The Big 8-0

Out of the three main Looney Tunes stars--Porky, Daffy, and Bugs--Bugs is the youngest of the bunch and also has the shortest theatrical lifespan. Yet that doesn't stop him from being Warner Bros.' most beloved character!

80 years ago today on July 27th, 1940, Tex Avery took Ben Hardaway's screwy rabbit from Porky's Hare Hunt and shaped him to be a sly, cool, collected wiseacre. His carrot chomping and constant quipping of "What's up, doc?" (a phrase, Tex later said, taken from his youth, a popular catchphrase from his fellow classmates) has captured and enamored the hearts of millions for years upon years.

So, to celebrate the occasion, I had to put my artistic abilities to use!

I featured each of his prototype designs, for fun. Technically he has six prototypes, if you count his Jimmy Stewart -sounding self in Elmer's Pet Rabbit, but for simplicity's (and sanity's) sake, I included the major ones. They are as listed below:

Bugs as he appears in his debut appearance in Porky's Hare Hunt, directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway. 1938.

Prest-o Change-o, directed by Chuck Jones. 1939.

Hare-um Scare-um, directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton. 1939.

Elmer's Candid Camera, directed by Chuck Jones. 1940. My personal favorite of the bunch--a few animation drawings from cartoons such as The Heckling Hare and Wabbit Twouble depict him with the tipped ears as well.

Patient Porky, directed by Bob Clampett. 1940. Oddly enough, this cartoon was released AFTER A Wild Hare. While the design may seem the closest to his final design yet, his screwball voice and psuedo-Woody Woodpecker laugh assert that he's still a prototype.