Release Date:

November 12, 1955

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam

Summary:

In Rome 54 AD, Emperor Nero is informed that the Romans are out of victims for the lions. Nero sends Captain of the Guards Yosemite Sam to find a victim. When Sam encounters Bugs Bunny, he decides to have Bugs be the victim, but ends up getting himself in trouble with the lions several times.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1384 and was released as a Looney Tune.

This cartoon basically solidifies Freleng’s unit for pretty much the remainder of the 1950’s with Warren Foster still being his storyman and Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Davis, and Virgil Ross being his sole trio of animators (and even though Hawley Pratt still remained as his layout artist until the original 1964 closure, Irv Wyner would be replaced briefly by Boris Gorelick and then by Tom O’Loughlin in a couple years).

From this cartoon onwards, Freleng is now credited as “Friz Freleng”.

The title is a pun for “Roman legionnaire”.

Nero is caricatured as Charles Laughton, who incidentally played him in the 1932 film, “The Sign of the Cross”.

The cartoon was used in the 1981 compilation movie, “The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie”.

The lions share the same character design as the one in “Tweety’s Circus”.

This is one of a few cartoons from the 1955-1956 season to use the 1954-1955 end card with the red-purple rings with the blue background, but with the opening titles still retaining the 1955-1956 green rings with the red background.

This is the latest-released cartoon to be the opener of a Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set. In this case, this cartoon is the first one presented on the first disc of Volume 4 (which came out in November 2006 around the time of the cartoon’s 51st anniversary).

The sawing down stilts gag is reused from “Ain’t She Tweet”.

A small, silent 90-second cut-down of this cartoon was used on a Fisher Price Movie Viewer in 1976 as “Bugs Bunny in the Lions’ Den”.

The cartoon notably ends on a dark note for both Nero and Sam (though considering how loathsome the actual Nero was, some may find it satisfying).

Bugs’ closing line, “Well, like the Romans always say, ‘E. Pluribus Uranium’” is a play on words for “E. Pluribus Unum”.

I love the music that plays over the opening credits.

This is the point where some might believe that the animation had become “cheaper” as evidenced by this short. This is from the channel of a film critic who calls himself “The Hick Critic”, and he reviewed all of the Warner cartoons from June 2022- July 2023, but split into ten parts, doing 100 cartoons in brief reviews for each part. While I do respect his and other fellow fans’ opinions on these cartoons, I can’t help but feel frustrated at critiques surrounding problems that were out of the studio’s control, such as the animation (especially in the overhated late 1964-1969 period. Keep in mind that from this point onward, declining budgets and the rise of television were causing the animation in theatrical cartoons to become more limited. I personally think fans always end up being unreasonable whenever they criticize the animation in the mid-late 1950’s and 1960’s cartoons, because it would’ve obviously been way too expensive to do full animation like in the previous eras) and voices (with that case being a few years later when Mel Blanc miraculously survived a severe car accident in January 1961 that nearly killed him. He still recorded voices while he was recovering so if his voices sound slightly different in the early 1960’s cartoons, that’s the reason. Since there was no way he could’ve sounded as good as he did prior, I am a firm believer that Blanc should be given complete lenience for this and that people should be grateful he was still able to do voices at all).

Favorite Scene:

Bugs and Sam tiptoe quietly through a room full of sleeping lions. Once Bugs makes it out safely, he lowers an alarm clock down into the room while Sam is still in there, in order to wake the lions up and also shuts the manhole lid over the exit before the lions begin thrashing Sam.

What Happens in This One:

The setting is Rome in 54 AD. The camera pans across to show a sign pointing to the left, “Another Appian Freeway for Your Safety. Slow Chariots Keep Right”. At the Coliseum, the event with the lions mauling a victim is treated as a then-modern day football game with the poster advertising, “Coliseum Today. Detroit Lions in Season Opener. Undefeated Lions Out for First Taste of Victory”. The announcer states, “What a sight. The Coliseum is packed to the brim. A great day for the big event”. Several Roman soldiers march out into the arena while blowing their royal trumpets, before Nero is brought in on his chariot that’s as long as a limo, “And here comes Emperor Nero!”, to which the audience cheers (animated by Virgil Ross).

“Emperor Nero has kindly consented to throw out the first victim”. Nero demands, “Okay. Give me the victim. Give me the victim! Come on!” One of the soldiers answers with a sad expression, “But sire, we’re all out of victims!” Nero becomes outraged at this, “Out of victims!?” and then calls for “Captain of the Guards!” Sam is the Captain of the Guards in question as he comes up beside Nero and salutes him, before Nero instructs, “Get me a victim right away, or YOU’LL be the victim!” Shocked at the idea, Sam runs off (animated by Ross) and out of the Coliseum where he reveals his thoughts about Nero, “Ooh. What a grouch!” (animated by Gerry Chiniquy)

Sam blows his trumpet, prompting several Roman soldiers who are all around Sam’s size to come together in a group. Sam then gives orders, “Fall in! Forward march!”, as he leads the march to find the victim and says, “Hut, 2, 3, 4” repeatedly (animated by Chiniquy). Hearing the noise, Bugs emerges from his hole and wonders, “Eh, what’s that?”, and upon seeing Sam and his group of soldiers marching, he assumes, “A parade! Oh boy, I love parades!” (animated by Ross) Bugs comes up alongside Sam and asks him, “Eh, what’s up, doc? Roman Legion convention or something?” Sam replies in a somewhat mocking tone, “No, it ain’t no Roman Legion convention!” before switching to his normal voice, “I got to find a victim to feed to the lions!” Bugs informs him before walking away, “Looks like you’re out of luck, doc. No one’s around but me. So long”. Realizing Bugs could do for a victim, Sam stops marching and lets out a “Hmm” while sporting an evil smile (animated by Chiniquy).

