'Looney Tunes Cartoons': Was Bugs Bunny in love with Elmer Fudd? Facts you didn't know about the iconic character
HBO Max has brought back the much-loved and iconic character Bugs Bunny with the show 'Looney Tunes Cartoons' that airs on Wednesdays. There is a rich anecdotal history attached to the character, who underwent many changes over the decades. From his mannerisms, style, and name, to the racial controversy and alleged love for Elmer Fudd, here's looking at some facts that you might not have known about Bugs Bunny:
1. He's a rabbit, not a hare.
2. Bugs Bunny was originally called “Happy Rabbit”. Initially, he was white instead of gray and they alternated between giving him huge buck teeth and no teeth at all.
3. Bugs Bunny's name came from his animator. In 1938, Ben “Bugs” Hardaway was redesigning a new rabbit character. One employee referred to the drawing as “Bug’s Bunny” (which was written above the illustration) and the name remained since.
4. Bugs Bunny was the first cartoon character to appear solo on a US postage stamp in 1997.
5. Bugs Bunny's carrot-eating mannerisms were partially inspired by Clark Gable from the film 'It Happened One Night'.
6. Mel Blanc actually ate carrots while voicing the character.
7. Bugs Bunny is actually a US Marine. At the end of the 1943 sketch, 'Super-Rabbit,' Bugs wears a USMC blue uniform. As a result, Bugs was made into an honorary private of the corps. Throughout WWII, Bugs continued to be promoted in rank until he retired as a Master Sergeant.
8. He got stuck in a racial controversy. In 1944, the clip 'Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips', an American WWII-propaganda film, showed racist portrayals of Japanese soldiers. It was created after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, and screened occasionally on TV until 1948, but was not shown in public until the release of 'The Golden Age of Looney Tunes' on VHS, just in time for Christmas in 1991. The videos were withdrawn, as Japanese Rights groups demanded to ban it.
9. He *might* have been gay. In 2007, Blanc's son, Steve revealed that Bugs had a long and "unrequited" love for Elmer Fudd. Blanc Jr is the author of 'Bugs and Elmer: A Forbidden Love', and explained his theory at the Academy of Motion Pictures annual Warner Brothers Looney Tunes Night. The news was met with support.
Blanc said that the relationship was expressed in code: “The studio just wouldn’t allow it. Instead, Bugs and Elmer expressed their love for each using homosexual codes of the day, such as Elmer pointing a gun at Bugs, and Bugs responding with a squirt of seltzer in his face."