"Broom-Stick Bunny" is a 1956 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce.
Witch Hazel, who is "deathly afraid" of getting pretty as she grows older, is always asking her magic mirror who's the ugliest one of all. Every day, he says it's her, much to her delight. But one Halloween, when Bugs Bunny, who's trick-or-treating in a hideous witch costume, knocks at Hazel's door, the mirror proclaims Bugs to be the ugliest. Can Hazel find a way to be the most hideous again?
"Broom-Stick Bunny" provides examples of:
- Baddie Flattery: Witch Hazel, when she thinks Bugs is a witch, compliments him on his looks while secretly planning to slip him a beauty potion.Witch Hazel: I warn you, dearie, I'm going to worm all of your ugly secrets out of you. Tell me now, who undoes your hair?
Bugs: [coyly] Do you like it?
Witch Hazel: Like it? Why, it's absolutely hideous!
Bugs: I did myself up tonight.
Witch Hazel: There's nothing like a home permanent. - Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: Witch Hazel is "deathly afraid" of getting pretty as she grows older and is always asking her magic mirror who's the ugliest one of all.
- Driven by Envy: Witch Hazel, mistaking Bugs for a witch more hideous than she, is determined to remain the "ugliest one of all". She invites Bugs in, then serves him a beauty potion disguised as tea.
- Flying Broomstick: Played with. At one point, Witch Hazel mounts a broom and tries to fly on it, only for it to start sweeping the floor, then throw her off.Witch Hazel: Crazy me. That was my sweeping broom.
- Halloween Episode: The cartoon takes place on Halloween night.
- Hoist by Her Own Petard: Witch Hazel accidentally drinks the beauty potion that was meant for Bugs. To her horror, she turns into a gorgeous redhead.
- Inksuit Actor: Hazel’s post-potion appearance is directly based on her voice actress, June Foray.
- Magic Cauldron: As the episode begins, Witch Hazel is stirring a brew in a cauldron.
- Magic Mirror: The spirit in the mirror is a genie.Witch Hazel: [after seeing Bugs] Magic mirror on the wall,
Who is the ugliest one of all?
Genie: Thou wert the ugliest one, 'tis true.
But that creep is uglier far than you! - Not a Mask: Inverted. Witch Hazel mistakes Bugs' witch mask for a real face. She doesn't realize he's not a witch until he tries to drink the "tea" she serves him.[Bugs raises the cup to his masked lips.]
Witch Hazel: Come on, come on! Drink it, drink it!
Bugs: Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. I'll have to take off me mask first.
Witch Hazel: Mask? - Puppy-Dog Eyes: Witch Hazel, on realizing her "rival" is a rabbit, remembers that one of the ingredients for the brew she was making is a rabbit's clavicle. Just as she's about to kill Bugs, he looks at her with huge, sad eyes. Hazel can't bring herself to kill him because he reminds her of her pet tarantula Paul.
- Shout-Out: To The Lone Ranger. Witch Hazel, when unknowingly mounting her sweeping broom, shouts, "Hi-Yo, Sliver, away!"
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: When she can't bring herself to kill Bugs, Hazel breaks down crying. Bugs, in an attempt to make her feel better, offers her a cup of the "tea" she had served. Without thinking, she drinks it and is turned into a gorgeous redhead. Aghast, she asks the magic mirror who the ugliest one of all is. The genie, on seeing Hazel's new look, bursts out of the mirror and starts chasing her on a Magic Carpet, to her horror.
- Stairwell Chase: Witch Hazel, on remembering she needs a rabbit's clavicle for her brew, chases Bugs up and down a few flights of stairs while wielding a meat cleaver.
- Vain Sorceress: Witch Hazel is always consulting her magic mirror to ensure she's still the "ugliest one of all" and becomes jealous when she thinks Bugs is a witch who's more hideous than she is.
- Wicked Witch: Witch Hazel, who attempts to give Bugs a beauty potion so she'll be the ugliest again, then tries to cut him in half when she realizes he's a rabbit.
- You Remind Me of X: Witch Hazel raises her meat cleaver to cut Bugs in two, but he pulls a Puppy-Dog Eyes on her, causing her to drop the knife, retreat to her table, and burst into tears.Witch Hazel: [crying] You remind me of... of Paul!
Bugs: Paul?
Witch Hazel: My pet tarantula.
