Release Date:

December 14, 1957

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd

Summary:

Elmer Fudd’s uncle Judd has sent him a large, obese, and ugly Slobovian rabbit named Millicent to take care of. Proving to be unpleasant, Millicent immediately trashes Elmer’s guest room and tantrums. Finding out that Slobovian rabbits get lonely and need a mate to talk to, Elmer brings Bugs Bunny back to his house. Bugs proves to be more than unwilling with being Millicent’s mate.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1448 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

This one is notable for having Bugs be forced into a relationship he wants no part in (unlike “Hare Splitter” where he is in a relationship and “The Grey Hounded Hare” when he mistakes the rabbit lure for an actual female rabbit).

With Slobovia being a fictional country, Millicent speaks in a Russian accent.

June Foray, who voices Millicent, is a guest on Jerry Beck’s commentary for this cartoon on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 DVD set.

Michael Maltese wrote this one.

The animator draft for the cartoon can be viewed here.

The cartoon’s title was originally flip-flopped as “Romeo Rabbit”.

While Elmer doesn’t necessarily hunt Bugs here, he actually has no trouble catching him to bring back to his house or foiling both of Bugs’ escape attempts.

Whether Uncle Judd shares Elmer’s speech impediment or not is unknown since the spelling in his handwritten note to Elmer has no errors.

“In an 18th Century Drawing Room” briefly plays during the “courtship” scene.

Favorite Scene:

Bugs kissing Millicent with a goldfish, who feels so awkward from the experience that he blows his brains out.

Arthur Q. Bryan’s line delivery of Elmer demanding “Go on, bunny boo! Snuggle!” is also hilarious.

What Happens in This One:

A delivery man from the ACME Animal Delivery Service has just delivered something to Elmer’s house and walks back to his truck before driving off (animated by Warren Batchelder). Inside his house, Elmer looks at the large crate delivered to him from Slobovia. “Swobovia? Who do I know in Swobovia?” He takes off the envelope attached and reads the handwritten note aloud, “Dear Nephew, Take care of this ware and vawuable Swobovian wabbit ‘til I awwive. Uncle Judd Fudd. PS I will pay you 500 dowwars for your twouble”. Happy about this, “Oh, boy! 500 bucks!”, Elmer takes the key attached to the letter and then looks up at the name on the crate, “Miwwicent. What a wovewy name”. He unlocks the crate and gets down on his hands and knees, expecting Millicent to be a cute little bunny, “Come out, Miwwicent. You cute wittle Swobovian wabbit”. Much to Elmer’s confusion, however, Millicent is actually a very tall and rather homely rabbit and rather unpleasant in attitude judging by her expression, complete with folded arms. Elmer tells us, “Well, wooks aren’t evewything, you know!” (animated by George Grandpre)

Elmer takes Millicent by the hand to escort her up the stairs, “Wet me show you to your room, Miwwicent”. She only responds with a rude-sounding “Fah!” Upon coming up to the guest room at the top of the stairs, Elmer opens the door for her, “Here we are! Make yourself at home!” Millicent replies with an even ruder “Fah!” before she is guided in by Elmer, who jumps around happily, “Oh, boy! 500 bucks!” before doing his trademark laugh. Peeking his head back in the door, Elmer informs, “Now wemember, Miwwicent, I want you to be happy and if there’s any-” He is interrupted by offscreen crashing noises and walks down the stairs concerned. It’s revealed to be Millicent trashing the guest room by means of throwing a pillow off a chair, shattering a vase, shoving several books off of a table, and breaking another chair in half before jumping onto the couch and crying like a child throwing a tantrum (animated by Grandpre).

Elmer is talking on the phone with the doctor about the situation, “You say a Swobovian wabbit gets wonewy and must have another wabbit to talk to? Alwight, doctor. I’ll get one wight away” (animated by Grandpre). In his winter hunting clothes, Elmer goes out into the snow with a carrot on the hook of a fishing pole, “Here, wabbit, wabbit! Come get the wovewy cawwot!” (animated by Batchelder) From his cave (rather than a hole), Bugs is trying to keep warm in front of a can of boiling water over a small fire as he shivers, “I’ve eaten so many icicles, I’m 20 degrees cooler inside! Man, what I wouldn’t give for a genuine 14-karat carrot!” He then hears Elmer approach with “Here, wabbit, wabbit! Come get the wovewy cawwot! Here, wabbit!” Bugs walks out from under the cave in curiosity and notices the carrot behind him suspended by the reel on Elmer’s pole, causing him to give a crazed laugh. Elmer catches Bugs chomping away at the carrot and reels him in, catching him with a net. Bugs just continues munching on the carrot and asks, “Got some salt, mac?”, to which Elmer gives him a shaker and puts the net down. After Bugs stands up and uses the salt shaker on the carrot, he asks for a napkin, which Elmer also gives him. Bugs tosses the napkin aside and asks, “Now then. Eh, what’s up, doc?” Elmer answers, “Wabbit, have I got a surpwise for you!” (animated by Ted Bonnicksen)

Having brought Bugs back to his house, Elmer brings him to the guest room, “Meet Millie”, as Bugs walks in (animated by Batchelder). Millicent stops her tantrum upon seeing Bugs and is immediately smitten, “Darling!” Looking around in confusion, Bugs asks, “Who, me?!” Millicent walks up to him and answers, “Who else, Glamour-Puss? Give to me large kiss!” As Millicent shuts her eyes and silently anticipates one, Bugs takes out the goldfish from a nearby bowl and has it kiss her instead (animated by Bonnicksen). Once the fish is put back into his bowl, he finds the experience having been awkward as he takes out a gun and walks into his underwater house with a gun and commits suicide. The shot causes a large bubble to emerge out of the bowl with its pop having the same sound effect as a gunshot (animated by Batchelder).

