SNAPSHOT
He doesn’t seem like a character from the nineteen forties. His anarchic gender-bending wiseass personality is pretty progressive even by today’s standards and he’s aged so well because he isn’t locked in any one specific pool of relatability. Something like the Flintstones can be revived again and again but that Honeymooners era sitcom approach doesn’t really gel well with a modern audience. Bugs on the other hand can work in any situation because he’s incredibly versatile and that’s why he’s appeared in more films than any other cartoon character in history. (copy via Laughing Squid (c) KaptainKristian)
I can’t remember the exact moment when I realised I loved Bugs Bunny more than of the other, admittedly hilarious and wonderful, Looney Tunes gang – sorry Daffy! I know you won’t be pleased! – but it dawned on me one day in childhood that there was something about that “Wascally Wabbit” that really appealed to me.
Perhaps it was his cheekiness, which I would realise in adulthood I possessed in abundance but which was hemmed quite severely by a well-behaved Christian upbringing, a near-constant ringing admonition to always follow the rules and incessant teasing at school which engendered an overriding imperative to be the smallest target possible.
That last part, naturally enough, didn’t exactly lend itself to cheeky wisecracks and jaunty escapades.
Or maybe it was Bugs’s ability to be a thousand different things and yet always very much himself that appealed to me; you could tell it was Bugs at work but he was a regular chameleon, which is probably why, as Kristian Wiliams aka Kaptain Kristian observes, he has outlasted many of his contemporaries and holds the record for the most appearances of a cartoon character on the big, and later, small screen.
As always Kristian’s video essay is a delight, packed full of interesting facts delivered in an easygoing manner that underlines how much passion he has for his subject matter.
Check out his brilliant essay on Calvin and Hobbes for another example of how good his work is and why you should be watching it and, this is important, why you should be supporting him on Patreon.
Great art costs money and Kristian’s work deserves your attention and your support.
Now what are you waiting for? There’s a Wascally Wabbit waiting for you to spend six informative, entertaining minutes with him!
(source: Laughing Squid)