View source for Rabbit Hood

{{Short description|1949 film by Chuck Jones}}
{{Infobox film
|name=Rabbit Hood
|image=  RabbitHood-TC.png
|director=[[Chuck Jones|Charles M. Jones]]
|story=[[Michael Maltese]]
|animator=[[Ken Harris]]<br />[[Phil Monroe]]<br />[[Ben Washam]]<br />Lloyd Vaughan
|layout_artist=[[Robert Gribbroek]]
|background_artist=[[Pete Alvarado|Peter Alvarado]]
|starring=[[Mel Blanc]]<br />[[Errol Flynn]]
|music=[[Carl W. Stalling]]
|producer=[[Edward Selzer]]
|studio=[[Warner Bros. Cartoons]]
|distributor=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]]<br />[[Vitaphone|The Vitaphone Corporation]]
|released={{Film date|1949|12|24|U.S.}}
|color_process=[[Technicolor]]
|runtime=7:55
|language=English
}}
'''''Rabbit Hood''''' is a 1949 ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' [[cartoon]] released on December 24, 1949.<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=206}}</ref> The entry was directed by [[Chuck Jones]] and written by [[Michael Maltese]], and features [[Bugs Bunny]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/60/mode/2up |pages=60–61}}</ref>

==Plot==
Bugs Bunny finds himself entangled in the lush surroundings of the King's domain. As he attempts to silence an alarm triggered by his pilfering of carrots, he is apprehended by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Facing the grim prospect of torture, Bugs is saved by the timely arrival of Little John, who introduces him to Robin Hood, though the famed outlaw fails to materialize.

In a series of comical misdirections, Bugs outwits the Sheriff, first by fabricating the imminent arrival of the king, then by selling him the Royal Rose Garden under false pretenses. Angered by Bugs' deceptions, the Sheriff seeks revenge, only to further embarrass himself by mistaking Bugs for the king in a farcical knighting ceremony.

Despite narrowly escaping the Sheriff's wrath, Bugs finds himself in another predicament when the Sheriff's arrow grazes him while attempting to flee over the garden wall. Little John's repeated attempts to introduce the elusive Robin Hood fall flat, as the outlaw fails to show up. Bugs, skeptical of Robin's existence, mocks Little John, only to be surprised when the real Robin Hood, portrayed by [[Errol Flynn]], makes a dramatic entrance.

==Production notes==
''Rabbit Hood'' is the last [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon released during creator [[Leon Schlesinger]]'s lifetime.<ref name="bcdb">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/281-Rabbit_Hood.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117201907/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/281-Rabbit_Hood.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=Rabbit Hood|publisher=BCDB|date=2012-11-16}}</ref>

''Rabbit Hood'' is one of the few Bugs Bunny cartoons to receive a Blue Ribbon reissue. Strangely, while the shorts' technical credits remain, the ''Bugs Bunny in'' card before the title card was removed. ''[[Hot Cross Bunny]]'', ''[[Knights Must Fall]]'' and ''[[Homeless Hare]]'' are the other three cartoons with this distinction.

''Rabbit Hood'' is the origin of the infamous "knighting" exchange, where Bugs Bunny is dressed up like a king, and proceeds to pound the Sheriff's head with his [[sceptre]] while dispensing an oddball title with each strike:

:Sheriff: ''bows''
:[[Bugs Bunny|Bugs]]: "In the name of my most Royal Majesty, I knight thee: ''(strikes Sheriff over the head with his sceptre)'' Arise! [[Sirloin steak|Sir Loin of Beef]]." 
:''(strike)'' "Arise! [[Oil of cloves|Earl of Cloves]]."
:''(strike)'' "Arise! Duke of Brittingham."
:''(strike)'' "Arise! [[Baron Munchausen|Baron of Munchausen]]."
:''(strike)'' "Arise! Essence of [[Myrrh]],"
:''(strike)'' "[[Milk of Magnesia]],"
:''(strike)'' "[[Filet-O-Fish|Filet of Fish]],"
:''(strike)'' "Quarter of Ten...."
:Sheriff: (dazed, slurred, but still on his feet) "You are too kind, your majesty."
:Bugs: (to the viewers) "Got lots of stamina!"

