Napoleon Bunny-Part (1956) Online

Bugs tunnels his way back in time ... not as far back as he did in Bob McKimson's HARE WE GO (with Christopher Columbus), but he emerges in Europe once again, in Napoleon's headquarters circa 1810. The Emperor's war room becomes the setting for typical Bugs trickery, followed by violent action involving a bayonet (Napoleon utters some interesting cusses while the blade is in his butt). Bugs gets out of trouble for a while by dressing as Josephine and switching on the ballroom jukebox (this is the film's best part, with Virgil Ross animation, sophisticated music titles, and lots of polish by background artist Irv Wyner). But Bugs lets his dress slip; the ensuing chase ends in an execution yard which is dominated by a towering guillotine and lent extra menace by Wyner's twilight graphics. Only Bugs could get away with uttering an old Gillette ad line while peering under the executioner's hood. Additional laughs are provided by the incongruous presence of Muggsy, who is understandably never shown on a seat.

-Tony

Did I enjoy Napoleon Bunny-Part? Yes I did, it has weaknesses but it is definitely worth watching. The animation is uneven, it has nice backgrounds and colours but the characters look as though they were drawn in a rush. The story lacks a clear structure and is predictable, while the ending is rather abrupt.

But there are a lot of good things. The music alone has energy, the cartoon moves quickly, the sight gags are clever and the dialogue especially Bugs' asides is funny. Bugs is lots of fun, and Napoleon is a great adversary. But it is dim-witted but lovable Mugsy who steals the show. As always Mel Blanc is superb with the voices.

Overall, worth watching but not spectacular. 7/10 Bethany Cox

One of those Bugs cartoons virtually never mentioned in discussions of the rabbit's supreme efforts. Everyone who worked on this short simply shines--Freleng's designers, Pratt & Wyner, outdo themselves for all time with their settings. Mel Blanc does his usual brilliant work, with a supremely strident Napoleon, a kind of surrogate for Yosemite Sam. The animators do exemplary work: Art Davis (who did all the scenes of Nappy & Muggsy being jabbed in the ass), Gerry Chiniquy (who did the very opening where burrowing Bugs topples the palace guards), and Virgil Ross (who did the opening & closing dialogue scenes...fine personality animation not readily apparent to most viewers). Oh yes--and Freleng's superb timing and cutting, especially when he cuts away to those long shots of Muggsy leaping in the air when he's jabbed.

Entertaining Bugs Bunny short directed by Friz Freleng. In this one Bugs once again makes a wrong turn while tunneling and ends up in France. While there he meets Napoleon Bonaparte (or so it seems) and spends the rest of the cartoon irritating the little dictator. Napoleon (or "Nappy" as Bugs calls him) is not the greatest foil for Bugs but he is amusing enough. His dimwitted guard is worth a few laughs, as well. This isn't going to impress anyone who's seen a lot of Bugs cartoons as it's all pretty predictable. It is fun, though. The animation is very nice with bright, rich colors. Energetic music from Carl Stalling. Great voice work from Mel Blanc. Not one of Bugs' best but good.

In "Napoleon Bunny-Part", everyone's favorite rabbit takes a wrong turn and meets up with the famous (or is that "infamous"?) French leader. He proceeds to make Napoleon's life a living Hell, and there's not much that Napoleon can do about it.

Maybe this wasn't the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoon of all time, but it's still some good comic relief. I guess that any wacky comedy has to incorporate the French emperor at some point or another ("Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" all did). Pretty silly, but still worth your time. After all, who doesn't like to see a world leader get foiled by a sly, playful rabbit?

This is an average Bugs Bunny flick. The biggest weakness in this cartoon, in my opinion, is it's use of modern references in a period setting. The short takes place in Napoleon's headquarters in 1805 but yet Buggs makes references to Hollywood, cinemas and uses a jukebox (which obviously all didn't exist yet). I don't have a problem with modern character types being thrown into a period setting. In fact, it can offer a lot in terms of comedic potential (like in "Monty Python" films or other looney tunes cartoons). As long as characters still form part of that setting. Therefore, these jokes ran flat but even if the context was adequate were still rather run of the mill gags.

The other limitation is the animation quality in this episode isn't as good as other shorts. The other gags in the cartoon, as well as the characters, also felt rather standard and tame.

The reason why I felt that this episode had untapped potential was because Napoleon Boneparte really HAD an uncomfortable experience with rabbits. On a hunting trip Napoleon was once set upon by a herd of rabbits and had to take refuge in his carriage. I'm not sure whether the writers used this for inspiration, or if it was a coincidence, but felt if they had followed this event a lot more closely they could have came up with a better episode.