Not realizing it wasn’t actually from Bugs, Millicent comments, “I like this way you are kissing!” Bugs replies, “Well, uh, close your eyes and I are kissing you again!” Millicent does so and this time noisily anticipates it, causing Bugs to roll his eyes in exasperation and sneak away. Once Millicent opens her eyes and sees Bugs gone, she figures, “Oh, he’s wanting to play seek and go hide!” She looks around for him, lifting up a piano at one point as she calls out, “Seek and go hide! Go hide and go seeking! I’m seeking for you, you’re hiding for me!” and then asks, “Where are you, my little Bobelishka bunny?” She proves her tremendous strength by pulling a closet door off of the wall along with the clothes hanging in said closet. She spots Bugs scrunched up in a top hat sneaking away with only his feet visible. Once he comes out of the hat in full, he does an offstage dance out the door while still holding the hat and shuts the door. Millicent pulls on the rug to bring him back in (animated by Bonnicksen).

Millicent tells him, “Alright, big boy! Give me large bunny hug!”, and gives Bugs a large strangling hug that turns him blue in the face. He chokes, “Wait a cotton-picking minute!”, as he gets himself out of her grasp and catches his breath, “Women don’t chase men in America!” He asides while looking away to his right, “Oh, brother” before informing Millicent, “First, there’s a long courtship. It starts like this”. He daintily shakes her hand with “How do you do?” She then shakes his hand with a more enthusiastic “How do you do?” before returning with flowers and a bridal headdress, “Courtship is over! Now we make marriage!” Bugs lets out two horrified sputters at this thought (animated by Grandpre up to here) and jumps out the window. He is immediately brought back at gunpoint by Elmer, silently sticking his tongue out at him. Millicent comes up to Bugs, “Oh, there you are!” (animated by Batchelder)

She explains, “In Slobovia, it’s custom before marriage to do Slobovian rock and roll!” She dashes off and comes back to dress Bugs up in a Slobovian outfit. Bugs shrugs to the audience, “Well, when in Slobovia, do like the other slobs do, I always say”. Millicent does the Russian kick dance but with the typical “Hey!”’s replaced with kissing Bugs on the cheek. Expecting Bugs to do the same with her, she informs, “It’s now your turn!” and shuts her eyes to anticipate the kisses. Bugs instead does the Russian kick dance out the door before he is brought back in by Elmer a second time, also letting out a “Hey!” at this (animated by Bonnicksen).

On the couch, Millicent gives a “come here” gesture to Bugs, beckoning, “Come snuggle, my little bunny boo!” (animated by Batchelder) Elmer reiterates in a demanding tone, “Go on, bunny boo! Snuggle!” Irritated, Bugs takes off the outfit and admits defeat, “Alright, alright, already! You win, doc! I know when I’m licked!” Elmer becomes satisfied at this, “That’s more wike it. Now I can go to bed and get some west and weave you two wovebirds awone!”, before exiting while doing his trademark laugh (animated by Bonnicksen).

With a disgruntled Bugs sitting on the couch a good distance away from Millicent, Millicent again requests, “Large kiss me, big boy!” With her eyes again shut, Bugs grabs an electric fan and has her kiss the spinning blades, destroying them. She decides, “Hmm. Not bad for a beginner”, before hugging Bugs, “Name the wedding day and we will be marriage!” Bugs pushes her away and makes an excuse, “I hate long engagements. Uh, what say we elope?” She agrees, “I’m with you!” as Bugs escorts her by the arm (animated by Bonnicksen). Going to the window, Bugs hangs a large sheet out the window and offers, “Ladies first”. Falling for it, Millicent begins to climb out, “How nice!”, only for Bugs to deliberately drop her out the window, “Oops! Butterfingers!” (animated by Batchelder)

Later, Millicent is heard angrily pounding on the front door and demanding, “Open the door, I say! Let me in!” Hearing this, Bugs runs into Elmer’s bedroom and wakes him up, “Wake up, doc! Wake up! Uncle Judd’s at the door!” Elmer responds, “Huh? What? Uncle Judd? Oh boy, my 500 bucks!” Bugs gets him to put something on, “Here, quick! Slip into this bathrobe!” Said “bathrobe” is actually a blue rabbit costume as Elmer runs to the door, “I’m coming, Uncle Judd!” (animated by Batchelder) Upon opening the door, Elmer is surprised at who it is, “Miwwicent!” Millicent immediately falls in love with Elmer in the rabbit suit and upon seeing Bugs, she walks up to him, with the window trick causing her to have changed her views on him. “I don’t like you”, she tells Bugs, before turning to Elmer, “But, YOU, I like! Give to me large kiss!” Elmer lets out an “Oh, no” as he backs away (animated by Grandpre). He then runs out the door with Millicent chasing him into the distance and repeatedly laughing “Darling!” in a crazed manner. Dressed as Cupid preparing to shoot an arrow, Bugs laughs, “Ain’t I the little matchmaker, though?” (animated by Batchelder)

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