Invasion Of The Bunny Snatchers



Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers is a Bugs Bunny short cartoon directed by Greg Ford in 1991. but it was released on Friday, November 6th, 1992. The production code of the short is 198000 (may be wrong, the code is extremely unreadable). There are a few differences that separate this short from the golden age of Looney Tunes, as it takes a different approach from the then-standard Chuck Jones cartoon formula. Originally part of a compilation special produced for television, this short never received an official theatrical release. The cartoon appears in the Space Jam 2 Disc Special Edition DVD as a special feature. In the Space Jam DVD, the cartoon is edited, as Yosemite Sam originally appeared in the cartoon. He was taken out by Warner Bros. due to "time allotment." Sam can still be heard in the edited version, when all of the Looney Tunes' "pods" are about to be launched into space.

Plot
In an obvious parody of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the short opens with a voice-over by Bugs explaining that strange carrots have traveled from outer space to Earth. In the first scene, Bugs wakes up in his rabbit hole and remarks that he is late for work. His "work" consists of performing routines with Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, and Daffy Duck. During the first routine, there is a strange pile of glowing carrots in the background, but Bugs ignores them.

Taking a plane to the Wild West Bugs goes through the old, "I dare you to step across this line" gag with Sam. After Sam falls off the cliff and makes his way back up, he sees a pile of strange carrots along the cactus.

Bugs then takes a "Grey Hare" bus to meet with Daffy. They perform the "Rabbit Season, Duck Season" routine and hunters shoot Daffy. Again the carrots appear, but this time they are shown attacking Daffy as Bugs leaves for home.

The next day, Bugs wakes up and returns to "work", but Elmer looks and acts like a "pale stereotype" of his former self. Elmer appears as poorly-drawn with choppy animation and a voice like a broken record. When he offers Bugs a carrot, Bugs leaves to find Sam.

Sam has also fallen victim to the carrots. Bugs finds the pale stereotype version of Sam, who wears a smiley face sticker on his shirt and forever says he doesn't want to hurt him (while moving like a character in a poorly animated 1960s television cartoon), and walks off the cliff himself. When the fake Sam offers Bugs a carrot, Bugs then leaves to find Daffy.

Daffy, who has also fallen victim to the carrots, now flickers in and out of frame, and none of his body parts are well-attached. (At one point, his mouth is done Clutch Cargo style!) He is also strangely friendly to Bugs, apologizing for their feud over the years through a human mouth attached to his beak. After Daffy gets shot by the hunters yet again, he returns, riddled with holes, and offers Bugs a carrot. This time Bugs accepts the carrot.

In the next scene, Bugs Bunny tries to figure out why the other Looney Tunes appear so different. The camera focuses on the carrot, which produces a pale stereotype of Bugs. The impostor attempts to kill the real Bugs with an axe and Bugs runs off screaming (but stops for a moment to remark "You know something, folks? This is the scariest part of the picture"). At this point, the typical Looney Tunes end theme plays, but Bugs interrupts, claiming he must get to the bottom of the mystery. He finds tags on Elmer, Sam, and Daffy indicating that the impostors were made on the planet Nudnik, and realizes he must launch them into space to get the original Tunes back. He collects the now malfunctioning "pods" into a sack marked "pale stereotypes". He fires them into space, in a sequence with literal-minded depictions of the Milky Way and the Dog Star. Finally, a mouth materializes in a black hole and swallows the impostor Tunes. In the closing scene, Bugs and friends are back to normal.

After the cartoon's credits roll, we see the Looney Tunes drum. Out of it, though, pops an impostor Porky Pig (who is wearing pants) trying to utter the line "That's All Folks!" Bugs then comes in and throws out the impostor, and then (from offscreen) drags in the real Porky Pig and places him inside the drum. Porky chuckles and then says his line to close the cartoon.

Trivia

 * The short was first seen in the 1992 Looney Tunes TV special, Bugs Bunny's Creature Features.
 * The short was aired as a stand-alone on Nickelodeon, and then Cartoon Network
 * The Space Jam 2-disc DVD set contains an edited version of the short. The short was released fully uncut on The Ensential Bugs Bunny DVD.