What's Up, Doc? (1950 film)

1950 animated short film by Robert McKimson

What's Up, Doc?

Directed by	Robert McKimson
Story by	Warren Foster
Starring	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl Stalling
Animation by	J.C. Melendez Charles McKimson Phil DeLara Wilson Burness
Layouts by	Cornett Wood
Backgrounds by	Richard H. Thomas
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	June 17, 1950 (1950-06-17)
Running time	7:15
Language	English

What's Up, Doc? is a Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 17, 1950 and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

Plot

While relaxing poolside, Bugs Bunny engages in a retrospective discussion about his ascent to fame during a phone interview. Bugs traces his journey from early artistic endeavors to his eventual breakthrough in the entertainment industry.

Bugs is a rabbit navigating a human-dominated world. Displaying early aptitude in both piano and ballet, he embarks on a professional pursuit of stardom, initially finding himself relegated to chorus roles in Broadway productions. A turning point arises when Bugs is offered a leading role in a show due to the sudden illness of its star. Despite his agreement to fill the vacancy, Bugs's performance falls short of expectations, resulting in his dismissal from the stage. Disenchanted with the prospect of returning to chorus work, Bugs withdraws from the limelight until an opportunity presents itself.

During a winter spent amidst fellow struggling actors in Central Park, Bugs encounters Elmer Fudd. Recognizing Bugs's potential, Fudd offers him a role as his sidekick in a vaudeville act. They embark on a nationwide tour, with Fudd delivering punchlines to Bugs's comedic antics. However, Bugs grows weary of being the recipient of Fudd's jokes and takes matters into his own hands by delivering the punchlines himself. This unexpected turn garners enthusiastic reception from audiences, leading to widespread acclaim and an invitation from Warner Bros. for screen tests.

Following a successful audition alongside Fudd, Bugs secures a contract with Warner Bros. and transitions into a film career. As Bugs reflects on his journey during the interview, he realizes he is running late for his first film role, which casts him as a chorus boy once again.

Notes

Bugs turns down dozens of scripts, including one entitled Life With Father. Bugs predicts: "Ehhh...this will never be a hit." It actually ran for 3,224 performances (1939-1947) on Broadway, making it the longest-running non-musical play in Broadway history (and, as of when this cartoon was made in 1950, the longest running Broadway show of any kind).
Al Jolson, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor and Bing Crosby, major stars of that time, are caricatured as park bums, who each do their routine when Elmer Fudd shows up. Elmer spots Bugs and asks, "Why are you hanging around these guys? They'll never amount to anything."

Home media

The cartoon was released on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 DVD set, and as a bonus on the Cats Don't Dance Blu-ray released by Warner Archive in September 2023.

References

Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 211. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
"Bugs Bunny in "What's Up, Doc?" (1950) -". cartoonresearch.com. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
^ "What's Up, Doc?". www.bcdb.com, August 31, 2013.
"Warner Archive Announces September Releases". Blu-ray.com. August 15, 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-16.

External links

What's Up Doc? at IMDb

Preceded byBig House Bunny

Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1950

Succeeded by8 Ball Bunny

Bugs Bunny in animation

List of Bugs Bunny cartoons

Looney Tunes
short films

1930s	Porky's Hare Hunt (1938)
1940s	Patient Porky (1940; cameo) Porky Pig's Feat (1943; cameo) Buckaroo Bugs (1944) Hare Conditioned (1945) Hare Tonic (1945) Baseball Bugs (1946) Acrobatty Bunny (1946) Racketeer Rabbit (1946) The Big Snooze (1946) Rabbit Transit (1947) Easter Yeggs (1947) Gorilla My Dreams (1948) A Feather in His Hare (1948) Buccaneer Bunny (1948) Haredevil Hare (1948) A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948) Mississippi Hare (1949) High Diving Hare (1949) Long-Haired Hare (1949) The Grey Hounded Hare (1949) The Windblown Hare (1949) Rabbit Hood (1949)
1950s	Mutiny on the Bunny (1950) Big House Bunny (1950) What's Up, Doc? (1950) 8 Ball Bunny (1950) Bushy Hare (1950) Rabbit of Seville (1950) Rabbit Every Monday (1951) The Fair-Haired Hare (1951) Rabbit Fire (1951) His Hare-Raising Tale (1951) Operation: Rabbit (1952) 14 Carrot Rabbit (1952) Water, Water Every Hare (1952) The Hasty Hare (1952) Hare Lift (1952) Forward March Hare (1953) Southern Fried Rabbit (1953) Bully for Bugs (1953) Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953) Robot Rabbit (1953) Bugs and Thugs (1954) No Parking Hare (1954) Devil May Hare (1954) Bewitched Bunny (1954) Yankee Doodle Bugs (1954) Sahara Hare (1955) Rabbit Rampage (1955) Hyde and Hare (1955) Roman Legion-Hare (1955) Broom-Stick Bunny (1956) Rabbitson Crusoe (1956) Barbary Coast Bunny (1956) A Star Is Bored (1956) Piker's Peak (1957) Bugsy and Mugsy (1957) Show Biz Bugs (1957) Hare-Way to the Stars (1958) Now Hare This (1958) Knighty Knight Bugs (1958) Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958) Baton Bunny (1959) Wild and Woolly Hare (1959) A Witch's Tangled Hare (1959)
1960s	Horse Hare (1960) Rabbit's Feat (1960) The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961) Prince Violent (1961) Wet Hare (1962) Shishkabugs (1962) The Million Hare (1963) Hare-Breadth Hurry (1963) Dumb Patrol (1964) The Iceman Ducketh (1964) False Hare (1964)
1990s	Box-Office Bunny (1991) Carrotblanca (1995) From Hare to Eternity (1997)

