Release Date:

April 14, 1951

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam

Summary:

Yosemite Sam’s new house is built atop Bugs Bunny’s hole and he refuses to move, claiming he never makes a mistake. The judge of the literal highest court decides that they both share the property, but if one dies, the other will be the sole owner of said property. Sam then attempts a series of backfiring attempts to bump Bugs off.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1165 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The title of this cartoon was one of the working titles of “A Lad in His Lamp”.

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

Notably, Sam tells one of the biggest lies about himself in this one: “Yosemite Sam never makes a mistake!” (in real life, it is one of the biggest lies about everyone, due to none of us being perfect, despite what certain Instagram comments may tell you).

This is the only cartoon where Sam actually tries to save Bugs from apparent danger as both mistake the bear rug for a real bear after the rug’s mouth shuts on Bugs’ rear (after he exits from its mouth due to the rug being on top of his hole). Once Bugs thanks him, however, the usual antagonism begins.

Sam’s closing line references the 1943 film, “Cabin in the Sky”.

This is the only cartoon where Sam refers to Bugs by name, albeit referring to him as “Bugsy”.

“Powerhouse” plays during the entire sequence of Sam’s house being built atop Bugs’ hole and Bugs bouncing around from all the noise above him.

What I Like About This One:

Out in his hole in the desert, Bugs happily sings “Home on the Range” on the banjo, albeit referring to the respective animals in the improper plurals: “Oh, give me a home, where the buffaloes roam. And the deers and the antelopes play.” He pauses to add, “And the rabbits” before finishing the song. Suddenly, the floorboards from Sam’s house are built atop Bugs’ hole. Confused by his hole being boarded over and with the noise outside, Bugs wonders, “Hey, what the-? What’s all the rumpus?” (animated by Virgil Ross) As the workers construct Sam’s home in tune to “Powerhouse”, Bugs bounces around in his chair from the noise. The workers all leave once the house is finished with a moving van backing up to the house and depositing all of Sam’s belongings inside in the manner of a dump truck (animated by Manuel Perez).

As Sam sings “I Can’t Get a Long Little Doggie” (also on the banjo), Bugs climbs up his ladder leading out of his hole and bangs on the floor, demanding whoever’s up there to open up. Sam stops his singing upon hearing the banging noises but once they stop, he assumes it’s “Mice” before continuing the song. Bugs then cuts the floor open with a saw, unaware that a bear rug has been placed atop it (animated by Arthur Davis with Perez animating all shots of Bugs). He climbs out through the bear rug’s mouth, which then snaps shut on his rear. Bugs mistakes it for a real bear and starts panicking while moving around on the floor, demanding it to let go (animated by John Carey). Wondering what the noise is, Sam enters and is horrified at what he’s witnessing: “What’s going on in-Great Horny Toads!” He too assumes the bear rug is an actual bear and shoots at it (animated by Davis) demanding, “Let go of that rabbit!” One of his shots results in Bugs jumping out of the bear rug (animated by Carey) before Sam scolds it, “Playin’ possum for 20 years!” and shoots it a few more times, “That’ll learn ya!” (animated by Ken Champin)

Bugs tells Sam, “Eh, thanks a lot, doc” but Sam is of course rude, “Okay, rabbit. Now haul your carcass off’n my premises!” Bugs chuckles, “Oh, uh, heh, heh. Eh, there must be some mistake. You see, through some error, you’ve built your house on my property. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask ya to move it, doc”. Outraged, Sam declares, “What!? Why, listen, rabbit! Yosemite Sam never makes a mistake!” before picking Bugs up and taking him to the door, “Now get that flea-bitten carcass off’n my REAL estate!” After throwing him out, Sam yells, “And stay out!” Bugs argues, “Now lookit here, you don’t think you can get away with this, do ya?” Sam responds with, “Shut up!” and shoots at him. Bugs seemingly complies, “Okay, okay. I’m shuttin’ up. Why should I continue to keep yappin’ when I’m told to shut up? I’m not the kind that don’t know when to stop…” before Sam changes this to “Shut up, shuttin’ up!” and chases Bugs with his gunfire (animated by Champin).