The cartoon ends with the appearance of "the real" Robin Hood in the form of a clip from [[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|the classic 1938 movie]], which starred [[Errol Flynn]].<ref name="Dunne">Dunne (2001), p. 148</ref> He received a personal copy of this film in exchange for the right to use his earlier image.

''[[Rule, Britannia!]]'' (1740) is used here as a satirical motif to mock English pretension.<ref name="Haines">Haines (2013), p. 16-17</ref>

The film's music takes advantage of the similarities between the [[fanfare]] of the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[reveille]]. The oafish [[Little John]] uses a tiny trumpet to sound a standard reveille tune. Later, Bugs disguised as a page plays another reveille melody, ''[[First call|First Call]]'', often used at the start of horse races, where it is also known as "Call to the Post". The sound and effect is similar to the tune used in ''[[A Knight for a Day]]'' (1946).<ref name="Haines2">Haines (2013), p. 57-58</ref>

''Rabbit Hood'' is also included with ''[[Robin Hood Daffy]]'' in the "Special Features" of the 2003 two-DVD Special Edition release of ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]''. Both are also included on the Blu-ray disc release of the film.  It is also one of three Bugs Bunny shorts included as special features on the 2014 DVD release of [[Rankin/Bass Productions]]' animated version of ''[[The Hobbit (1977 film)|The Hobbit]]'' (along with ''[[Knight-mare Hare]]'' and ''[[Knighty Knight Bugs]]''), made possible by Warner Bros.' acquisition of much of the Rankin-Bass home video library.

The phrase "Sir Loin of Beef" is used again to name one of [[King Arthur]]'s knights in ''[[Knighty Knight Bugs]]'', co-starring [[Yosemite Sam]].

The reference to Duke of Brittingham was an in-joke. According to former Warner's writer Lloyd Turner in an interview, Brittingham's was a bar across the street from the Warner Animation offices.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Turner/interview_lloyd_turner.htm |title=MichaelBarrier.com -- Interviews: Lloyd Turner |website=www.michaelbarrier.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905042423/http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Turner/interview_lloyd_turner.htm |archive-date=5 September 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Robin Hood Daffy]]'' (1958)
*''[[Wagon Heels]]'' (1945)

==Sources==
* {{citation | last1=Dunne | first1=Michael| title=''Intertextual Encounters in American Fiction, Film, and Popular Culture'' | chapter= Intertextual Animation: The Classic Warner Brothers Cartoons and Rocky and Bullwinkle| year=2001| publisher=Popular Press| isbn=978-0879728489| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=gu1_kxaMVsEC&q=%22Rabbit+Hood%22&pg=PA148}}
* {{citation | last1=Haines | first1=John| title=''Music in Films on the Middle Ages: Authenticity Vs. Fantasy'' | chapter= The Making of the Middle Ages| year=2013| publisher=[[Routledge]]| isbn=978-1135927691| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=-SvfAQAAQBAJ&q=%22Rabbit+Hood%22&pg=PA58}}
* {{citation | last1=Haines | first1=John| title=''Music in Films on the Middle Ages: Authenticity Vs. Fantasy'' | chapter= Music in Films of the Middle Ages| year=2013| publisher=[[Routledge]]| isbn=978-1135927691| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=-SvfAQAAQBAJ&q=%22Rabbit+Hood%22&pg=PA58}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*{{IMDb title|0041779}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box |
before= [[Which Is Witch]] |
title= [[List of Bugs Bunny cartoons|Bugs Bunny Cartoons]] |
years= 1949 |
after= [[Hurdy-Gurdy Hare]]|}}
{{S-end}}

{{Bugs Bunny in animation}}
{{Robin Hood}}
{{Chuck Jones}}

[[Category:1949 films]]
[[Category:1940s Warner Bros. animated short films]]
[[Category:Merrie Melodies short films]]
[[Category:Animated Robin Hood films]]
[[Category:Robin Hood parodies]]
[[Category:Short films directed by Chuck Jones]]
[[Category:Short films with live action and animation]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. short films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films]]
[[Category:Bugs Bunny films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese]]
[[Category:Films scored by Carl Stalling]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language short films]]
[[Category:1949 animated short films]]