Rabbit's Kin is a 1952 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson, starring Bugs Bunny. This short also marks the debut of a new antagonist for Bugs, Pete Puma. Though this is his sole "Golden Age" appearance, Pete would go on to become a semi-recurring character in the franchise, making appearances in numerous future iterations and a second theatrical short, Pullet Surprise in 1997, in which he's paired with Foghorn Leghorn.
In this short, Bugs meets a young unnamed rabbit (dubbed "Shorty" by him) who warns him of a ferocious beast that tried to eat them. Bugs realizes said "ferocious beast" is the dimwitted Pete Puma, and decides to help the young rabbit out while having some "fun" with Pete while he's at it.
Rabbit's Kin provides examples of:
- Ambiguous Gender: It's not quite made clear whether the young rabbit is a boy or a girl.
- Brick Joke: Pete gives Bugs an exploding cigar at the beginning, which Bugs decides to save for later. After a spot of tea with Pete which ends in Bugs giving him some Cranial Eruptions, he promptly gives him the cigar.
- Comically Missing the Point: Pete (disguised as the young rabbit's mother) stops Bugs from setting up tea with him a second time... because he'd rather have coffee.
- Cranial Eruption: Bugs provides a few to Pete throughout the short whenever he asks for some lumps for his tea/coffee/oven.
- Crazy-Prepared: The second time Bugs tries to offer Pete some lumps, Pete reveals he decided to wear an Acme stove lid, protecting him from Bugs’s mallet. However, Bugs has an Acme stove lid remover he uses to take it off and cause the lumps to appear as he intended.
- Exact Words: Bugs will always give Pete some "lumps" when he wants them. Also, when he gives Pete 5 lumps instead of 4 like he asked, he takes a tiny hammer and pounds one of the lumps in until only 4 are left.
- Explosive Cigar: Pete gives one to Bugs, though unfortunately for him he decides to save it for later instead of having it right then and there. Even more unfortunately, Bugs lets him have it shortly afterwards.
- Got Me Doing It: At the end of the short, Bugs makes the same inhaling noise Pete had been occasionally making.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Bugs tells Pete he should take him instead of the young rabbit, convincing the puma to grab him by the hand. Bugs immediately slaps Pete, offended the puma would try and touch him unprompted.Pete: But you told me to, you told me to, you told me to!
- Motor Mouth: Shorty speaks a mile a minute. It's a wonder that Bugs can understand him at all.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Pete's voice is based on comedian Frank Fontaine's character John L. C. Silvoney from The Jack Benny Program.
- No Name Given: The young rabbit Bugs meets doesn't seem to have been given a name. Bugs dubs them "Shorty", though it's unknown whether this is its actual name or nickname.
- Oh, Crap!: When asked by his "cousin" how many lumps of coal he wants for the fire, Pete tells him he'll need "a whooole lot of lumps". He immediately realizes he just talked to Bugs and that he's about to give him exactly what he asked for.
- Paper-Thin Disguise:
- Notable in that for once, it's Bugs's foe that actually tries to pull this off, claiming to be Shorty's mother. Neither Bugs nor Shorty are fooled.
- Bugs himself does this in his usual fashion at the end, claiming to be Pete's cousin Paul Puma. Pete doesn't realize it's him until he asks for some lumps (of coal).
- Rule of Three: Bugs asks Pete how many "lumps" he'd like three times throughout the short.
- Secret Message Wink: Shorty pleads for Bugs not to let them go with their "mother" (Pete in disguise), but Bugs makes it clear he knows the guise and intends on giving Pete another workout this way, convincing Shorty to go along.
- The Unintelligible: Played With regarding Shorty. They actually are speaking English, provided by Mel Blanc, it's just sped up to the point where it's sort of hard to make out without slowing the audio down. Bugs conveniently repeats abbreviated versions of what they said.
- Too Dumb to Live: Pete manages to prevent Bugs from clobbering him for a third time, claiming he'll get the lumps himself... and he then proceeds to start hitting himself on the head repeatedly.
- Verbal Tic: Pete makes a loud inhaling sound after speaking sometimes.