Merrie Melodies
short films

1930s	Prest-O Change-O (1939) Hare-um Scare-um (1939)
1940s	Elmer's Candid Camera (1940) A Wild Hare (1940) Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941) Tortoise Beats Hare (1941) Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941) The Heckling Hare (1941) All This and Rabbit Stew (1941) Wabbit Twouble (1941) The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (1942) The Wacky Wabbit (1942) Hold the Lion, Please (1942) Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942) Fresh Hare (1942) The Hare-Brained Hypnotist (1942) Case of the Missing Hare (1942) Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943) Super-Rabbit (1943) Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943) Wackiki Wabbit (1943) A Corny Concerto (1943) Falling Hare (1943) Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944) What's Cookin' Doc? (1944) Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944) Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (1944) Hare Ribbin' (1944) Hare Force (1944) The Old Grey Hare (1944) Stage Door Cartoon (1944) Herr Meets Hare (1945) The Unruly Hare (1945) Hare Trigger (1945) Hare Remover (1946) Hair-Raising Hare (1946) Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947) Slick Hare (1947) Rabbit Punch (1948) Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948) Hot Cross Bunny (1948) Hare Splitter (1948) My Bunny Lies over the Sea (1948) Hare Do (1949) Rebel Rabbit (1949) Bowery Bugs (1949) Knights Must Fall (1949) Frigid Hare (1949) Rabbit Hood (1949)
1950s	Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (1950) Homeless Hare (1950) Hillbilly Hare (1950) Bunker Hill Bunny (1950) Hare We Go (1951) Bunny Hugged (1951) French Rarebit (1951) Ballot Box Bunny (1951) Big Top Bunny (1951) Foxy by Proxy (1952) Oily Hare (1952) Rabbit Seasoning (1952) Rabbit's Kin (1952) Duck Amuck (1953; cameo) Upswept Hare (1953) Hare Trimmed (1953) Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953) Captain Hareblower (1954) Baby Buggy Bunny (1954) Beanstalk Bunny (1955) Hare Brush (1955) This Is a Life? (1955) Knight-mare Hare (1955) Bugs' Bonnets (1956) Napoleon Bunny-Part (1956) Half-Fare Hare (1956) Wideo Wabbit (1956) To Hare Is Human (1956) Ali Baba Bunny (1957) Bedevilled Rabbit (1957) What's Opera, Doc? (1957) Rabbit Romeo (1957) Hare-Less Wolf (1958) Hare-Abian Nights (1959) Apes of Wrath (1959) Backwoods Bunny (1959) Bonanza Bunny (1959) People Are Bunny (1959)
1960s	Person to Bunny (1960) From Hare to Heir (1960) Lighter Than Hare (1960) Compressed Hare (1961) Bill of Hare (1962) Devil's Feud Cake (1963) The Unmentionables (1963) Mad as a Mars Hare (1963) Transylvania 6-5000 (1963) Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964)
1990s	(Blooper) Bunny (1997)

Other short films

Any Bonds Today? (1942)
A Political Cartoon (1974)
Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979)
The Fright Before Christmas (1979)
Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1991)
Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas (2004)

Feature films

Theatrical	The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979) The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981) Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (1983) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988; cameo) Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988) Space Jam (1996) Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Direct-to-video	Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992; cameo) Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (2000; cameo) Baby Looney Tunes' Eggs-traordinary Adventure (2003) Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006) Justice League: The New Frontier (2008; cameo) Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015)

