Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid

Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid
Merrie Melodies (Bugs Bunny/Beaky Buzzard) series
Lobby card.
Directed by	Robert Clampett
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Story by	Warren Foster
Voices by	Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny) Kent Rogers (Beaky Buzzard) Sara Berner (Mama Buzzard)
Music by	Carl Stalling
Animation by	Rod Scribner Robert McKimson Virgil Ross
Studio	Leon Schlesinger Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date(s)	July 11, 1942
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	7:00
Language	English

Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Bob Clampett, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and released to theatres by Warner Bros. Pictures. It marks the first appearance of Beaky Buzzard in a Warner Bros. short.

The title is a Brooklynese way of saying "gets the bird", which can refer to an obscene gesture, or as simply the "Bronx cheer"; in this case, it is also used metaphorically, as Bugs "gets" the bird (a buzzard) by playing a trick.

Plot

The cartoon begins with a mother buzzard instructing her children to go out and catch something for dinner. They set off right away except one with his back turned. This is Beaky Buzzard (Killer) who is shy and a little on the slow side. Against his will, his mother kicks him out of the nest with instructions to at least catch a rabbit. Beaky spots Bugs Bunny and soars down to catch him. Bugs makes like an air-traffic controller and "guides" Beaky to the ground with a crash.

After some heckling, a chase ensues ending with Bugs crashing into the ground underneath the skeleton of a dead animal. He cries because he thinks he's dead ("Gruesome, isn't it?", he briefly confides to the audience), but it turns he knew he was okay the whole time. Beaky and Bugs jitterbug together. Bugs says, "Why don't we do this more often," to which Beaky replies, "Ya mean just what we're doing tonight?" This is a quote of the first line of the song "Why Don't We Do This More Often?" After the dance with Bugs, Beaky ends up underground with the skeleton above. He screams "Oh, MA!" and his mother shows up. At first the mother buzzard thinks Bugs did something to Beaky. Bugs pulls Beaky out of the ground. Noticing that Beaky is unharmed, the mother abandons her desire to eat Bugs and declares him her hero and kisses him. A blushing Bugs imitates Beaky.

Cast

Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny and Young Buzzards (uncredited)

Kent Rogers as Beaky Buzzard (uncredited)

Sara Berner as Mama Buzzard (uncredited)

Availability

This cartoon can be found on Volume 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection as well on the 1st Spotlight Collection and on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2.

Having been theatrically released alongside Yankee Doodle Dandy, it has been also included on that DVD.

External links

• Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid at the Internet Movie Database
• Extensive critical analysis of Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid