Bugs Bunny is one of the most recognizable characters in the history of animated films. But how did the image of the light, witty and cheeky rabbit who is not afraid of the hunter who tries to kill him non-stop over the years of Warner Bros. films came about? In honor of the 83rd anniversary of the first starring film, ChatGPT tells us how it came about:
The character of the rabbit running away from the hunter first appeared in the animated short film Porky's Hare Hunt, released on April 30, 1938. However, this early version of the character was quite different from the one we know and love today. In this film he had an elongated face, nameless and also quite devoid of personality.
Over the next few years, the character continued to develop and appeared in various animated videos. His appearance gradually changed, his personality sharpened, and he began to become a more central figure. The decisive moment was the animated short film "A Wild Hare", released today in 1940, directed by Tex Avery and voiced by Mel Blanc, who became the legendary voice of the rabbit.
The character's name has also changed. At first, according to stories by studio employees, he was nicknamed "Happy Rabbit." The credit for the name "Bugs Bunny" goes to Benjamin "Bugs" Hardaway, an animator at Warner Studios. He was responsible for developing several characters, and during the late 30s worked on the rabbit character. Opinions differ as to how Hardaway's nickname came to be the name of the rabbit he was working on: according to two versions, Hardaway gave him the name himself, in one version he did so during a conversation with fellow animator Cal Dalton, and in another version in a conversation with Avery, who demanded a better name for the character when he directed the first film starring her. According to a third version, the nickname stuck with her because an employee who assigned character development tasks called Rabbit "Bugs' project"—that is, a task under Hardaway's responsibility.
The success of "Wild Hare" boosted Bugs Bunny's popularity, and he became one of the main characters in Warner Bros. films. His humor, wit, and catchphrases, such as "Oh, what's going on, Doc?" and "What a maroon" (literally translated as "what a heat," but it's a distortion of moron, "dumb"), endeared him to audiences around the world.
Throughout the 40s and 50s, Bugs Bunny starred in a number of critically acclaimed short films, often alongside other memorable characters such as Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Yosemite Sam. He later appeared in feature films, television shows and commercials, becoming a cultural icon. He received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a place of honor on the Smithsonian Museum, and even an honorary rank in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1989.
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