The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie - DVD Review

"The Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" was a stalwart of my youth because of its structure and dark overtones. "Knighty Knight Bugs" works beautifully as Bugs takes the Singing Sword from Yosemite Sam as the Black Knight and his hokey dragon. When the dragon first burns Sam as he is trying to put his game face on, it is hilarious. "Act 1: Satan's Waitin" has Sam going after Granny because she has alot of money having just been widowed. Sam gets her going with some trumpet movement. But eventually a safe gets dropped on him. The devil gives him a second chance to replace his spot in hell. He then sends Sam back to Ancient Rome to bring back the rabbit. The Romans have alot of lions and most of Sam's troubles revolve around using bats but the lions are down with his game and eventually take him down. The devil sends him back again (in the desert this time) but he can't seem to get his camel to run while Bugs sets up fortification in a town. Sam decides he has to open all the doors including one set up with TNT. The final arena is in the West. The duel-off inside the saloon is perfectly timed with Bugs taking on the visage of Clint Eastwood. A game of chicken with locomotives ensues. Bugs always seem to pull 20th Century technology from nowhere which is why he always wins. Sam tells the devil to go get Bugs himself.Part 2 is "The Unmentionables" which has Bugs as Elliott Ness taking on Mugsy and Rocky. The timing on some of this stuff is phenomenal and better than most. Friz Freleng always knew when to hit with the punchline but it seems almost like improv. The first two pieces feature Bugs taking the criminals down in a cereal factory and then saving Daffy who is laying golden eggs. The third has Sylvester trying to get back Tweety from Rocky for lunch. Two specific instances where Sylvester utters in his lisp: "I slipped" and "I hate you guys" are so simple but their execution is laugh-out-loud funny. Part 3 is "The Oswalds" which shows three key shorts within the context of an awards show. The first one is a zoot retelling of the Three Little Pigs called "The Three Little Bops" where the Wolf doesn't get cool until he goes to hell. The next one has Sylvester going to Birds Anonymous but eventually renegs and falls off the wagon. The last short is "High Flying Hare" which has Bugs having to fill in for a high diving act again breaking the laws of physics to Yosemite Sam's chagrin. Bugs wins the Oswald but Daffy challenges him on stage. The last trick Daffy pulls is definitely too far. Freleng got away with alot of the sequences but these shorts were surely made for adults at the time.The extra cartoons on the disc are closer in terms of the time creatio since this movie was distributed in 1981. "Box Office Bunny", "From Hare To Eternity" and "Pullet Surprise" are all more recent entries under the tutelage of Chuck Jones but they feel a little too comparative in trying to be shorts from the 50s and early 60s. They have some of the elements but feel more forced as if they aren't allowed to breathe as much. More nostalgia than modern day.  The trailers on the disc show the possibilities from old to new including Vol. 2 & 3 of "Scooby Doo Where Are You" up to the fun and nostalgic "Clone Wars". "The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" was a stalwart of my childhood and shows how good the Friz Freleng shorts within the movie still play today, even though their adult themes seem more irreverent than ever. Out of 5, I give it a 3 1/2.