Release Date:

February 2, 1946

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny

Summary:

At a baseball game between the burly “Gas House Gorillas” and the home team, the elderly “Tea Totallers”, the cheating Gorillas are easily scoring points through their dirty playing. Tea Totallers fan Bugs Bunny is outraged at this poor sportsmanship and makes a challenge to beat them all by himself. Assuming all positions, Bugs proves that even a whole team of thugs can’t beat him.

That’s Not All, Folks:

Despite the production number being 12-14 (the 12th Merrie Melodie in the 14th release season), the cartoon was released as a Looney Tune.

This cartoon was the one that started it all with the Warner cartoons being restored as it is the first cartoon on the first disc of the first volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.

This is also a great example of Freleng wanting to give Bugs more challenging opponents rather than stupid ones.

This is the second of two Bugs Bunny cartoons to use the Bugs drum ending of him saying, “And that’s the end!”

This is the first time Bugs uses reverse psychology which he uses to trick a Gorilla posing as the umpire into calling him safe.

Backgrounds include an advertisement promoting Michael Maltese as a private eye, and footwear from “Ross Co.” which is a reference to Virgil Ross.

The cartoon is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

Characters similar to the Gas House Gorillas (the “Greenville Goons”) would appear in Robert McKimson’s “Gone Batty” (1954), another baseball-themed cartoon.

The Gas House Gorillas themselves would appear again in the Looney Tunes Cartoons episode “Pitcher Porky” (2021) where Porky pitches against them with Daffy’s help.

After Bugs gets a Gorilla out by punching him in the stomach with the ball, he holds up a sign, “Was this trip really necessary?”, even though World War II had been over for five months by the time of the cartoon’s release.

What I Like About This One:

A “screaming liner into left field”- where the ball is literally screaming as it flies into the air (animated by Virgil Ross).

The Tea Totaller at bat verifies his age: “I’m only 93 and a half years old!” (animated by Gerry Chiniquy)

Performing several gestures in tune to the music as he pitches, the Gorillas’ pitcher throws a fast ball which their catcher doesn’t allow the Tea Totallers’ batter to hit. After this is repeated a second time (animated by Chiniquy), the umpire calls this as “Ball!” but the Gorillas’ pitcher angrily snarls, “Yeah?” and punches the umpire into the ground. The umpire meekly apologizes, “I don’t know what could have come over me, sir. I meant to say “strike!’” (animated by Ken Champin)

With the Tea Totallers now pitching, the Gorillas easily hit all the balls in tune to Conga music. We then see that all of the Gorillas are actually forming a Conga line, with the noise of the ball being hit perfectly synchronizing in time to the music as the Gorillas easily score point by point (animated by Chiniquy).

Booing at the outcome of the game while eating a carrot sandwich (a carrot between two pieces of bread), Bugs declares in outrage: “The Gas House Gorillas are a bunch of dirty players! Why, I could lick them in a ball game with one hand tied behind my back all by myself! Yeah!” The Gorillas hear him and confront Bugs as he continues: “Yeah, I’d get out there and WHAM!, a homer! WHAM, another homer! “WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHA-” before asking, “What’s up, doc?” upon seeing the Gorillas staring down at him. One of them asks, “All right, big shot! So you think you can beat us all by yourself?” before giving Bugs the proper gear, “Well, you got yourself a game!” (animated by Ross)

In the next scene, Bugs has substituted all positions as the announcer informs: “Attention, please. Attention. There’s been a slight change in the Tea Totaller lineup. Catching: Bugs Bunny. Left field: Bugs Bunny. Right field: Bugs Bunny” before talking faster as if the crowd gets the point: “Pitching: Bugs Bunny. Third base: Bugs Bunny. Center field: Bugs Bunny. First base: Bugs Bunny. Shortstop: Bugs Bunny. Second base: Bugs Bunny” (animated by Chiniquy).

After pitching, Bugs zooms over to become a fast-talking pitcher where although he catches the ball, it propels him into the dugout, destroying it. This is repeated a second time (animated by Chiniquy).

Bugs then decides, “Eh, I think I’ll perplex him with my slow ball!” (animated by Chiniquy), a throw where the ball moves so slow, it strikes out three Gorillas at once, with the last throwing down his bat in anger (animated by Manuel Perez).

Now at bat, Bugs calls for the “bat boy”, a small boy with bat wings carrying baseball bats (animated by Perez).

Hitting the ball (animated by Perez), Bugs is stopped at home plate by a Gorilla standing there, so Bugs pulls a sexy pin-up, which causes the Gorilla to wolf-whistle and whoop wildly while hopping away, enabling Bugs to score (animated by Ross).

Another Gorilla then pulls the umpire away and substitutes for him. Calling Bugs out, the Gorilla is confronted by Bugs getting up in his umpire mask arguing, “Where do you get that malarkey? I’m safe!” An argument of “safe” and “out” ensues with Bugs using reverse psychology to trick the Gorilla into calling him “safe” and then declaring, “I say you’re safe! If you don’t like it, you can go to the showers!” “Okay, then, doc. Have it your way. I’m safe”, Bugs says as he climbs down. The Gorilla smiles in satisfaction before making a take upon realizing his error too late (animated by Ross).

Bugs’ next hit (animated by Perez) buries the Gorilla’s outfielder yelling, “I got it! I got it! I got it!”, into the ground so hard, a tombstone appears reading, “He got it” (animated by Ross)

Another outfielder with a cigar gets hit in the face and is propelled backward next to a sign asking, “Does your tobacco taste different lately?” (animated by Ross)

After Bugs hits several Gorillas like a pinball machine, the score is tilted before the Gorillas are now at bat. One Gorilla hits the ball (animated by Perez), but Bugs is at home base waiting and holding the ball, punches the Gorilla in the stomach (animated by Champin).

In the last inning, the score is now Bugs Bunny-96, Gas House Gorillas- 95. Hearing the announcer say that a home run now will win the game for the Gorillas, the Gorilla at bat chops a tree and uses that as his bat to ensure this happens (animated by Chiniquy). With the Gorilla’s hit causing the ball to fly into the city, Bugs grabs a taxi which drives him back to the stadium, because the driver happens to be one of the Gorillas (animated by Champin).

Grabbing a bus to the “Umpire State Building”, Bugs goes all the way to the top of the flagpole, throws his mitt into the air, which catches the ball, resulting in Bugs winning the game (animated by Champin). By the time the Gorillas’ batter gets to the top of the building, the umpire shows up to call him out. The Gorilla angrily asks, “I’M OUT!?” before the Statue of Liberty comes to life and scolds him, “That’s what the man said! You heard what he said! He said that!” Bugs also joins the scolding as the cartoon irises out (animated by Ross).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