"I would just love a duck dinner."note
"Awfully unsporting of me, I know, but, what the hey, I gotta have SOME fun!"
—Daffy Duck in the opening.note
"Rabbit Seasoning" is a 1952 Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.
The second in a trilogy of Bugs-Daffy-Elmer cartoons known as the "hunting trilogy," the others being Rabbit Fire (1951) and Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1953). The short revolves around another Bugs, Daffy, and Elmer team-up in which Daffy is trying to save his skin again — only to be foiled by Elmer's typical incompetence again and again.
"No more tropes for me, thanks, I'm driving":
- Ambiguous Syntax: Played for Laughs between Bugs and Daffy:Daffy: Say, what's the matter with you, anyway! Don't you even know a rabbit when you see one? Hmm?
Bugs: It's true, doc, I'm a rabbit, all right. Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home?
Daffy: Shoot him now! Shoot him!
Bugs: You keep out of this! He doesn't have to shoot you now!
Daffy: He does so have to shoot me now! I demand that you shoot me now! Nyah! [Elmer shoots Daffy]
Daffy: Let's run through that again.
Bugs: Okay. Would you like to shoot me now, or wait till you get home?
Daffy: [in a calm voice] Shoot him now, shoot him now.
Bugs [in a calm voice] You keep out of this, he doesn't have to shoot you now.
Daffy: Ha! That's it! Hold it right there! Pronoun Trouble. It's not "he doesn't have to shoot 'you' now", it's "he doesn't have to shoot 'me' now". Well, I say he does have to shoot me now! So shoot me now! [Elmer shoots Daffy once again]
Bugs: Ye-es?
Daffy: Oh, no you don't. Not again, sorry. This time we'll try it from the other end. Look, you're a hunter, right?
Elmer: Wight.
Daffy: And this is rabbit season, right?
Elmer: Wight.
Bugs: And if he was a rabbit, what would you do?
Daffy: Yeah, you're so smart? If I was a rabbit, what would you do?
Elmer: Well, I'd — [Elmer aims his gun at Daffy]
Daffy: [worriedly] Not again. [Elmer blasts Daffy once more] - Amusing Injuries: By this point, Daffy is mildly irritated at being shot by Elmer Fudd.
- Armor-Piercing Question: After getting duped a second time into telling Elmer to shoot him, Daffy is all set to angrily scream at Bugs. The rabbit's smug "Ye-es?" completely deflates the duck's posturing and causes him to try talking to Elmer instead.
- Aside Glance: Though Bugs does this a couple times, Daffy reacts this way whenever he gets shot or whenever Elmer falls for one of Bugs' tricks.
- Elmer himself does this the first time Daffy says "So, shoot me now" as if he needed to double-check to make sure he heard Daffy correctly.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Elmer falls for one of Bugs' female disguises once again.
- Burma-Shave: The famous campaign is spoofed with the signs in the opening shot.IF YOURE [sic] LOOKING FOR FUNYOU DON'T NEED A REASONALL YOU NEED IS A GUNIT'S RABBIT SEASON! (Spoiler alert: It's not!)
- Batman Gambit: Daffy puts up all the "Rabbit Season" signs because it's actually duck season and he doesn't want to get shot. Of course, this doesn't work because Bugs always tricks Elmer into shooting him anyway.
- Butt-Monkey: Daffy getting shot by Elmer becomes a Running Gag.
- Captain Obvious: Elmer's first line is him telling the audience that it's rabbit season, all while tiptoeing past dozens of signs stating just that.
- Comically Missing the Point: "It's not 'he doesn't have to shoot you now', it's 'he doesn't have to shoot me now'. (beat) Well I say he does have to shoot me now! (beat) SO SHOOT ME NOW!!!" *gets shot*
- Disguised in Drag: Bugs disguises himself as a Southern belle who would just love a duck dinner.
- Duck Season, Rabbit Season: "Would you like to shoot me now, or wait until you get home?"
- Enraged by Idiocy: Daffy is so dumbfounded that Elmer can't recognise Bugs while talking to him that he breaks from his hiding place and berates him.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: The Trope Namer appears in this short.
- Failed a Spot Check: When Bugs asks Elmer if he's having any luck hunting wabbits this season, Elmer sheepishly admits he hasn't even seen one yet. Daffy is appropriately annoyed.
- Hollywood Healing: Though Daffy hardly seems injured by his shotgun blasts to the face anyway, all it seems to do is misplace his beak.
- Ignored Epiphany: As described below, Daffy pinpoints exactly how Bugs is using Pronoun Trouble against him. He then falls for the trick the same way as before.
- Iron Butt Monkey: Daffy.
- Juggling Loaded Guns
- Lampshade Hanging: Daffy several times lampshades the by-now rote elements of the Bugs/Elmer shorts, including Elmer not recognizing that Bugs is a rabbit, and that the "girl" that just wowed him is Bugs in drag.
