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| Original animation drawing from Wabbit Twouble with color notations for the ink and paint department. |
Availability: Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 1 (DVD); Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Volume 2 (Blu-Ray; both from Warner Home Video)
You can view a nice copy of this cartoon HERE.
This may be the most perfunctory post on this blog, since others have already covered, in good detail, what I might have observed about Wabbit Twouble, the last Avery-instigated Bugs B unny cartoon.
That Komoroski and Bob Jaques devoted the fourth episode of their must-hear podcast Cartoon Logic to Wabbit Twouble. You may listen to that episode HERE.
Steven Hartley, in his gone-but-not-forgotten Warner Brothers cartoon blog "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie," covered Wabbit Twouble HERE.
Given the ad hoc nature of this cartoon's production, it is quite good, and belongs on the list of the great Bugs Bunny cartoons. It also allows us an opportunity to compare the directing styles of Avery and Bob Clampett.
Devon Baxter shares with us a detail from a production ledger that shows the "car conga" at the start of the cartoon was supervised by Avery. Note the cryptic entry "CHUCK JONES - TEX OUT."
It seems probable that the story and layout of Wabbit Twouble was, if not completed, close to a finish when Avery walked out. Most of the timing, staging and material rings true to those aspects of Avery's other late Schlesinger cartoons. The addition of Clampett's looser, less conservative approach is jarring in a few spots, but some effort (not much!) is made to match the footage that had gotten far enough along the pike to show Avery's hand as director.
I might muse, for a moment, on the unfortunate aspects of the Leon Schlesinger cartoon credit system. Animation scholars have uncovered the names of artists who never received screen credit for the work they did. My friend Devon Baxter has written about some of these unknown animators in his column for the Cartoon Research blog. An index of Devon's many fine posts is found HERE.
Devon Baxter shares with us a detail from a production ledger that shows the "car conga" at the start of the cartoon was supervised by Avery. Note the cryptic entry "CHUCK JONES - TEX OUT."
I might muse, for a moment, on the unfortunate aspects of the Leon Schlesinger cartoon credit system. Animation scholars have uncovered the names of artists who never received screen credit for the work they did. My friend Devon Baxter has written about some of these unknown animators in his column for the Cartoon Research blog. An index of Devon's many fine posts is found HERE.
Was it unfair for Bob Clampett to get sole credit for this cartoon? Ethically, yes. In a just world, both men's names would be upon the rocks that display the film's clever titles. In a business sense, no. Avery was gone, and had left on bad terms with Schlesinger. Bob Clampett was the studio's golden boy, and on the verge of a short but influential burst of hyper-energetic, sometimes-perverse classics and near-misses. Clampett's talent as a film-maker is undeniable, but his later grandiose averment to the lion's share of the Schlesinger heritage gave him a touch of the con-man. That, and his abandonment of classic animation (and any further films of merit) are blemishes on his reputation.
The great cartoons Clampett directed are enough to offset the boasting and its controversy; it's unfortunate that he felt so determined to claim credit for the creation of characters that are indisputably not his in whole. No one, after viewing The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, Book Revue, Kitty Cornered, A Corny Concerto or Draftee Daffy, could dispute the inspiration, talent and achievement behind those cartoons.
The big unanswered question about Wabbit Twouble, for me, is: was this credit intentional on Clampett's part? Or was it just SOP for Schlesinger at the time? On most of Avery's post-walkout cartoons, no director is credited--just as in Clampett's Bacall to Arms and The Big Snooze, two films finished by other directors after the director's similarly scandalous exit from Schlesinger.
It is easy to tell which parts of Wabbit Twouble were far enough along to bear Avery's hand as director, and which were in rough enough form that Clampett's hand informed them in look and timing. It's a pity that this cartoon wasn't made before All This and Rabbit Stew, the last all-Avery Bugs Bunny film and one of the most regrettable films on his resume. At its best, WT is a delightful, inventive extension of the Bugs/Elmer Fudd relationship.
The great cartoons Clampett directed are enough to offset the boasting and its controversy; it's unfortunate that he felt so determined to claim credit for the creation of characters that are indisputably not his in whole. No one, after viewing The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, Book Revue, Kitty Cornered, A Corny Concerto or Draftee Daffy, could dispute the inspiration, talent and achievement behind those cartoons.
The big unanswered question about Wabbit Twouble, for me, is: was this credit intentional on Clampett's part? Or was it just SOP for Schlesinger at the time? On most of Avery's post-walkout cartoons, no director is credited--just as in Clampett's Bacall to Arms and The Big Snooze, two films finished by other directors after the director's similarly scandalous exit from Schlesinger.
