Broom-Stick Bunny
Broom-Stick Bunny is a 1956 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones.[1] The short was released on February 25, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny.[2] The short is notable for being June Foray's first project for Warner Bros., which led to her voicing other Looney Tunes characters such as Granny, as well as her first time working with Jones, who she continued to collaborate with after Warners' closed their animation department.
| Broom-Stick Bunny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Starring | Mel Blanc June Foray (uncredited) |
| Music by | Milt Franklyn |
| Animation by | Richard Thompson Ken Harris Ben Washam Abe Levitow |
| Layouts by | Ernie Nordli |
| Backgrounds by | Philip De Guard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 7:09 |
| Language | English |
Plot
It is Halloween night, and Witch Hazel is concocting a batch of witch's brew. As she goes about her business, she pauses at her magic mirror and asks it who is the ugliest one of all. The genie in the mirror replies that she, Witch Hazel, is the ugliest one of all. Hazel explains to the audience that she is "deathly afraid" of getting prettier as she grows older, a fear that she initially just laughs off.
Meanwhile, Bugs Bunny is out trick-or-treating dressed as a witch, his face hidden by an ugly green mask. He calls on Witch Hazel, who, seeing his costume, mistakes him for an actual witch ("I don't remember seeing her at any of the union meetings."). After making a comment about Bugs' appearance ("Isn't she the ugliest thing?"), she dashes to her magic mirror and asks it a second time who is the ugliest one of all. The genie in the mirror looks towards Bugs, also thinks that he is a witch and replies that he actually finds Bugs far uglier.
The jealous witch then hatches a plot: she invites the disguised Bugs in for tea, and prepares a potion containing an assortment of beauty enhancers. Bugs is about to drink the tea when he remembers that he is still wearing his mask and takes it off. Seeing that her "rival" is a rabbit, Witch Hazel dashes off to consult her cookbook. Sure enough, one of the ingredients for the brew she was making earlier is a rabbit's clavicle.
While she is gone, Bugs suspects that there is trouble afoot and makes to leave, but he is stopped by Witch Hazel brandishing a meat cleaver. Bugs flees, with the cackling witch chasing him throughout the house. During the chase, Hazel dashes to her magic broom closet to grab her flying broomstick to keep up with Bugs, but instead mounts her sweeping broom by accident; the broom starts sweeping the floor with her clinging to it until she lets go ("Crazy me, that was my sweeping broom!"). As Bugs hides, Witch Hazel finally traps Bugs using a carrot on a fishing rod.
Back at her cauldron, Hazel prepares to kill Bugs and use him in her potion. She is about to bring her cleaver down on the trussed-up rabbit, but he plays to her sympathies, gazing back at her with tear-filled doe eyes. Overcome with mercy, Witch Hazel bursts into tears, saying his innocent face reminds her of Paul, her pet tarantula. Bugs tries comforting her by bringing her the cup of beauty elixir disguised as tea, which she unknowingly drinks. Hazel instantly changes into a well-contoured redheaded beauty (a caricature of what Hazel's voice actress, June Foray, looked like at the time) as Milt Franklyn strikes up "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" in the background.
Horrified of her new form, Hazel dashes to her magic mirror a third time and meekly asks the genie (in a much more gentle and dulcet tone; again, Foray's natural voice) if she is still ugly. Upon seeing Hazel's new appearance beyond recognition, the genie gives a very Bob Hope-like "ROWR, ROWR!", immediately falling in love with her. Hazel jumps back horrified from the genie as he lunges out of the mirror to grab her, she then is able to flee him on her flying broomstick—unfortunately, the genie soon starts chasing after her on his flying carpet and slowly catches up to her. Bugs (still tied on the rope except his arms), who is still at Hazel's house, promptly calls the local air raid headquarters to report "a genie with light brown hair chasin' a flying sorceress!".
References
- Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 283. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.