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5 times Bugs Bunny ate something other than a carrot
There were a few rare occasions where Bugs munched on something other than his signature snack.
Bugs Bunny is so associated with carrots, he’s the reason it’s commonly believed rabbits eat them, even though his signature snack has more to do with Clark Gable than an actual rabbit’s diet.
Bugs ate a carrot that gave him superpowers, chopped down tree-sized carrots in a giant’s garden, ate carrot soup instead of porridge at the three bear’s house and on and on. He even decorates his many different underground dwellings with pictures of carrots!
That got us thinking, does he ever eat anything else? Turns out, he does! Sometimes. After scouring dozens of Bugs Bunny cartoons, we’ve picked out five times the wascally wabbit ingests something other than his favorite root vegetable. Do you know of any other times not on this list? Let us know in a comment!
1. Hare-Um Scare-Um
The rabbit in this early cartoon is not quite the Bugs Bunny we know and love but he’s definitely a good prototype. His look is pretty close to the final design and he has fun antagonizing a hunter – a very Bugs-like activity. At one point he chomps on a stalk of celery, stating that it’s good for the nerves “and boy have I got nerve!” The main thing that differentiates this bunny from Bugs is the voice. Mel Blanc does something closer to Woody Woodpecker than Bugs’ eventual Brooklyn inflection.
2. Elmer’s Pet Rabbit
Though Bugs’ voice still sounds a little different in this cartoon, it’s definitely him. He was already a popular character and the title card makes a point to say “featuring Bugs Bunny” at the beginning. When Elmer picks up a new pet rabbit, he feeds him a whole bucketful of vegetables. Carrots are there, but Bugs also munches on celery and entire heads of lettuce as he feigns outrage at the stereotypical rabbit food.
3. Baseball Bugs
When Bugs sees a baseball team clobbering their opponents, he brags that he could beat them “with one hand tied behind my back.” The mean-looking players then gather around his hole to take him up on the offer. Having already finished his carrot in a hotdog bun, Bugs grabs a handful of peanuts (or maybe cracker jacks?) before asking his famous catchphrase. The snack provides the same crunch that usually comes before “Eh, what’s up, Doc?” but with a fun baseball twist.
4. Hare We Go
This cartoon retells the story of Christopher Columbus setting sale in 1492. After the King of Spain rejects Columbus’ theory that the world is round, Queen Isabella, voiced like a film noir Mae West-type by Bea Benaderet, offers her jewels if “Chris” can prove the world is round. Thus, Columbus and Bugs set sail. On the ship, they eat some kind of soup as the sea rocks them back and forth. When the bowl falls, splattering the grub on the ground in front of a door labeled “Captain’s Mess,” Bugs jokes that, “If it’s the Captain’s Mess, let him clean it up.”
5. Hot Cross Bunny
In one of Bugs Bunny’s many run-ins with a mad scientist, the French doctor in this short wants to switch the minds of a rabbit and a chicken. As the scientist chases Bugs around the lab, Bugs grabs random ingredients and mixes them together, declaring “One more step and I’ll blow you up! This contains manganese, phosphorous, nitrate, lactic acid and dextrose.” The scientist laughs, saying that’s just the formula for a chocolate malt. Delighted, Bugs gulps down his creamy concoction. We’re cheating a little because he’s not eating anything but seeing Bugs ingest something not carrot related is a rarity so we had to include it.
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In the Bugs Bunny Cartoon
A Heckling Hare where Bugs
And a dog fall off a cliff
And they scream all the way
Down .I also heard that there is
An alternate ending for A
Heckling Hare.
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