Not Bugs

You know the gags. The rabbit has a joy buzzer and zaps the hunter with it. The rabbit honks the hunting dog’s nose. The rabbit hands a shovel to the hunting dog to dig for him, then the dog wises up. The rabbit bends the hunter’s gun so the hunter gets shot when the gun is fired.

No, we’re not talking about Bugs Bunny. We’re talking about Terry’s Bunny.



The cartoon is “The Hare and the Hounds,” a Terrytoon released February 23, 1940. Bugs first appeared five months later. Of course, Warners had several rabbit cartoons going back several years, one of which included the joy buzzer gag.

None of the characters speak, and whoever wrote it couldn’t decide if he wanted a solo smart-alec rabbit or a bunch of them. But it’s interesting to see how another studio handled Warners’ style gags.