The 8 Greatest Bugs Bunny Music Gags Ever By Mark [25 more lists]

In honor of Bugs Bunny's 70th birthday this week, here are the greatest and funniest times that arguably the best cartoon character of all time has ever bested his enemies using music.

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1

What's Opera, Doc?

One of the most famous, landmark cartoon shorts of all time, "What's Opera, Doc?" features Bugs Bunny being chased by a Valkyrie Elmer Fudd as he sings about his intentions of killing "Da Wabbit" (presented in this video with Spanish subtitles, for all of our Spanish speaking friends).

Surprising for its time, the reason that this is the greatest musical gag Bugs Bunny ever pulled on one of his enemies is that he not only gets Elmer Fudd to love him by crossdressing, but he makes him sad about killing him when he does.

You think that Bugs Bunny is going to come back to life the whole time, but the entire gag of the cartoon itself ends up being that this isn't a cartoon, it's an opera, and in an opera there are no happy endings.

He not only pulled a fast one on Elmer Fudd in this classic, revered cartoon short, but he pulled a fast one on the audience.

Brilliant.

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2

Long-Haired Hare

In the short titled "Long-Haired Hare" Bugs Bunny's jolly singing along to his banjo is interrupted by the loud annoying sounds of a world-class opera singer practicing his chops.

Turns out that the opera singer can hear Bugs as well.

The opera singer breaks the banjo right in front of Bugs, and then puts it over his head. The opera singer continues to terrorize Bugs throughout the short because he needs to prepare for an important, hoity toity concert.

Bugs fights back by acting as the conductor for the play after trying to sneak in and sabotage the man who broke his banjo about 3 times.

One of his most brilliant plans yet. This not only allows Bugs to get back at the guy and torture him, but to be in COMPLETE control of him and have his enemy treat him as his hero.

What Bugs does to the opera singer by toying with him and giving him impossibly long and high notes (at about 4:45 into the video) can only be seen as one of the greatest cartoon retaliations of all time.

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3

The Rabbit of Seville

While chasing Bugs Bunny into the Hollywood Bowl, Elmer Fudd is tricked into going on stage during a production that Bugs just completely takes over, making Elmer go through the steps of Rossini's "The Barber Of Seville" while torturing him and using music, dance and hilarious animation ideas to better his foe.

Elmer is forced to shoot an electric razor, race to the top of the world with a barber's chair, shave his non-existent beard and be utterly abused by Bugs Bunny in a weird haze.

The greatest part is when Fudd, after going along with Bugs Bunny's shenanigans for a full two minutes gets mad at him again for not giving him a pretty makeover.

One of the most Itchy-and-Scratchy-esque moments in Looney Tunes history and definitely one for the books that shows us all exactly why Bugs Bunny is the one cartoon character that you do NOT mess with.

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4

Hillbilly Hare

Brothers Curt and Pumpkin Head Martin try hunting Bugs Bunny and therefore make the fatal mistake that a lot of people before them did.

This is one of the greatest Bugs Bunny music gags ever because, as usual, he uses the fact that they're in the middle of a song to distract the dimwitted idiots he's fighting into doing whatever he wants them to do.

After infiltrating their group by (once again) cross-dressing, he sees that they're caught up in their square dancing so much that he (once again) takes control of the people who will do anything to follow a dance/song.

In this short, he uses the do-ci-do song to make them do everything from willingly walk into a hay compactor, to poke each other in the eye, to walk off a clip. After they have most likely have brain damage after throwing themselves off a gorge, Bugs makes them turn to each other, shake hands and then bow.

At which point they collapse and we know that Bugs Bunny has not only won, but that his quick improvisational skills, as well as his prowess on the fiddle have tricked these simple (now) cartoon superstars into harming themselves more than he ever could.

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5

The Unmentionables

In the final appearance of Rocky and Mugsy (the 20s gangsters we all know and love from Merry Melodies/Looney Tunes), the two gangsters kidnap secret agent "Miss", aka Bugs Bunny, and decide to hold a party with a bunch of affeminate and/or weird-looking gangster of the Dick Tracy variety to celebrate Rocky's birthday and the elimination of Bugs Bunny's character.

