Knighty Knight Bugs
1958 film by Friz Freleng
- August 23, 1958 (1958-08-23)
Running time
Knighty Knight Bugs is a 1958 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng,[1] The short was released on August 23, 1958, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.[2]
Knighty Knight Bugs is the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, which was awarded in 1959.[3] The short was later included in the 1981 compilation film The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie.
Plot
Now, let's see if I remember: head down, left arm stiff.
— Bugs Bunny
In the realm of King Arthur, trouble arises when the Singing Sword is stolen by the infamous Black Knight, who is none other than Yosemite Sam in dark armor. King Arthur, accompanied by his loyal Knights of the Round Table, seeks a volunteer to retrieve the stolen artifact. Bugs, disguised as a court jester, is reluctantly tasked with the mission by King Arthur, facing considerable consequences of being put to the rack, burned at the stake & hanged if he fails.
Upon infiltrating the castle of the Black Knight, Bugs encounters a dragon, companion to Yosemite Sam, suffering from a cold-induced sneezing fit. Taking advantage of the situation, Bugs retrieves the Singing Sword from the castle's chest. As Bugs escapes, Yosemite Sam gives chase on the dragon, leading to a series of comical encounters. Bugs outsmarts Yosemite Sam by utilizing the castle's defenses against him, causing various mishaps including Sam falling into the moat and being flattened by a failed catapult launch. Despite Sam's persistent pursuit, Bugs ultimately traps him and the dragon in an explosives stockade within the castle.
As Bugs departs with the Singing Sword, the dragon's sneeze triggers an explosion that propels Sam and the dragon towards the moon. Bugs bids them farewell as the Singing Sword emits a melody.
Awards
Knighty Knight Bugs is the fifth Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes entry to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1959. In doing so, it beat out cartoons Walt Disney Studios' Paul Bunyan and Terrytoons' Sidney's Family Tree.[4] It was the third Oscar-nominated Bugs Bunny cartoon, after A Wild Hare in 1941[5] and Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt in 1942.[6] The Oscar was presented to John W. Burton, the producer of this cartoon.[7] After Burton's death, the Oscar was handed to the director, Friz Freleng.[8]
In the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?", the Oscar win of Knighty Knight Bugs is a major plot point. Mirroring the real-life loss of the Terrytoons short at the Academy Awards, a character named Sappy "Slaphappy" Stanley (a parody of "Silly" Sidney, here voiced by Jonathan Winters) was defeated for the Shloscar Award. As a result, Stanley scorned the U.S. film industry and relocated to France, where despite becoming a national star still nursed a bitter grudge against Bugs, culminating in the episode's plot.
References
- The phrase "Sir Loin of Beef" was used in Bugs Bunny parody Rabbit Hood by Bugs to con the gullible Sheriff of Nottingham.
- The phrase "Sir Osis of the Liver" was used in the Bugs Bunny parody Knight-mare Hare.
- The gag on a dopey fire breathing dragon was also used in Knight-mare Hare and on the cartoon series Here Comes the Grump.
Home media
This cartoon is featured uncut on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 DVD set,[9] Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection, and The Essential Bugs Bunny. It is also available in the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 Blu-ray and DVD.
Attractions
Bugs' White Water Rapids is a Hopkins Rides log flume themed to Knighty Knight Bugs that opened in 1998 at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas.[10][11][12]
See also
References
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 309. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "1958 Academy Awards". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ "1958 academy awards". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ "1940 Academy Awards". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ "1941 Academy Awards". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ Short Subject Winners: 1959 Oscars
- ^ "Cartoonist Friz Freleng dead at 89" (PDF). The Palladium-Times. Associated Press. 1995-05-27. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ "Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Four DVD Review". Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ "Bugs' White Water Rapids". Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ^ "Fiesta Texas History". Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ^ "Bug's White Water Rapids". Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to Knighty Knight Bugs.
- Knighty Knight Bugs at IMDb
| Preceded by | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1958 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
Bugs Bunny in animation
short films
short films
- Any Bonds Today? (1942)
- 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)
| Theatrical |
|
|---|---|
| Direct-to-video |
|
- Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1995)
- Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
- The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013)
- New Looney Tunes (2015–2020)
- Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2023)
- Bugs Bunny Builders (2022–present)
- Tiny Toons Looniversity (2023–present)
- Carnival of the Animals (1976)
- Easter Special (1977)
- Bugs Bunny in Space (1977)
- Howl-oween Special (1977)
- 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)
