JohnHowardReid PLAYERS: "Elmer Fudd", "Bugs Bunny". Director: CHARLES M. JONES. Story: Rich Hogan. Animation: Bob McKimson (sic). Music director: Carl W. Stalling. Color by Technicolor. Producer: Leon Schlesinger. Copyright 2 March 1940 by The Vitaphone Corp. A Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" cartoon. U.S. release: 2 March 1940. 1 reel. COMMENT: Aside from - as some people might say -- its historical importance as the first appearance of a somewhat unrecognizable Elmer Fudd (he is deliberately costumed to look old-fashioned), this early Bugs Bunny has not a great deal to recommend it. The pacing is slow and Bugs is even allowed a sham death scene. All the same, Bugs does have a certain appealing vitality which helps to make tolerable some of the predictable and overlong gags. And I am real sorry to disappoint all you movie historians, but Elmer Fudd makes a guest appearance in Tex Avery's 1939 Believe It Or Else.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . and probably Bugs Bunny is no exception. The offish lout of a deep-voiced rabbit starring in ELMER'S CANDID CAMERA sports hideous, beaver-sized buck teeth and an overly Ginormous bushy white tail. As this gray rabbit torments Nature lover Elmer Fudd throughout this Warner Bros. animated short, he comes off as being more of a mean-spirited mischief maker than the suave hero of his later years. Elmer does not threaten the bunny with a firearm at any point here. To the contrary, it's this Bugs Bunny prototype who's consistently the aggressor, whether burying Elmer under a Treeful of apples with the recoil of Elmer's own telephoto lens, or booting the hapless rookie photographer into a pond to close out this sad tale. (Beta-bunny's maniacal cackling after this final humiliation is more consistent with a rude Heckle and Jeckle cartoon outing than something you'd expect from Bugs.) Speaking of Jekylls, this Warner sketch hare certainly has a lot more in common with the sadistic Mr. Hyde than an idealistic Dr. Jekyll.

tday This cartoon is the first appearance of Arthur Q. Bryan, who, for 20 years, was the voice of Elmer Fudd.Arthur Q. Bryan was seldom credited, but he was the real McCoy (or Fudd!!) Bryan, an accomplished radio actor, actually looked very much like the original Elmer and his body shape was closer to the taller, heavier version, which was the first one.Mel Blanc was, indeed, Bugs' first "hunter" voice in "Hare-um Scare-um" (1939) and has voiced Elmer on occasion, but Elmer Fudd was traditionally done by someone else other than Blanc. Hal Smith took over the job for the majority of Elmer's roles after Bryan's passing. (He also did the same for Walt Disney's Goofy character after the original actor passed away).Most people just assume Elmer Fudd's voice, along with almost all the other voices, was done by Blanc. Amaze your friends with this interesting trivia tidbit! :)

kydar The Elmer character is different from the one we are more familiar with from the toons of the late 40's and 50's. The rabbit character is a prototype of Bugs Bunny. Interestingly, the rabbit has a laugh similar to Woody Woodpecker's at one point.