After each of the gangsters is attracted to a once-again-crossdressing Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny as the lady uses his flapper dance to kick Rocky in the face repeatedly.

Sure, this isn't what defeats Rocky and Mugsy in the meat of this cartoon, but it is what establishes Bugs as an antagonist to them and a protagonist for us, the audience.

Bugs Bunny ends up shooting them repeatedly and using cement, exactly what they used to try and drown him, to trap them and then have them incarcerated.

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6

Show Biz Bugs

The ever egotistical Daffy Duck shows up to a theater where he and Bugs are performing to find that Bugs's name is printed above his in the marquee.

Daffy, then, throughout the entire short is determined to prove that he has as much drawing power, if not MORE than Bugs does.

As Bugs performs a series of simple, effortless performances to a standing ovation, Daffy works his ass off trying to top Bugs only to be worked to the bone.

Bugs dances and uses speedy music to get the better of Daffy in this one, making him dance so fast he almost explodes.

Although he doesn't explode here, he does at the end when his final act (drinking nitroglycerin, gun powder and uranium) causes him to go up in flames. Daffy ends up getting the attention he wants, but at the cost of Bugs being the REAL winner in the eyes of the audience with just a few effortless steps of dance to music.

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7

Corney Concerto, "Tales from the Vienna Woods"

After Elmer Fudd's intro, you get the segment "Tales from the Vienna Woods", starring Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and an unnamed dog.

In one of his only outings as a rabbit hunter a very early incarnation of Porky Pig hunts Bugs Bunny and wants to shoot him. He brings along a hunting dog. Porky holds up a sign that alerts the audience of what he's doing ("Hunting that *$@*$# Rabbit"). As soon as the fight leads one of them to throw a gun into a squirrel's house, the squirrel gets angry and shoots in their general direction.

After the squirrel does this, they all assume they've been hit. After Porky and his dog realize that they are fine, Bugs Bunny fakes his own death, causing the two hunters to mourn him. Bugs then reveals that he was wearing a bra underneath his "clothes", slaps Porky and his dog, then runs away leaving them both befuddled, confused, sorry and completely disoriented.

This not only makes the list because it is an awesome parody of Fantasia (came out a little after it), but it shows our characters in another operatic state making fools of each other. It also features Bugs Bunny using gender confusion again to disorient his foes and make them feel sorry for what they've done to him because he's once again nothing but a poor defenseless dame.

Bugs uses the sad part of the song the dog is crying in order to get a rise out of them, straps them together using his blue bra and then prances away wearing a tutu and ballet shoes.

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8

Rhapsody Rabbit

Bugs Bunny actually gets SLIGHTLY thwarted in this piece... but by a MOUSE.

While trying to put on a concert, Bugs Bunny is interrupted by audience member after audience member.

After this, he's interrupted by a cute, cuddly mouse that changes Bugs from playing a beautiful Rhapsody to playing a more "boogie oogie" type of song that he must match the mouse on.

After Bugs closes the piano the mouse is hopping around on and throws in some dynamite, the mouse starts playing Taps.

Clearly bugs has had it, they play another tidbit and the mouse is supposedly dead.

Bugs tries to finish the piece and then turns to the last page of the music that holds insanely impossible-to-play notes... until the mouse is seen on a tiny smaller piano (that sounds just as big as Bugs's) playing what Bugs was supposed to.

Bugs plays the last three notes and then mouths an unheard profanity towards the audience.

One of the greatest music gags in Bugs Bunny history ends up not even belonging to Bugs himself.

Happy Birthday week to the greatest cartoon character of all time that transcends genders, races and even language.

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Showing items 1 - 5 of 8

What's Opera, Doc?

Long-Haired Hare

The Rabbit of Seville

Hillbilly Hare

The Unmentionables

Show Biz Bugs

Corney Concerto, "Tales from the Vienna Woods"

Rhapsody Rabbit