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: After getting a face full of shotgun, Daffy comes back down in the rabbit hole, and delivers this.Bugs: Is he still there?
Daffy: [very woozy] Still lurking about!
Bugs: I tell you what. You go up and act as a decoy, then lure 'im away.
Daffy: No More for Me, thanks, I'm driving! - Oh, No... Not Again!:Daffy: Look. You're a hunter. Right?
Elmer: Wight.
Daffy: And this is rabbit season, right?
Elmer: Wight.
Bugs: And if he was a rabbit, what would you do?
Daffy: Yeah, you're so smart! If I was a rabbit, what would ya do?
Elmer: Well, I'd— [evels his gun at Daffy]
Daffy: [meekly] Not again... - Parental Bonus: Daffy after he gets shot yet again by Elmer: "No more for me, thanks! I'm drivin'!"
- Post-Kiss Catatonia: When the crossdressed Bugs kisses Elmer, he staggers away blissfully and his rifle goes off in Daffy's face.
- Pronoun Trouble:
- This cartoon is the Trope Namer, and it uses the trope to the hilt.Bugs: [to Elmer] Would you like to shoot me now, or wait 'till you get home?
Daffy: [jumping in the air and waving his arms about] Shoot him now! Shoot him now!
Bugs: [annoyed] You keep out of this! He doesn't have to shoot you now!
Daffy: He does so have to shoot me now! - The trope naming scene sees Daffy force Bugs into running the previous scene back... and he still gets tripped up regardless.Daffy: [calmly; pokes Bugs] Let's run through that again.
Bugs: Okay. [both calmly turn to face the camera; deadpan] Would you like to shoot me now or wait 'till we get home?
Daffy: [deadpan] Shoot him now, shoot him now.
Bugs: [deadpan] You keep out of this, he doesn't have to shoot you now.
Daffy: [shoves a finger into Bugs' face] Hah! That's it! Hold it right there! [to the viewer] Pronoun trouble. [to Bugs] It's not "He doesn't have to shoot you now", it's "He doesn't have to shoot me now". [pauses, then yells] Well, I say he does have to shoot me now! [runs up to Elmer] So, shoot me now! [bang]
- This cartoon is the Trope Namer, and it uses the trope to the hilt.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Half the time, Daffy catches on that Bugs is Briar Patching him, but he still winds up falling for it because he keeps focusing on the wrong details (see Pronoun Trouble).
- Running Gag:
- Daffy getting shot and his beak winding up in so many different positions.
- Also, "Would you like to shoot me now, or wait until you get home?" Last time, Daffy got Elmer to wait, then they get home and *bang*.
- Something Else Also Rises: Elmer's hat, when the crossdressed Bugs kisses him (also, the rifle going off as Elmer staggers away in Post-Kiss Catatonia).
- Smarter Than You Look: Despite him easily falling for Bugs's tricks, Daffy realizes that Bugs somehow keeps getting Daffy shot. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize what that tactic is.
- Smug Snake: Daffy. He is wilier than Elmer, but his ego insists on taking on the much more competent Bugs as well.
- Taught by Experience: After getting shot twice in succession because of Pronoun Trouble, Daffy forgoes going at it with Bugs a third time and tries talking to Elmer instead. However, Bugs decides to interject in the questioning and gets Daffy worked up into getting shot again. Finally, he tries to get the upper hand on Elmer but still ends up getting shot, much to his dismay.
- Bugs: He's got me dead to rights, doc. Would you like to shoot him here or wait till you get home?
Daffy: Oh, no you don't. Not this time. Wait till you get home.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Elmer. He seems to have forgotten that Bugs himself is a wabbit.
- And Daffy, despite his attempts at "self preservation", he will chastise the gun-wielding huntsman right to his face.Daffy: He does so have to shoot me now! I demand that you shoot me now!
- Villain Ball: Daffy had already succeeded in escaping Elmer from the very start of the short, with him believing it is Rabbit Season and Bugs being more than willing to start his usual back and forth with the hunter. Nevertheless he still breaks from his hiding spot, attempting to coach Elmer for not getting the job done. It's not enough to escape getting his head blown off, Bugs has to get blasted by Elmer in his place, and Daffy has to be there to see it. Of course, Daffy might have stayed in his hiding place had Elmer recognized Bugs was a rabbit. Daffy's so disgusted by Elmer's stupidity that he comes out of hiding — and plays right into Bugs's hands.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Bugs in one of his most famous moments.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Elmer casually chats with Bugs, completely unaware he's a rabbit and saying he hasn't seen one all day. Watching this from behind a boulder, Daffy has this stunned expression on his face.
"You're deSPICable!"
