Elmer's Candid Camera

"In this cartoon we find Bugs stumbling, fumbling, and mumbling around, vainly seeking a personality on which to hang him dialogue and action, or-- in better words than mine--"walking around with his umbilical in his hand, looking for some place to plug it in." It is obvious when one views this cartoon, which I recommend only if you are dying to die of ennui, that my conception of timing and dialogue was formed by watching the action in the La Brea tar pits. It would be complimentary to call it sluggish. Not only Bugs suffered at my hands, but difficult as it is to make an unassertive character like Elmer Fudd into a flat, complete schmuck, I managed.

"Perhaps the kindest thing to say about Elmer's Candid Camera is that it taught everyone what not to do and how not to do it."

—Charles M. Jones' thoughts on the film, in "Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist".

Elmer's Candid Camera is a 1940 Merrie Melodies short, directed by Charles M. Jones. It is the official debut of Elmer Fudd^[1] and features an early prototype of Bugs Bunny.

The plot is centered on Elmer Fudd as he goes out to photograph wildlife with the eponymous camera. During his travels, he encounters a pudgy gray rabbit, who, for no discernible reason, decides to pester Elmer.

As the opening quote states, the short was a total flop, and became regarded as an Old Shame by Chuck Jones. Tex Avery soon after did a remake of the cartoon, improving on its perceived flaws, called A Wild Hare.

Tropes used in Elmer's Candid Camera include:

Annoying Laugh: Proto-Bugs uses a particular laugh that Mel Blanc would later use for Woody Woodpecker.
Digital Destruction: The print used in Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 1 has several bits of DVNR damage, mostly blatantly when Proto-Bugs is walking away from Elmer at one point, where parts of his body disappear!
The Ditz: Elmer is stupid enough to believe that Proto-Bugs would choke to death just by being trapped in a butterfly net.
Early Installment Weirdness: Bugs' design and personality wasn't quite refined, although Elmer was more or less fully realized from the start.
Faking the Dead: Bugs pulls this on Elmer, which in turn causes Elmer...
Go Mad from the Revelation: ...to have a particularly frightening nervous breakdown.
Inescapable Net: Bugs pretends to suffocate after Elmer captures him in a net.
Jerkass: The closest thing that can be given to why Bugs would pester Elmer.
Kick the Dog: The ending, where Bugs saves Elmer from drowning, only to sadistically kick Elmer right back into the pond.
Merrie Melodies in The Forties
My God, What Have I Done?: This was perhaps the one short where it made the most sense for Elmer to react this way after supposedly "killing" Bugs. All he wanted in this short was to take a picture of the rabbit, poor guy.
Off-Model: When Proto-Bugs is saving Elmer from drowning, one shot has Elmer revert to an Egghead-esque look.
Remake: A Wild Hare reuses the plot of this short.
Screwy Squirrel: Proto-Bugs, although he is much more reserved than he was in his previous three appearances.
Self-Deprecation: Jones' unflattering commentary on the short in his biography includes poking fun at how incompetent he was at directing during the time.

↑ Egghead, his prototype, notwithstanding.

[1] Egghead, his prototype, notwithstanding.

[1]