Rabbit Seasoning



""Awfully unsporting of me, I know, but, what the hey, I gotta have some fun!""

- Daffy Duck in the opening

Rabbit Seasoning, voted no. 30 on The 50 Greatest Cartoons list, was a 1952 Looney Tunes short, the second in a trilogy of Bugs-Daffy-Elmer cartoons known as The Hunting Trilogy, the others being "Rabbit Fire" (1951) and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" (1953). The short revolves around another Bugs, Daffy, and Elmer team-up in which Daffy is trying to save his skin once more -- only to be foiled by Elmer's typical incompetence again and again.

This short is also part of The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes list.


 * Pronoun Trouble

"Bugs: I know, you go up and act as a decoy and lure 'im away. Daffy: No more for me, thanks! I'm drivin'!"
 * Amusing Injuries: By this point, Daffy is mildly irritated at being shot by Elmer Fudd.
 * Attractive Bent Gender: Elmer falls for one of Bugs' female disguises once again.
 * Bowdlerization: See the Hunting Trilogy page for information on what is frequently edited from this cartoon.
 * Duck Season! Rabbit Season!: A classic example - Bugs asks "Would you like to shoot me now, or wait until you get home?" When Daffy tries to goad Elmer to shoot Bugs, he responds that "he doesn't have to shoot you now." Daffy then insists that "he does have to shoot me now", before going up to Elmer and demanding he shoot him now. Elmer obliges.
 * The exchange following this is the Trope Namer for Pronoun Trouble, where Daffy realizes what Bugs used to trick him... but not exactly how.
 * Non Sequitur Thud: After getting a face full of buckshot, Daffy comes back down into the rabbit hole, and delivers this:


 * Something Else Also Rises: Elmer's hat when the crossdressed Bugs kisses him, as well as the rifle going off as Elmer staggers away in post-kiss catatonia. (Naturally, Daffy is on the wrong end again.)
 * Screwy Squirrel: Daffy, though also out to save his own hide, admits to taking enjoyment out of sending Elmer on Bugs. He isn't quite as successful as he is usually however.
 * Smug Snake: Bugs is practically a non-villainous example of this. He's content to just sit back with a constant smug look on his face and let Daffy defeat himself, not even so much as flinching when Daffy yells at him.
 * In which case, Bugs is arguably more a Guile Hero or a Magnificent Bastard (depending how sympathetically you view him) as, unlike a traditional Smug Snake, he is just that good (though can lean into one in other shorts). Daffy arguably plays it more straight. He is wilier than Elmer, but his ego insists on taking on the much more competent Bugs as well.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Elmer. He seems to have forgotten that Bugs himself is a wabbit.
 * And Daffy, despite his attempts at 'self preservation', will chastise the gun-wielding huntsman right to his face.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: Bugs in one of his most famous moments.


 * "Wait 'til you get home."