Sam orders his troops, “Get that rabbit! Charge!”, before they all run after Bugs in time to drumming. Realizing he’s being pursued, Bugs runs off and hides behind a large structure. He then sticks out his foot and trips up the soldiers, but Sam only comes up to him with his sword. Bugs lets out an “Oops!” before fleeing again. Sam goes after him in a horse and cart. The horse takes off rather suddenly when complying to Sam’s command of, “Gidd-up! Gidd-up! Gidd-up, mule! H’yah! H’yah! H’yah, mule!”, briefly leaving Sam in mid-air holding the reins, which sends him flying forward into the cart. The horse runs past the still-running Bugs, with Sam failing to get him to stop, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, mule! Whoa, mule! Whoa-”. Once the horse does come to a stop, this results in the cart flying forward above the horse and Sam crashing in front of him offscreen. Bugs remarks, “Eh, these hot rod kids!” With his only his helmet, arms, and legs being seen due to the impact of his crash having compressed his entire body down, Sam comes in swinging his sword, “Ya moth-eatin’ rabbit! I’ll slice ya to ribbons!” Bugs dodges each attempt, before Sam eventually spins around, which gets his body back to normal before he picks up a club and resumes the chase (animated by Chiniquy).

Bugs runs into the Coliseum and enters through the hall where the lions reside. One of the lions behind bars watches Bugs running past him and then watches Sam stop in front of him as the latter wonders, “Now, where’d that skunk of a rabbit go!?” The lion roars angrily at Sam from behind, to which Sam tells him off, “Why, you mangy fang-toothed critter! Take that!”, as he clubs the lion on the head. “Maybe that’ll learn ya to keep your big mouth shut!” As Sam says to himself, “That fur-bearin’ varmint’s around here somewheres!”, Bugs spins the wheel that lifts up the bars in front of the lion, who roars again. Sam begins bashing him on the head before turning to the audience with a sad expression as he realizes he’s screwed, “How many times do I have to tell you… to… shut… up”. The enraged lion chases Sam, who makes it out of the hall and locks the door from behind him. Sam vows, “Wait’ll I lay my hands on that varmint! I’ll-!”, but due to standing on a rug, is pulled back into the hall by the lion, who thrashes him up and then puts the rug and the beaten up Sam back out into the open (animated by Arthur Davis).

Bugs runs upstairs out of the lion’s hall, but then runs back down upon seeing Sam coming down after him. Bugs enters another room, shutting the door on Sam’s face. Bugs finds out that this room is full of sleeping lions. After putting his helmet back on, Sam barges into the room and finds (animated by Chiniquy) Bugs tiptoeing around the lions before he turns around to silently shush him. Sam tiptoes around after him, before Bugs climbs back out to safety through a manhole-like opening. While Sam is still in the middle of the room, Bugs lowers down an alarm clock on a string, which goes off and causes the lions to wake up to a shocked Sam looking around at them. Bugs then drops the clock and then puts the manhole cover onto the opening with his foot before leaving. In the middle of the lions beating up Sam, the manhole cover comes off, before Sam manages to get out and force the lions back in by repeatedly jumping on the cover (animated by Davis).

Sam gives chase once more but skids to a stop upon coming to a gap that has several lions below angrily growling up at him. Bugs, on the other side of the gap, is seen leaning his hand against the wall as he flutters his eyebrows and taunts, “How now, brown cow?” Sam declares, “No long-eared galoot can outfox the Captain of the Guards!” He comes back with stilts to get across, “Okay, rabbit! NOW, let’s see who’s the smartest!” Bugs sarcastically laments, “Oh, it looks like you outsmarted me. Oh, woe is me!” The lions attempt to jump up at Sam as he’s making his way across, only for him to yell, “Ah, shut up!” and club one of them on the head. Bugs tosses them two saws and an ax, “Here, lions”. The lions use the tools to cut down Sam’s stilts as he attempts to make it back across to no avail. After another thrashing, Sam runs back up to the side he attempted to walk across from, “I hates rabbits!” (animated by Chiniquy)

Bugs enters another room as he decides, “I’d better get out of here while the getting’s good!” Sam, however, locks this door. Once Bugs continues running forward, he finds that he’s unwittingly entered the arena and is right in the middle of it for the lions to come out at him (animated by Chiniquy). Sam goes back up to Nero and proudly tells him, “There’s your victim, your Neroship!” Nero declares, “Release the lions!” Bugs makes a scared take and braces himself, only for the lions to run right past him as if he isn’t there. They instead go straight for Sam and Nero, who run up to the top of a column. Bugs dons the Romans’ laurel wreath and remarks, “Well, like the Romans always say, ‘E Pluribus Uranium”. The lions begin clawing at the column, which causes it to get gradually smaller. As Sam and Nero get ever closer to their doom, Nero plays “Taps” on his fiddle before they are presumably consumed as evidenced by a final roar before the fade-out (animated by Ross).

Where Can I Watch It?

At toontales.net!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