Bonanza Bunny was a 1959 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson, starring Bugs Bunny and Blacque Jacque Shellacque.
Bugs pops into the Malibu Saloon in Dawson City, Yukon, for a drink, while addressing the contents of his little bag. No sooner does he take the glass than… BANG! The other patrons take a look at who issued the shot and promptly skedaddle, leaving Bugs to deal with him alone. Bugs more than proves to be up to the challenge, as he constantly gets the better of his nemesis.
Not that Jacque makes it easy for him. In the final gag, Jacque looks like he finally gets the upper hand on Bugs, who retreats to a powder room. Finding himself cornered and unable to keep him away for much longer, Bugs finds a small gunpowder bag, swaps it out, and hands it over (albeit with a little cut in the bottom). Watching the explosive finale, Bugs tosses away his original bag and boards a dogsled to ride off.
Tropes appearing in this cartoon:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Wanted… Blacque Jacque Shellacque, for Claim Jumping, Pogo Sticking… and Square Dance Calling. (It was once the page image for the Western Animation section, before being replaced by a similar poster of Nasty Canasta. But just what kind of a square dance was it, anyway?)
- Artistic License – History: As rip-roaring as it was at the time, the actual Yukon area was no hotbed of lawlessness. Despite the flourishing of bordellos and gambling halls, the RCMP kept the violence to a strict minimum. There were even fines for working on a Sunday, of all things!
- Ash Face: Jacque gets two: when he mistakes a TNT stick for a phone receiver, and when he pulls the cork on a pop gun Bugs is holding. A third is implied through the gunpowder trail Bugs takes a match to as Jacque runs off with the punctured bag.
- Bowdlerization: ABC removed everything between the 21 card game and Bugs’ “surrender” (comprising of the cork-pulling gag and its lead-up, as well as Jacque’s TNT phone receiver), see Ash Face.
- Department of Redundancy Department: As Bugs enters the saloon: “Hi, fellers, hi!”
- Five-Aces Cheater: Blacque Jacque Shellacque does this subtly; both the cards he draws in blackjack are a Ten of Spades, and looking closely reveals he pulled the second one out of his sleeve. Bugs, though, doesn't even try to hide it, winning with the 21 of Hearts.
- Huge Rider, Tiny Mount: A variation. Bugs' sled is pulled by a single chihuahua.
- Magic Poker Equation: “I win, 21! Har-har, hardy har-har!” (A 21 of hearts!)
- Obfuscating Stupidity: “Can I stand on one card?”
- Powder Trail: Bugs gives Jacque a bag of gunpowder with a hole cut on the bottom instead of the bag of gold nuggets. As Jacque runs off into the horizon with the "gold", Bugs lights the trail, which causes a huge explosion in the distance; Bugs then marvels at how beautiful the "northern lights" are tonight.
- Recycled Animation: The animation of the saloon customers rushing off as Jacque appears is taken from "Drip-Along Daffy".
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here There are upturned tables, chairs, and even cards and tokens as the remaining patrons vanish.
- Shout-Out: To Robert W. Service's poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" (famously parodied twice by Tex Avery). Bugs arrives at the Malibu Saloon (spoofing the poem's Malamute Saloon) and the narrator paraphrases the opening lines.
- "Wanted!" Poster: As with Nasty Canasta on "Drip-Along Daffy", Blacque Jacque Shellacque is introduced standing in front of his wanted poster, with a similar Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking gag.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: The Reveal at the end of the cartoon, as Bugs throws away the bag containing the rocks.Bugs: It's amazing the kind of fun you can have with a bag of rocks and a can of yellow paint.
