The Wacky Wabbit is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Bob Clampett and starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
The cartoon is centered on Elmer Fudd travelling through a desert to dig for gold to help out with the war effort. Along the way, he encounters rascally Bugs Bunny, who, unfortunately for Elmer, is here to screw around with him on his journey.
Tropes:
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Bugs uses scissors to reveal Elmer's girdle, Elmer glances at the audience and quips "Don't waugh, I bet pwenty of you men wear won of dese."
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Rather unusually, when Elmer finally snaps and decides he's going to take his gold from Bug's jaw, he grabs hold of Bugs and absolutely mauls him.
- Desert Skull: Bugs emerges from a burrow under a cow skull, which he wears on his head while first teasing Elmer.
- Fan Disservice: The gag where Bugs cuts open Elmer Fudd's clothes, revealing that he wears a girdle.
- Flat Scare: Bugs manages to scare Elmer by wearing a skull and playfully saying "Boo!" to his face. Elmer then freaks out and runs off—only to quickly catch on that he's been tricked and run back to confront Bugs.
- Goofy Print Underwear: Elmer is revealed to be wearing polka dot boxers along with his girdle when Bugs cuts his pants.
- It Amused Me: A prime example of Bugs at his most Rascally Rabbit-esque; Elmer does absolutely nothing whatsoever, not even accidentally, to provoke Bugs' bullying behavior, just being out prospecting for gold to contribute to the US war effort, and when he realises that Bugs is stalking him he merely responds "Dat's dat skwewy wabbit... oh well." Bugs, not Elmer, is the actual antagonist of the cartoon.
- Motion Blur: Bugs and Elmer move like this when Elmer is trying to forcibly remove Bugs' golden tooth.
- Of Corsets Funny: Elmer is revealed to be wearing a girdle when Bugs cuts off his pants.Elmer: (To the audience) Don’t waugh. I’ll bet pwenty of you men out there wear one of these!
- Oh, Crap!: Elmer has this reaction when he sees Bugs with a skull on his head. Bugs likewise reacts this way when Elmer runs back to him, and again when he realizes Elmer is gunning for his golden tooth.
- Prospector: Elmer is prospecting for gold in this cartoon.
- Public Domain Animation: The cartoon's copyright wasn't renewed, so its become a staple Public Domain cartoon in the Looney Tunes series.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Bugs and Elmer are waiting for a stick of dynamite to go off, but it turns out to be a dud. So what does Bugs do? "BAAAAAAAM!" Followed by putting a pot over Elmer's head and giving it a whack.
- Shout-Out: Just as the "Oh, Susanna!" number ends, Bugs bellows "Good evening, friends!", a reference to Al Jolson.
- Standard Snippet: Elmer sings a variation of "Oh, Susanna!" in the opening, and Bugs joins in on the singing without him realizing it. Later, Elmer sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad".
- Throw the Dog a Bone: When Elmer has finally had enough of Bugs' unprovoked bullying (culminating in Bugs attempting to bury him alive), he for once gets his hands on him and pounds the crap out of him when he realises he can get at least some gold by taking Bugs' gold tooth.
- The Tooth Hurts: Elmer decides to pull out Bugs' gold tooth. They fight until Elmer emerges with a gold tooth in his hand... which turns out to be his own.
- Troll: Bugs has absolutely no reason to pester Elmer throughout the cartoon than for kicks.
- Wartime Cartoon: Downplayed. The signpost and opening song tells that Elmer is digging gold for the war effort.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Unfortunately, the punchline of the episode reveals that, while Elmer did dish out some pain to Bugs, he somehow ended up pulling out HIS OWN gold tooth instead without realising it.