TV series

Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1995)
Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013)
New Looney Tunes (2015–2020)
Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2024)
Bugs Bunny Builders (2022–present)
Tiny Toons Looniversity (2023–present)

TV specials

Carnival of the Animals (1976)
Easter Special (1977)
Bugs Bunny in Space (1977)
Howl-oween Special (1977)
King Arthur's Court (1978)
Thanksgiving Diet (1979)
Looney Christmas Tales (1979)
Bustin' Out All Over (1980)
The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special (1980)
Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988)
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)
The Earth Day Special (1990; cameo)
Overtures to Disaster (1991)

Elmer Fudd in animation

List of cartoons featuring Elmer Fudd

Short films

1930s	Little Red Walking Hood (1937; early version) The Isle of Pingo Pongo (1938; early version) Cinderella Meets Fella (1938; early version) A Feud There Was (1938; early version) Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas (1938; early version) Hamateur Night (1939; early version) A Day at the Zoo (1939; early version) Believe It or Else (1939; early version)
1940s	Elmer's Candid Camera (1940) Confederate Honey (1940) The Hardship of Miles Standish (1940) A Wild Hare (1940) Good Night Elmer (1940) Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941) Wabbit Twouble (1941) The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (1942) Any Bonds Today? (1942) The Wacky Wabbit (1942) Fresh Hare (1942) The Hare-Brained Hypnotist (1942) To Duck or Not to Duck (1943) A Corny Concerto (1943) An Itch in Time (1943) The Old Grey Hare (1944) The Stupid Cupid (1944) Stage Door Cartoon (1944) The Unruly Hare (1945) Hare Tonic (1945) Hare Remover (1946) The Big Snooze (1946) Easter Yeggs (1947) A Pest in the House (1947) Slick Hare (1947) What Makes Daffy Duck (1948) Back Alley Oproar (1948) Kit for Cat (1948) Wise Quackers (1949) Hare Do (1949) Each Dawn I Crow (1949)
1950s	What's Up, Doc? (1950) The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950) Rabbit of Seville (1950) Rabbit Fire (1951) Rabbit Seasoning (1952) Upswept Hare (1953) Ant Pasted (1953) Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953) Robot Rabbit (1953) Design for Leaving (1954) Quack Shot (1954) Pests for Guests (1955) Beanstalk Bunny (1955) Hare Brush (1955) Rabbit Rampage (1955) This Is a Life? (1955) Heir-Conditioned (1955) Bugs' Bonnets (1956) A Star Is Bored (1956) Yankee Dood It (1956) Wideo Wabbit (1956) What's Opera, Doc? (1957) Rabbit Romeo (1957) Don't Axe Me (1958) Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958) A Mutt in a Rut (1959)
1960s	Person to Bunny (1960) Dog Gone People (1960) What's My Lion? (1961) Crows' Feat (1962)
1970s	Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979)
1990s	Box-Office Bunny (1991) (Blooper) Bunny (1991) Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1992) Carrotblanca (1995; cameo)
2010s	Daffy's Rhapsody (2012)

Feature films

Theatrical	The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979; archive footage) Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982; archive footage) Space Jam (1996) Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Direct-to-video	Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006) Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015)

TV series

Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1992)
Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013)
New Looney Tunes (2015–2020)
Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2024)

TV specials

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies (1972)
King Arthur's Court (1978)
The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special (1980)
Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988)
Overtures to Disaster (1991)

