moves quickly. The animation is beautifully done, and the music is top-notch. The supporting characters are careful not to overshadow Bugs while being effective on their own terms too. I loved the visual gags and the witty and razor sharp dialogue. And I too loved Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations, with Kent Rogers also great as Professor Canafrazz. Overall, a fun Bugs Bunny cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

God bless Ameri-Bugs!

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 25 December 2005]

Still in his relative infancy, Bugs Bunny becomes a superhero out to fight an anti-rabbit cowboy. I really liked the scene of the two of them on the horse. Maybe the wartime themes make us cringe a little bit nowadays, but they're not vicious by any stretch (although I hear that some Looney Tunes cartoons were). Maybe this wasn't the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoon in history, but it's definitely worth seeing. Anyone can plainly see why the Looney Tunes cartoons from the '40s and '50s were some of the best cartoons in cinema history (I can't say the same for their modern cartoons; for starters, no more Mel Blanc). A real classic.

"Aw, you shouldn't have oughtta have done it, Edison."

[slymusic · 21 August 2009]

"Super-Rabbit" is a super-terrific, somewhat nonsensical Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Chuck Jones, with an excellent music score by - who else? - Carl W. Stalling. Our long-eared hero a crime stopper?! Who would've thunk it? But it's true! Mild-mannered Bugs, after eating a super carrot, becomes SUPER-RABBIT! Just in time to match wits with that famous Texas rabbit hater Cottontail Smith.

My favorite moments from this cartoon: As Cottontail Smith and his horse literally hop along the prairie, Bugs joins them and they assume some funny riding positions. We hear a rousing football march as Bugs plays basketball with a cannonball. I also like the various adjectives the scientist uses to describe his super carrot, and the upward shot of Bugs falling after he leaps over a tall building. Funniest of all is when Bugs suddenly becomes a cheerleader for Smith and his horse: "Bricka-bracka firecracker sis-boom-ba! Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny, rah-rah-rah!"

Oh, how I loved "Super-Rabbit" when I first saw it during my high school days, and how I still love it today! Bugs Bunny is a true American hero, a tough guy with a generous heart, brainy rather than brawny, the kind of character who can get away with doing to his adversaries what we would all love to do to ours!

Slumming "Deepinaharta, Texas," Bugs Bunny suggests . . .

[oscaralbert · 9/10 · 6 June 2016]

. . . that fighting Lone Star Staters makes for a perfect warm-up to battling Big Boy Antagonists, such as the Nazis and the Tokyo Tojos of World War Two. Just as America had dispatched U.N. Charter Human Rights Violator Texas and other states of such a Confederate ilk as a Spring Training exercise prior to defeating 162 Native American Nations during the grueling Regular Season, Bugs Bunny takes on Texan Cottontail Smith and Smith's Super-Horse during his Training Day before tackling Hitler and Hirohito for the U.S. Marines. As anybody who has seen HEDDY HOSTS HOUSTON knows, if there's one kind of competition Texans are good at, it's Partially-dressed Cheerleading. Perhaps the highlight of SUPER-RABBIT comes when Bugs plays a round of Cannonball with Lonesome and his nag, then leads the prickly pair into a fast-paced old-school cheer: "Rickenbacker firecracker Shish-Boom-Bah! Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny, Rah, Rah, Rah!" Heddy herself could not have squealed it any better.

You will believe a rabbit can fly

[Op_Prime · 15 January 2000]

This was an extremely funny Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny gains super powers by eating special carrots, dons a suit similar to Superman and goes after Cottontail Smith. There were a lot of funny and original gags in this cartoon. Probably one of the best Bugs Bunny cartoons ever. If you enjoyed this cartoon, I suggest you see Daffy Duck don the super suit in 'Stupor Duck.'

Is it a bird? No, it's Bugs Bunny!

[Petey-10 · 8 November 2011]

This 1943 Merrie Melodies cartoon transforms Bugs Bunny into Superman, with big ears.In Charles M. Jones' Super-Rabbit Professor Cannafraz gives Bugs Bunny a super carrot, that gives him incredible strength and a flying ability.He flies out to fight Cottontail Smith, whose plan is to hunt down all the rabbits.The voice artists here are Mel Blanc, Tedd Pierce and Kent Rogers.This short is the most hilarious Superman parody.Like in the scene where Bugs passes by a horse in the air, who shouts, "a rabbit? Up HERE!?"Or Bugs playing basketball with a cannonball.In the end Bugs becomes a Marine, which made the U.S. Marine Corps so glad they wanted the character to be officially inducted into the force as a private.What a hero, that Bugs Bunny!