At a considerable distance away from Sam’s house, Bugs yells to him, “You can’t get away with this! I’ll take this to the highest court in the country!” before having to duck another bullet fired by Sam (animated by Carey). Having walked all the way up to the literal highest court, whose elevation is 6723 feet, Bugs is exhausted: “I should’ve picked a lower court! I’m bushed!” Inside the courtroom, the judge tells both Bugs and Sam, “And it is the decision of this court that you both share this property under the same roof. And in the event that one of you should pass on, the other shall inherit the entire property”. With this news, Sam chuckles fiendishly (animated by Ross).

That night, as they are in separate beds, Sam snickers, “Good night, varmint” as Bugs uneasily bids him, “Eh, good night”. After Sam shuts off the light, he attempts to sneak across to Bugs’ side of the room to hit him with a mallet in the dark. Before he can do so, Bugs turns the light on. Sam makes an excuse as to why he’s out of bed with a mallet, pounding the carpet with the mallet as he goes back to his side of the room, “Eh, heh, heh. Carpet keeps rollin’ up!” Sam irritably bids, “Good night, critter” and shuts the light back off. He attempts to try again at hitting Bugs in the darkness and seemingly does, but when the lights come on, it turns out that Bugs hit Sam instead. “There! That ought to keep that carpet flat!”, Bugs says. Dazed, Sam goes back to bed and says, “Uh, uh, good night, varmint, critter…” and once more shuts off the lights (animated by Davis).

The next morning, Sam calls to Bugs from downstairs in a singsong voice, “Oh, Bugsy, breakfast is ready!” Bugs answers also in a singsong voice, “Coming right downy!” (animated by Perez) As a tired Bugs looks in the bathroom mirror, seeing he needs to shave his muzzle (animated by Champin), Sam prepares two glasses of carrot juice, spiking the one intended for Bugs with a drop of a poisonous chemical. After he mixes it in, the spoon he used to do so disintegrates (animated by Perez).

At the table, Bugs demands, “Hey! Bring on the vittles!” Sam gives him his carrot juice and tells him to drink it up. Bugs spins the table around offering, “Trade ya!” Sam spins it back, “Drink your own juice!” Bugs has it spin around fast like a roulette wheel, “Round she goes! Where she stops, nobody knows!” Sam stops it and yells, “Cut it out! Now drink your juice, before I blows the fur off’n your hide!” before he politely adds, “It’s good for ya”. Bugs acts stubborn, “I’m not going to drink till you drink yours FIRST!” Chuckling fiendishly, Sam agrees, “Okay, it’s a deal!” and drinks his. Sam then threatens Bugs at gunpoint, “Now, drink up, varmint!” Acting terrified, Bugs drinks his and then tells Sam, “Hey, that’s delicious! How about a second helping, doc?” Sam looks into Bugs’ glass and his pupils shrink upon realizing he drank his own booby trap. His body then shakes like thunder and he goes zooming out into the air, and blowing up in the distance (animated by Ross).

Running back completely charred, Sam threatens, “Say your prayers, ya long-eared galoot!” Bugs runs back to his hole (after tossing the bear rug aside) before Sam starts piling explosives down in there, oblivious to the fact that Bugs is moving them all under Sam’s floor. After Sam jumps on the last explosive to stuff it down into the hole Bugs sawed out earlier, he doesn’t realize all of the explosives have been detoured under his house until it’s too late (animated by Perez). The explosion leaves Bugs’ hole only a large tubular patch of dirt with a small canyon around it and he looks up to see Sam’s house floating high into the air. Realizing he’s soaring high into the air, Sam clings to one of the house’s support beams as he exclaims, “Well, what do ya know? I got a cabin in the sky!” (animated by Davis)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