Films directed by Robert McKimson

Short subjects

1940s	The Return of Mr. Hook (1945) Tale of Two Mice (1945) Hare Remover (1946) Daffy Doodles (1946) Hollywood Canine Canteen (1946) Acrobatty Bunny (1946) Walky Talky Hawky (1946) The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946) One Meat Brawl (1947) Birth of a Notion (1947) Hobo Bobo (1947) Easter Yeggs (1947) Crowing Pains (1947) A Horse Fly Fleas (1947) Gorilla My Dreams (1948) Daffy Duck Slept Here (1948) Hop, Look and Listen (1948) The Up-Standing Sitter (1948) The Shell Shocked Egg (1948) Hot Cross Bunny (1948) The Foghorn Leghorn (1948) A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948) Paying the Piper (1949) Daffy Duck Hunt (1949) Rebel Rabbit (1949) Henhouse Henery (1949) The Grey Hounded Hare (1949) The Windblown Hare (1949) Swallow the Leader (1949) Hippety Hopper (1949) A Ham in a Role (1949)
1950s	Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (1950) Boobs in the Woods (1950) Strife with Father (1950) The Leghorn Blows at Midnight (1950) An Egg Scramble (1950) What's Up, Doc? (1950) It's Hummer Time (1950) Hillbilly Hare (1950) A Fractured Leghorn (1950) Pop 'im Pop! (1950) Bushy Hare (1950) Dog Collared (1950) Hare We Go (1951) A Fox in a Fix (1951) Corn Plastered (1951) Early to Bet (1951) French Rarebit (1951) Leghorn Swoggled (1951) Lovelorn Leghorn (1951) Sleepy Time Possum (1951) Big Top Bunny (1951) The Prize Pest (1951) Who's Kitten Who? (1952) Thumb Fun (1952) Kiddin' The Kitten (1952) Sock a Doodle Do (1952) The Turn-Tale Wolf (1952) Oily Hare (1952) Hoppy Go Lucky (1952) The EGGcited Rooster (1952) The Super Snooper (1952) Rabbit's Kin (1952) Fool Coverage (1952) Upswept Hare (1953) A Peck o' Trouble (1953) Muscle Tussle (1953) There Auto Be a Law (1953) Plop Goes the Weasel (1953) Cat-Tails for Two (1953) Easy Peckin's (1953) Of Rice and Hen (1953) Cat's A-weigh (1953) Wild Wife (1954) Design for Leaving (1954) Bell Hoppy (1954) No Parking Hare (1954) Little Boy Boo (1954) Devil May Hare (1954) The Oily American (1954) Gone Batty (1954) Quack Shot (1954) Feather Dusted (1955) All Fowled Up (1955) Lighthouse Mouse (1955) The Hole Idea (1955) Dime to Retire (1955) Too Hop To Handle (1956) Weasel Stop (1956) The High and the Flighty (1956) Mixed Master (1956) The Unexpected Pest (1956) Stupor Duck (1956) Half-Fare Hare (1956) Raw! Raw! Rooster! (1956) The Slap-Hoppy Mouse (1956) Wideo Wabbit (1956) The Honey-Mousers (1956) Bedevilled Rabbit (1957) Cheese It, the Cat! (1957) Fox-Terror (1957) Boston Quackie (1957) Tabasco Road (1957) Ducking the Devil (1957) Mouse-Taken Identity (1957) Rabbit Romeo (1957) Don't Axe Me (1958) Tortilla Flaps (1958) Feather Bluster (1958) Now Hare This (1958) Dog Tales (1958) Weasel While You Work (1958) Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958) Gopher Broke (1958) Mouse-Placed Kitten (1959) China Jones (1959) The Mouse That Jack Built (1959) A Mutt in a Rut (1959) Backwoods Bunny (1959) Cat's Paw (1959) Bonanza Bunny (1959) A Broken Leghorn (1959) People Are Bunny (1959)
1960s	West of the Pesos (1960) Wild Wild World (1960) Crockett-Doodle-Do (1960) Mice Follies (1960) The Dixie Fryer (1960) Dog Gone People (1960) Cannery Woe (1961) Hoppy Daze (1961) Strangled Eggs (1961) Birds of a Father (1961) Daffy's Inn Trouble (1961) What's My Lion? (1961) Wet Hare (1962) Fish and Slips (1962) Bill of Hare (1962) The Slick Chick (1962) Mother Was a Rooster (1962) Good Noose (1962) Fast Buck Duck (1963) The Million Hare (1963) Banty Raids (1963) Aqua Duck (1963) Claws in the Lease (1963) A Message to Gracias (1964) Bartholomew Versus the Wheel (1964) Freudy Cat (1964) Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964) False Hare (1964) Moby Duck (1965) Assault and Peppered (1965) Well Worn Daffy (1965) Suppressed Duck (1965) Rushing Roulette (1965) Tease for Two (1965) Chili Corn Corny (1965) Go Go Amigo (1965) The Astroduck (1966) Mucho Locos (1966) Mexican Mousepiece (1966) Daffy Rents (1966) A-Haunting We Will Go (1966) Snow Excuse (1966) Cock-A-Doodle Deux Deux (1966) A Squeak in the Deep (1966) Feather Finger (1966) Swing Ding Amigo (1966) Sugar and Spies (1966) A Taste of Catnip (1966) Toulouse La Trick (1966) Daffy's Diner (1967) Le Quiet Squad (1967) Bomb Voyage (1967) Bunny and Claude (We Rob Carrot Patches) (1968) The Great Carrot Train Robbery (1969) Fistic Mystic (1969) Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too! (1969) Shamrock and Roll (1969) Bugged by a Bee (1969) Injun Trouble (1969)
1970s	Pink DaVinci (1975) It's Pink, But Is It Mink? (1975) Mystic Pink (1976) The Pink Pro (1976) Sherlock Pink (1976)

TV shows

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