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Celebrating 79 years of Bugs Bunny

The cartoon rabbit has been pulling pranks since July 27, 1940
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Bugs Bunny’s debut short film, “A Wild Hare” was released on July 27, 1940. (OswaldLR/Wikimedia Commons)

Bugs Bunny may have the joie de vivre of a young rabbit but on Saturday, he turned 79.

The cartoon rabbit made his debut on July 27, 1940 in the short film “A Wild Hare.”

In the film — written by Rich Hogan and directed by Tex Avery — Bugs Bunny outwits Elmer Fudd, the easily confused rabbit hunter, with hijinx only a “wascally wabbit” could think up.

This was also the first time Bugs Bunny uttered his famous line: “What’s up, Doc?”

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The short film was nominated for the Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation and an Academy Award for best cartoon short in 1941.

Since the release of his debut film, Bugs Bunny — originally voiced by Mel Blanc — hasn’t slowed down. With a myriad of appearances in television shows and movies, the cartoon bunny is quite the star.

And speaking of stars, Bugs Bunny even received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of fame in 1985 for his role in Looney Tunes.

Currently, the prankster rabbit can be seen in the News Looney Tunes which first aired in 2015 following the cancellation of the Looney Tunes in 2014. In the new series, Bugs Bunny stars alongside new and familiar characters and is voiced by Jeff Bergman.


@devonscarlett
devon.bidal@saanichnews.com

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