The one positive I will admit in the cartoon's favour is how the conflict between Napoleon and Buggs is resolved.

A few years ago, I went through a huge phase of reviewing Looney Tunes cartoons on this website, and I thought, "Why not do another one, for the memories?" So I did. I mean, I will. I mean, I am. Whatever.

This is an amusing Bugs Bunny cartoon, not the best by any means, but certainly enjoyable. The backgrounds and the surprisingly realistic portrayals of French architecture were pleasant and Bugs Bunny's lines were funny, his schemes almost as so. Napoleon, the little man maltreated by Bugs Bunny, is a stereotypical and only vaguely amusing character. His guard provides a few giggles, but is nothing special. So, overall, Bugs Bunny, the animation and a few of the gags, particularly the spoken lines, make the episode.

I recommend this to people who like stereotypes of Napoleon, references to old music (I don't want to give away spoilers) and, of course, Bugs Bunny! Enjoy "Napoleon Bunny-Part."

When Bugs make a wrong turn (no, not the famous one), he ends up in Napoleon's mansion.

Not the most memorable of the Bugs shorts, but the needed comedy relief can be found in Rocky's sidekick Mugsy, who shows up as Captain of the Guard.

Well paced, but Nappy doesn't work too well against Bugs.

6/10

Director: I. FRELENG. Story: Warren Foster. Animation: Gerry Chiniquy, Virgil Ross, Arthur Davis. Backgrounds: Hawley Pratt. Lay-outs: Irv Wyner. Voice characterizations: Mel Blanc. Music director: Milt Franklyn. Color by Technicolor. Producer: Ed Selzer.

A Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" cartoon. U.S. release: 16 June 1956. 1 reel. 7 minutes.

COMMENT: Bugs takes another of his famous wrong turns at Hollywood Boulevard, and ends up in Napoleon's palace. A nice contrast is made between the grandeur of the palace with its high-ceilinged doors and the diminutive rabbit - and the equally short-stopped, mad-as-a-hatter Napoleon.

After some zany adventures sliding down bannisters and evading the guillotine, Bugs heads for his hole.

This entry has some wit, moves fast, and often delights the eye with striking designs and images. The Napoleon character makes a good foil for our hero, but he doesn't quite rise to the occasion, preferring instead to evade the emperor's wrath with such tried and true devices as a female impersonation (they dance to "Three Coins in the Fountainbleu") and making a scapegoat out of a not-so-bright sentry. All the same, definitely recommended.

Bugs Bunny takes a wrong turn and ends up in the palace of Napoleon in the midst of battle plans. Mistaking the place for a movie theatre, Bugs accidentally upsets Napoleon and finds himself in a battle of wits in the palace grounds.

Bugs Bunny is a strong enough character and has a strong enough basic repertoire to overcome a potentially weak cartoon. Here this is a potentially weak cartoon. The animation is not great and even Bugs himself looks like he was drawn in a bit of a rush and Napoleon looking like the original drawing got crumpled up in someone's pocket.

The plot too is silly and (at the end) loses itself in it's own logic (was it real or a mental hospital - it can't have it both ways) but it creates a few funny moments. Bugs does OK despite having a few wobbly moments - his aside to Napoleon about the location of the troops on the map is very funny.

Overall this is a reasonable effort despite the many weaknesses. The plot lacks logic or structure and the animation is all very much of a muchness, but it has just enough going for it to be worth seeing. Poor ending though.

. . . do they all teach our Young 'Uns their letters and numbers, like Sesame Street? Or do they exalt in messing with brains as Impressionable as Silly Putty, provoking Young Boys to play "dress-up" in Mommy's heels, lingerie, and lipstick? Many of Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" outings fall into this latter perverse category, with the Bugs Bunny short NAPOLEON BUNNY-PART following that pattern. The first half of NAPOLEON features four scenes of men painfully poking each other in the butt, making out like this is one of the primary pastimes of adult guys. A fifth episode involves Bugs masquerading as NAPOLEON's Empress Josephine, and the former shooting the latter in "her"his butt. Beyond the sexual confusion displayed by NAPOLEON in not being able to distinguish his wife from a jack-rabbit in drag and the suggestiveness of the Emporer firing his load at the exit rather than entrance, the indiscriminate nature of such intimacies between strangers no doubt led to many kids finding it more thrilling to reenact NAPOLEON BUNNY-PART than to Play Doctor. Psychologists need to study which exposure is better for Pre-teen socialization: tasteful XXX modeling Protection, or Merrie Melodies?