Release Date:

August 31, 1957

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny, Rocky and Mugsy

Summary:

On a rainy night, Bugs Bunny moves into a condemned building for drier quarters. This same building turns out to be the hideout of Rocky and Mugsy, who have stolen a haul of jewels. Hearing them refer to their loot as “14-karat”, Bugs realizes they’re crooks and decides to turn them against each other by making it appear to Rocky that Mugsy is trying to kill him.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1447 and was released as a Looney Tune.

This is Bugs’ second encounter with Rocky and Mugsy.

The cartoon is a reworking of “Stooge for a Mouse”. While the original was already hilarious, this one is even funnier, especially since the manipulation is not mean-spirited this time around, and Bugs is doing this to show that crime doesn’t pay. It also reuses that cartoon’s best line, “I don’t know how ya’s done it, but I know YA’S DONE IT!”, with the line delivery here also being superior, thanks to Mel Blanc’s line delivery and Rocky initially saying it in his flat voice before suddenly shouting.

Character-wise, this cartoon is a perfect example of “how to follow a masterpiece with a very underrated masterpiece” since this is the first Bugs Bunny cartoon that was released after “What’s Opera Doc”.

One of the lobby cards for this cartoon is misleading since it depicts Rocky and Mugsy holding Bugs at gunpoint, but in the actual cartoon, they are completely unaware of his presence.

While Rocky still has his giant hat covering his eyes, there are a few scenes here where his eyes are actually visible.

Carl Stalling scored this one. It is also the final Bugs Bunny cartoon he scored (and interestingly enough, this is the opening cartoon on the third disc of the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set).

Favorite Scene:

Bugs sawing the floor from underneath Rocky, who falls into the basement along with the armchair he was sleeping on. After Bugs quickly plants the saw in the dazed Mugsy’s hands, Rocky comes into the room he tied Mugsy up in and yells, “I don’t know how ya’s done it, but I know YA’S DONE IT!”

What Happens in This One:

On a rainy night, water is seen flowing into Bugs’ hole with a sign sticking out of it, “Moved to Drier Quarters- Bugs Bunny”. Where exactly he moved to is a condemned building, having made a hole in the floorboards and taken up residence in there. “Hey, this is ideal. Dry as a bone. What more could a rabbit want?” Upon hearing a police siren approaching, Bugs wonders, “Hey! What’s that?” He also hears footsteps entering the building (animated by Gerry Chiniquy). It turns out to be Rocky and Mugsy, who are using the same building as their hideout (animated by Virgil Ross).

After they watch the police drive off into the distance from having lost them, Rocky remarks, “Well, looks like we gave ‘em the slip, Mugsy”. Mugsy agrees, “Yeah, Rocky. We sure did. I wish I was smart like you, boss”. When Rocky instructs, “Turn it on the radio”, Mugsy eagerly obeys, “O-o-okay, boss”. The radio is turned on to an announcer saying, “The police believe the robbery is the work of the notorious Rocky (animated by Ross) and his pal, Mugsy. They were last seen on-”, with Bugs also listening from below (animated by Chiniquy). Rocky orders, “Turn it off the radio”. Once Mugsy does, he is intrigued by the jewelry they stole and stashed into a suitcase, “Gee! Some haul!”, as he attempts to touch it. Rocky hits his hand with his gun as a way of telling him to keep off, “Yeah! All 14-karat”. Overhearing this, Bugs pops his head out of the hole, “Carrots? Carrots!? Who? What? Where? When? Who? Where? Where? What? Where? Who? When?” He then sees Rocky tell Mugsy, “Hey, Mugsy. We’d better get some shut-eye if’n we’re gonna pull that job tomorrow” and Mugsy agrees, “O-o-okay, boss”. Realizing what they are, Bugs becomes annoyed, “Why, those dirty crooks! Someone ought to teach them that crime doesn’t pay! And it looks like that someone’s gotta be ME!” (animated by Ross)

As Rocky is asleep on an armchair and Mugsy is asleep on the couch, Bugs puts the receiver end of a candlestick telephone on the right arm of Rocky’s chair while he calls him from his hole acting as his conscience, “Hello? Calling Rocky. Hello. Rocky. Am I getting thought to ya, Rocky?” Rocky signifies he’s listening when his cigarette springs to life as if he’s awake. Bugs continues, “They’re saying you trust your pal, Mugsy, with that suitcase of jewelry. (laughs) Don’t make me laugh”. Rocky looks around and upon seeing nothing- due to Bugs always pulling the receiver away before Rocky can see it-, happily shrugs, and goes back to sleep. Bugs puts the receiver back onto the right arm and continues to gaslight Rocky, “Look at Mugsy laying over there pretending he’s asleep. (scoffs) And all the time, he’s thinking. Getting ideas”. Rocky marches up to Mugsy and slaps him around, “That’ll teach ya’s to get idears”. Confused, Mugsy replies, “But, boss, you know I don’t get any idears”. Rocky goes back to the armchair, “Well, see that ya don’t” (animated by Chiniquy).

