In our “2020 Twenty Questions” special interview with hip-hop icon Jaz-O, he told told us his favorite cartoon character was Bugs Bunny.
Bugs is arguably the funniest cartoon character of all-time. A masterful antagonist with uncanny whit, he has been annoying, evading, and embarrassing his opposition, and making audiences laugh out loud at him doing it, for 80 years.
Often quoted with his signature “Eh … What’s up, doc?” greeting, the hilarious animated icon has generations of phrases and memorable line that people have grown up reusing in their day to day lives. So ingrained in our culture, popular or otherwise, it’s sometimes hard to believe Bugs is fictional.
Created in 1930 and originally voiced by comic genius Mel Blanc, Bug Bunny’s fame would lead to him become the face of both Leon Schlesinger Productions’ Merrie Melodies and Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes, and the official mascot of Warner Bros. Entertainment. In December of 1985 Bugs became just the second cartoon character to ern a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bugs’ origin is traced back to a wacky rabbit that appeared in 1938’s Porky’s Hare Hunt. However, his official debut was in Tex Winter’s 1940 smash A Wild Hare which was nominated for an Academy Award. The 1957 classic What’s Opera, Doc? became the first cartoon preserved by the National Film Registry and in 1958 Knighty Knight Bugs won the character its first Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
With years of success on the small screen, Bugs first found his audience in movie theaters. Famous for the near 40-year ABC run of The Bugs Bunny Show (later The Big Bunny & Tweety Show), it was on the silver screen that millions saw the shorts that made him an icon.
He returned to theaters in 1991’s Box-Office Bunny before slam dunking the actual box office with NBA Hall of Fame legend Michael Jordan in feature film Space Jam. Today voiced by Eric Bauza, Bugs will join current NBA star Lebron James in the long-awaited sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
