Release Date:

May 1, 1954

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny

Summary:

A construction worker wants to build a freeway where Bugs Bunny’s hole is, but Bugs refuses to move. The worker’s attempt to blow it up only results in turning the hole into a large tubular mound of dirt, so he attempts several unsuccessful schemes to get rid of the hole.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1301 and was released as a Looney Tune.

This is the first of a few McKimson cartoons from this period to be written by Sid Marcus (rather than Tedd Pierce), who had returned to the studio after his brief stint there in 1949.

The cartoon is a slight reworking of “Homeless Hare”, only directed by McKimson rather than Jones. Like the construction worker, Hercules, in the earlier cartoon, the worker in this cartoon is voiced by John T. Smith.

This is also the last cartoon to have Smith voice a character.

The title is a pun for “no parking here”.

The cartoon was originally going to be included on the Looney Tunes Super Stars Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire DVD set in 2010 before being reconsidered. It was later restored for HBO Max in 2020 with this same restoration also appearing on the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set later that year.

This is one of the few post-April 1945 Bugs Bunny cartoons to not feature the “Bugs Bunny in” card.

“What’s Up Doc” plays under the opening credits.

The animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

Favorite Scene:

While Bugs is singing an original tune called “There Ain’t No Place Like a Hole in the Ground” on the banjo, the worker attempts to drop a bomb into his hole from a helicopter, only for the bomb to bounce off of Bugs’ bed and back up to the worker due to Bugs getting off of his bed at the exact moment to turn the page of his sheet music.

What Happens in This One:

“Another Freeway For Your Safety”, a construction sign reads as the camera pans across a busy highway with multiple cars zooming across numerous highways (animated by Herman Cohen). The construction worker is seen using an air drill, causing everything around to vibrate. Being adjacent to the working spot, the interior of Bugs’ hole also vibrates from the air drilling. Bugs, who’s been napping on his bed, doesn’t even notice the noise at first and only gets up to shut off a dripping faucet, before going back. Pounding noises from above then cause a large pile of dirt to land on top of Bugs. He pops out of it and wonders, “Hey! What’s goin’ on here?” (animated by Phil DeLara)

The pounding is revealed to be caused by the worker hitting rocks with a sledgehammer. Bugs comes out of his hole and asks, “Eh, what’s up, doc?” The worker takes notice of him and informs, “Huh? Well, for your information, long ears, we’re building a freeway!” Bugs answers, “Oh, so THAT’S it! I thought I was having a bad case of termites”. He then goes back down into his hole absentmindedly, “Well, eh, thanks for the info, pal, and no hard feelings. Happy freeway!”, before returning back up in shock, “FREEWAY!?” Bugs comes out of his hole and walks up to the worker, “Hold it, mac! Hold it! Hooooooold it! (animated by Rod Scribner)

“There must be some mistake”, Bugs explains, “Ya see, uh, a freeway through here would wreck my home”. The worker asks, “Well, why didn’t ya sell it?” Finding this ridiculous, Bugs asks, “SELL it? Heh! Now, who’d want to buy a hole?” The worker then warns, “Well, if ya DON’T move, we’ll BLAST ya out!”, but Bugs firmly argues, “Oh, no ya won’t! A man’s home is his castle! And I’m stayin’ right here, mac!” Worker: “Oh, yeah?” Bugs: “Yeah. And ya can’t make me move, smarty pants!” The worker again asks, “Oh, yeah?” to which Bugs replies while descending down into his hole, “Yep”. After Bugs enters his hole, the worker laughs to himself, “Can’t make him move, huh? We’ll see about that” (animated by Charles McKimson).

