Ali Baba Bunny
Ali Baba Bunny | |
---|---|
Directed by | Chuck Jones |
Story by | Michael Maltese |
Produced by | Edward Selzer |
Starring | Mel Blanc |
Edited by | Treg Brown |
Music by | Carl Stalling Milt Franklyn |
Animation by | Richard Thompson Ken Harris Abe Levitow Ben Washam Harry Love |
Layouts by | Maurice Noble |
Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
Color process | Technicolor |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6:55 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Ali Baba Bunny is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones.[1] The short was released on February 9, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.[2]
Plot
[edit]In the Arabian Desert, a dimwitted guard named Hassan guards a cave where a rich Sultan stores his treasure. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck accidentally stumble upon the cave, thinking they have arrived at Pismo Beach, California. Daffy, enamored by the riches, forces Bugs back into the burrow to keep it all for himself. When Hassan finally remembers the command to open the cave, chaos ensues.
Mistaking Hassan for a porter, Daffy is attacked and seeks Bugs' help. Bugs, in turn, outwits Hassan by posing as a jinn. As Daffy steals a gem, Bugs tricks Hassan with an Indian rope trick, seemingly trapping him in the clouds. Daffy, however, discovers a lamp with a real jinn, whom he inadvertently angers. Bugs escapes as the jinn unleashes dire consequences on Daffy.
Bugs reaches Pismo Beach and finds a pearl in a clam, only to discover Daffy shrunken inside claiming the pearl. The cartoon concludes with Bugs making the clam close on Daffy.
Voice cast
[edit]- Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Hassan, Sultan and Jinn
Reception
[edit]Linda Simensky writes, "Ali Baba Bunny was produced in an era where Bugs and Daffy were often paired up, and while that didn't always work, in this cartoon they seem to be formidable opponents. In the early 1950s, Daffy Duck was no longer just daffy. He had progressed to being greedy, cheap, and without a trace of empathy. When put in the right circumstances, this worked. Bugs, as paired up with Daffy, lost a little of his ability to incite conflict, being given the job of mostly reacting and politely suffering Daffy's outbursts. But in this cartoon, Bugs has his classic moments too."[3]
Legacy
[edit]Ali Baba Bunny was voted No. 35 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.[4] The film was edited into the Looney Tunes greatest hits features The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979) and Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982).[1]
In popular culture
[edit]During his SportsCenter tenure, Rich Eisen would occasionally use Hassan's catchphrase, "Hassan chop!", when a highlight showed a baseball player tossing his bat in disgust.[5]
The Offspring's 2021 album Let the Bad Times Roll features a song titled "Hassan Chop", which uses audio from the episode.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. pp. 295, 372–373. 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.
- ^ Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.
- ^ Beck, Jerry (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Turner Publishing. ISBN 187868549X.
- ^ "The SportsCenter Altar / Phrase Listing". SportsCenter. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
External links
[edit]- 1957 films
- Animated films based on Ali Baba
- American parody films
- Fairy tale parody films
- Animated films about size change
- Genies in film
- Short films directed by Chuck Jones
- Merrie Melodies short films
- Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films
- Bugs Bunny films
- Daffy Duck films
- Films scored by Carl Stalling
- Films scored by Milt Franklyn
- Animated films set in deserts
- Animated films set on beaches
- Films set in the Arabian Peninsula
- 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films
- Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese
- Films produced by Edward Selzer
- 1950s English-language films
- Animated films set in the Middle East
- English-language short films
- 1957 animated short films