Later, Bugs sneaks out of his hole and quietly plants a meat cleaver in Mugsy’s right hand before jumping back into the hole again. He acts as Rocky’s conscience on the phone again, “Listen, Rocky. You’re not gonna be fooled by that smooth talk, are ya? They don’t call him the Detroit Butcher for nothing! He’s probably waiting for ya to fall asleep and then- (makes throat-cutting noise)”. Rocky wakes up alarmed at this and reacts in horror upon seeing that what Bugs told him is apparently true. He sneaks up on Mugsy, grabs the meat cleaver, and attempts to attack him with it, only to miss, and slice off part of the couch’s left arm. Rocky asks, “Your dirty scheme didn’t work, did it?” Mugsy’s hat has also been split in two from the attack, causing him to laugh nervously, “That Rocky! A million laughs!” (animated by Chiniquy)

With both asleep again, Mugsy suddenly wakes up, startled, imagining that Rocky is trying to attack him again. Seeing that Rocky’s still asleep, Mugsy again chuckles, “That Rocky!” Bugs has gone up into the building’s attic where he begins unscrewing a light fixture directly above Rocky from there. Waking up from the noise of the screws falling, Mugsy realizes he’ll get blamed for this, so he grabs a stepladder, and attempts to screw the fixture back in, only for the final screw to come out just before he can do so. It crashes on Rocky offscreen, who orders, “Mugsy. C’mere”. Mugsy climbs down and protests, “But-but-but-boss-I-!” Rocky begins kicking Mugsy around, who leaps up into the air in pain each time. Bugs looks down at Rocky scolding, “Maybe that’ll teach ya’s. Now get back on the couch and go to sleep”. Mugsy again replies with, “Okay, boss”, just as Bugs leaves the attic (animated by Arthur Davis).

Rocky continues sleeping on the armchair as Bugs waves his hand in front of Rocky’s face to make sure he can’t see it. Upon getting no response, Bugs replaces Rocky’s cigarette with a dynamite stick. He then goes up to Mugsy and imitates Rocky’s voice within earshot, “Hey, Mugsy. C’mere. Gimme a light”. More than happy to do it, Mugsy immediately goes over to him with a match, “Okay, boss! Yeah, boss! Yeah, yeah!” As he lights it, he says, “Gee, I’m glad you’re not mad at me no more!” After the explosion chars Rocky’s face and leaves him with a peeved expression, Mugsy complains, “Aw, now you’re mad at me again!” From under the hole, Bugs listens to Rocky beating up on Mugsy once more as the latter exclaims, “But-but-boss-I-I-!” (animated by Ross)

Rocky has tied up Mugsy’s limbs and throws him into another room, “Now get in the other room!” He then enters this room himself with a large stick and shouts, “NOW GO TO SLEEP!” before hitting Mugsy on the head with it, rendering him dazed, before Rocky leaves (animated by Ross).

Next, Bugs saws out the area around Rocky’s armchair with Rocky only seeing the saw before he falls into the basement with the armchair and lands with an offscreen crash. Beyond angry, Rocky gets out of the hole and fires his gun in all directions. Bugs comes out from under a hatch in the floor and quickly plants the saw in the still-dazed Mugsy’s hands. Rocky enters the other room and upon finding Mugsy holding the saw, lets out that ever-hilarious quote, “I don’t know how ya’s done it, but I know YA’S DONE IT!” He once more beats up Mugsy offscreen and storms out of the other room (animated by Davis).

With Mugsy even more dazed, Bugs puts skates on Mugsy’s feet while Rocky is now wide awake and glaring across the room while pointing his gun. Bugs goes under the floor again to control Mugsy’s skates with a magnet. With Bugs pulling the magnet across the ceiling of his floor, Mugsy uncontrollably skates around Rocky, causing him to give Rocky a shrug. Rocky orders, “Mugsy, get off that skates!”, only for Mugsy to slam right into him, crushing him against the wall. Rocky sees this as a challenge, “So you want a showdown, huh?” and punches Mugsy in the stomach, sending all the way back across. Every time Bugs pulls the magnet back to the other side, Mugsy slams into Rocky, with Rocky punching him back across, first with a “Why, you-!”, and then a “Why, you dirty-!” The back and forth fight continues before the police, presumably having heard the commotion, arrive (animated by Davis).

The police drive away with Rocky and Mugsy, both in disheveled states, in the back seat, on the way to jail. Rocky asks, “I wonder how they found out where we was”. Mugsy once more attempts to explain, “But, boss- but-but-but-but-bu-!”, before Rocky begins beating him up for allegedly giving away their location. Unbeknownst to them, Bugs is sitting on the front steps of the building, proud of himself, as he’s reading a “Do It Yourself” book, “Isn’t it wonderful what you can do with some wire and a few electric bulbs?” The camera pans up to reveal a neon sign Bugs created himself, “Rocky’s Hideaway” (animated by Ross).

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

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