After having surrounded Bugs’ hole with numerous explosives, the worker pushes the TNT plunger connected to them. The explosion only leaves a large canyon with Bugs’ hole in the middle of it, but now being a large tubular mountain of dirt. From inside, Bugs teases, “I hear ya knockin’, but ya can’t come in!” After coming out to sweep his carrot stems outside, Bugs takes notice of the long drop from the canyon’s edge to a stair-shaped formation below. “Eh, uh, watch out for that first step, mac! It’s a lulu!” Irritated, the worker decides, “So he wants to play, huh? Okay!” (animated by Cohen)

The worker climbs a ladder up to the exterior top of Bugs’ hole with some tools- a rifle, an ax, and a sledgehammer- and threatens, “Okay, rabbit! You asked for it and you’re gonna get it. But good!” He starts laughing to himself, before this turns into an “Ooooooh!” upon seeing what Bugs is doing: Bugs has opened a hatch in the middle of his hole to saw a part of the ladder. He then pushes it to the side and starts moving it with his finger to make it fall. As he’s about to fall, the worker lets out an “Oh, no!” (animated by Cohen) Bugs opens a door at the bottom of his hole and uses a hoe to pull a trough of wet cement under the worker, so he ends up landing in said trough with a splash. Now covered in cement, the worker begins to walk away, but the cement on him hardens, causing him to freeze in place and collapse front-first. His head then pops out of his statue’s rear end (animated by DeLara).

As Bugs is reading “The Raven” from “Poes Kiddie Komics”, the worker is attempting to use a large buzz saw to cut the hole down. Bugs places a small “Detour” sign in the way, causing the buzz saw to come into contact with the high voltage and electrocute the worker into making several poses with the background turning neon while he’s reacting to the shock (animated by Charles).

Bugs sings a lively original tune while playing the banjo, “There ain't no place like a hole in the ground, a hole in the ground, a hole in the ground! There ain’t no place like a hole in the ground with a big fat goon up floatin’ around!”, just as the worker attempts to drop a bomb into his hole from a helicopter. The bomb lands on Bugs’ bed just as he gets up from sitting down on the bed to turn the page of his sheet music, which causes the bomb to bounce off the bed and fly back up into the worker’s grasp. The explosion obliterates the helicopter except for the propeller, which the worker is seen hanging onto (animated by Cohen).

The worker drives a crane carrying a 60-ton weight on its hook and places it above Bugs’ hole to crush it. Bugs comes out from the bottom of his hole disguised as a foreman to misdirect the worker. “Hold it, bub! Hold it! Now, I’ll give ya a hand! Eh, eh, swing it over to the right a little. Eh, eh, that’s it. Now, now, back it up to the left. A little more. Little more. A little off to the right. U-Up a little higher. Higher. Hold it! Now swing back about a foot. Eh, that’s it. Right on the button”. It turns out that Bugs has manipulated the worker into moving the weight directly above the cockpit seat, without the worker knowing. Bugs then gives him the green light, “Okay, mac! Start poundin’!”, which causes the worker to repeatedly pound himself and the crane into the ground (animated by Scribner).

Next, the worker builds a large tower made out of pipes with a platform on top in order for him to drop a large dynamite stick down Bugs’ hole. The worker finds that his cigarette lighter won’t turn on despite numerous tries. Bugs slides open another unseen door at the bottom of his hole, lights a match, and sends it up towards the worker by blowing through the pipe he sends it in. The match comes out of the pipe on top and lights the fuse of the worker’s stick, just as the worker manages to get his lighter to work. “Ah!”, he sighs in satisfaction, but then lets out an “Uh oh!” upon seeing his stick already ignited. After the big explosion, the whole pipe tower falls apart, leaving the dizzy worker to pick up some of his pipes and stagger into a nearby work shed (animated by Scribner).

Lastly, the worker is seen backing a truck from the “ACME Cement Co.” and turns a crank on the truck to pour numerous loads of cement into Bugs’ hole via filling multiple seats on a rotating conveyor belt. Bugs silently reacts in shock at this, before protecting himself with an umbrella. This causes the cement to engulf the outside of his hole instead (animated by DeLara). The worker steps out of the truck, but then facepalms in disgust upon seeing what happened: the hardened cement covering the hole has now rendered it impenetrable. Bugs then smooths out the top of his hole, puts his mailbox in a small hole on the side for it to fit, and then a door atop it (animated by Charles).

The newspaper headline reads, “City Compromises With Rabbit!! Freeway Goes Thru”. The newly-constructed freeway is shown to have been built around Bugs’ hole via a curve. Bugs comes out of his hole and proudly proclaims, “The sanctity of the American home MUST be preserved!” (animated by Charles)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