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Rabbit Fire
Merrie Melodies (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck) series
Daffy once again successfully argues his way into a gunshot, in this scene from Rabbit Fire.
Directed by	Charles M. Jones
Story by	Michael Maltese
Animation by	Ken Harris Phil Monroe Lloyd Vaughan Ben Washam
Voices by	Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Produced by	Eddie Selzer
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	May 19, 1951 (USA)
Format	Technicolor, 7 min (one reel)
Language	English
IMDb page

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short, guest starring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, is notable for being the first film in Jones' "Hunter's Trilogy" - the other two films being Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit! Duck!. It is also the first film to feature a feud between Bugs and Daffy. Produced by Edward Selzer for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc., the short was released to theaters on May 19, 1951 by Warner Bros. Pictures and is widely considered among Jones' best and most important films.

The short starts out like many Bugs Bunny cartoons do: Elmer Fudd follows a trail of "wabbit twacks" left by a rabbit he presumes to be Bugs Bunny. It turns out, however, that the tracks are being left by Daffy Duck, who, using the feet from a rabbit costume, makes the prints lead right up to Bugs' rabbit hole. "Survival of the fittest," Daffy tells the audience as he runs to hide, "...and besides, it's fun!"

When Elmer appears, Bugs informs him that the hunter cannot legally shoot the rabbit, since it is Duck Season. Daffy emerges from his hiding place, screaming that Bugs' claim is "an unmitigated frabrication" and that it is actually "Rabbit Season." The argument then continues:

Bugs: "Duck season!"

Daffy: "Rabbit season!"

Bugs: "Duck season!!"

Daffy: "Rabbit season!!"

Bugs: (reversing the flow) "Rabbit season!"

Daffy: "Duck season!!!"

Bugs: "Rabbit season!!!"

Daffy: "I say it's duck season, and I say, FIRE!"

Elmer then obliges and shoots the duck's beak out of position. Uninjured, yet embarrassed, Daffy starts the argument back up again.

Daffy: "Let's try that again."

Bugs: "Okay."

Daffy: "I'll start it this time."

Bugs: "Right."

Daffy: (grabs Elmer's rifle and points it to Bugs) "Rabbit season!"

Bugs: (pushing Elmer's rifle towards Daffy) "Duck season."

Daffy: (puts the rifle in front of Bugs again) "Rabbit season!!"

Bugs: (spins the rifle clockwise and aims it at himself, again reversing the flow) "Rabbit season."

Daffy: (grabs the rifle and pulls it toward himself) "Duck season!! FIRE!!!"

Once again, Elmer obliges and shoots Daffy's beak out of position. And once again uninjured, Daffy suggests Bugs start the argument again.

Daffy: "Okay, this time, you start it."

Bugs: "Whatever you say." (aims Elmer's rifle at himself) "Rabbit."

Daffy: (takes the rifle and points it at himself) "DUCK!! FIRE!!!"

This time, Daffy head is shot out of position.

The debate over which animal is actually in season continues for the rest of the short, with Bugs escaping each round unscathed, but Daffy ending up being shot in the beak. None of Bugs' and Daffy's tactics, including dressing up as one another, reading cookbooks on how Elmer can prepare rabbit or duck delicacies, or even Bugs cross-dressing as a female hunter with Daffy as his dog, convince Elmer that either of them is in season or to put down his gun. The argument continues until, in a notable twist, it turns out to be Elmer Season, prompting the hunter to run and Bugs and Daffy to don hunting gear and inform the audiences to be "vewwy, vewwy quiet...we're hunting Elmers!"

Bugs and Daffy fight over which one of them is in season at the moment, in this scene from Rabbit Fire.

Rabbit Fire is generally considered among Chuck Jones' and Michael Maltese's best works, and is noted for its use of dialogue gags in lieu of the physical gags more typical in animation. Besides the two sequels to this film, a number of other notable Jones shorts, including Beanstalk Bunny and Ali Baba Bunny, paired quick-witted Bugs and self-serving Daffy with (or rather against) each other.

The "duck season/rabbit season" argument from this short became one of the most notable references of the Looney Tunes franchise, and has been analyzed both by scholars and by Jones himself. According to an essay by Darragh O'Donoghue, Rabbit Fire "stands in close relation to human experience, striving and generally failing to grasp an elusive quarry or goal." [1]. Richard Thompson said that in the film, there is "the clearest definition of character roles: Elmer never knows what's going on; Bugs always knows what's going on and is in control of things; Daffy is bright enough to understand how to be in control, but never quite makes it." Jones himself refers to Rabbit Fire as a "corner" picture, among his works that, "as in turning a corner in a strange city, reveal new and enchanting vistas."

The short earned an honorable mention for animation historian Jerry Beck's list of The Fifty Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1000 Animation Professionals. Its 1952 sequel, Rabbit Seasoning, made the actual list at number 32. The style, setup, and plot of Rabbit Fire were adapted into the opening sequence of Warners' 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

• Produced by: Edward Selzer
• Directed by: Chuck Jones
• Story: Michael Maltese
• Music: Carl Stalling
• Animation: Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Lloyd Vaughan, Ben Washam
• Background: Philip DeGuard
• Layout: Robert Gribbroek

• Jones, Chuck (1989). Chuck Amuck : The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0-374-12348-9.
• Jones, Chuck (1996). Chuck Reducks : Drawing from the Fun Side of Life. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-51893-X.
• Thompson, Richard (Jan-Feb 1975). Film Comment.

• Rabbit Fire at the Internet Movie Database
• Rabbit Fire