THE BUGS BUNNY GOLDEN JUBILEE

by Joe Adamson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1990

The ""wascally wabbit"" is now a half-century old, so to celebrate here's a richly illustrated ""biography"" (200 pictures, 150 in full color, including cels and film-frame art). Animation historian Adamson (The Walter Lantz Story, 1985, etc.) chronicles Bugs from his roots in the comedy of Chaplin and Keaton and his gestation in the early Elmer Fudd cartoons of Bugs Hardaway--toiling at Warner Bros.' famed ""Termite Terrace""--through his birth in 1940 in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare, his growth in voice (by Mel Blanc) and style (under the direction of Chuck Jones), and on to the present. Detailed, somewhat overblown cinematic critiques (on Bully for Bugs, 1953: ""Its conflict centers on the situation of the man in the arena, becoming a graphically ritualized, formalized look at Bugs' customary ability to face his opponent with aplomb, savoir-faire, and total assurance"") close out this affectionate, well-informed tribute.

Pub Date: April 30, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1990

Categories: NONFICTION