It is easy to tell which parts of Wabbit Twouble were far enough along to bear Avery's hand as director, and which were in rough enough form that Clampett's hand informed them in look and timing. It's a pity that this cartoon wasn't made before All This and Rabbit Stew, the last all-Avery Bugs Bunny film and one of the most regrettable films on his resume. At its best, WT is a delightful, inventive extension of the Bugs/Elmer Fudd relationship.
For the record, and with the inevitable reward of hectoring comments, I will note the scenes that, TO ME, seem like either finished or nearly-complete Avery footage. It would be enlightening to know if the soundtrack and voicework were already in the can before Avery's walk-out. The director's voice is not on the track. Mel Blanc supplies a rough simluation of Avery's "Lennie" voice for the cartoon's closing line of dialogue.
The first 1:50, credit issues aside, appears to me to be unadulterated Avery. The syncopated multiplane camera shot, cued to a stop-and-start rumba rhythm, is similar to the more audacious moves at the start of Uncle Tom's Bungalow (1937). The multi-level backgrounds are those of Johnnie Johnson, Avery's favorite scenic artist.
The crude camera-work, in which elements of a three-tier multiplane shot jerk back and forth, suggest that these scenes were filmed in haste. Camera blunders in 1930s and '40s Schlesinger cartoons are many, and were often too expensive to correct, but the shoddy movements of the layers seem below the studio's general standards.
3:56 to 4:51 is another uninterrupted stretch of Avery-centric footage. The ink and paint might not have been done until after Clampett came on board, but the pencil animation and scene layouts would have been complete. Just as in live-action film, animation projects were worked on out of order, depending on which animators and other artists were available.
5:16 to 5:33 feels this same way. Avery's versions of the characters are more streamlined and smooth than Clampett's. Their lack of wrinkles, bumps and lumps indicates that Avery had nuanced the animation to at least finished pencil drawings.
The difference in treatment of the black bear character is the biggest tell between what Avery had and hadn't finessed. Clampett's tendency for more florid physical expression and asymmetrical poses and detailing stands out against Avery's cleaner lines.
The cut to an insert, during a chase scene at 6:43 to 6:49, seems atypical of Avery, and may have been Clampett's decision to punch up the drama of the bear's vicious jaws.
A major comedic set-piece, at 6:50, bears Avery's stamp. This kind of highly controlled physical comedy, based on amusing extreme poses and synced to a stop-and-start section from "The William Tell Overture," a known favorite of Avery's, is worthy of the director's best moments.
At 7:03, against a background that says "Avery," Clampett's hand as director is prevalent. The lavish details of the flesh and fur folds of the two characters, their asymmetrical construction and the bear's pie-eyed glee at 7:12 are in line with the look of the classic color Clampett cartoons.
7:17 to 7:47 involve layout set-ups from the start of the cartoon, and were obviously planned in detail by Avery before his departure. Note Bugs' more streamlined chassis as he leans against the forest ranger.
The remaining footage of Wabbit Twouble looks to be finalized by Clampett, with more gangly, sprawly animation and the thrusting-forward quality of Elmer's medium shot as he addresses us behind bars.
The moment in this film which may be Clampett's big addition is at 5:30 to 5:40, when the bear sniffs the obese Fudd at body length and cringes at the scent. He sighs "pee-yew!" and stalks off, disgusted. That's germane with the anything-goes philosophy Clampett had already displayed in his black and white Porky Pig cartoons and would enlarge in the brassy epics of the early to mid 1940s.
To play devil's DA, Avery also had a penchant for off-color gags, and playing up a star character's body odor might have been his idea. Without documentation, we're in gray areas,
Would Wabbit Twouble have been better if Avery had completed it in all aspects? Tough call. It would be more conservative in its visuals. By 1941, Avery was less interested in showy business than in the hard mechanics of comedy. If a scene demanded elaborate animation or effects shots, in the service of the narrative, he made exceptions. But given a set situation, from event to event, Avery at his peak eschews showing-off. Clampett, at his peak, revels in excess--visual and verbal. In his best work, that indelicate balance inspires sublime animation and outrageous comedy. Both approaches are valid, and both men made great work from different philosophies.
UP NEXT: a for-real post, with lots of pictures: The Cagey Canary
The crude camera-work, in which elements of a three-tier multiplane shot jerk back and forth, suggest that these scenes were filmed in haste. Camera blunders in 1930s and '40s Schlesinger cartoons are many, and were often too expensive to correct, but the shoddy movements of the layers seem below the studio's general standards.
(above; Robert McKimson-styled Elmer Fudd
in his new chunky design; quintessential staid Avery-unit background painting)
The sequence from 2:48 to 3:40 feels like Avery's; the cutting to point-of-view shots of static background elements and the less spastic motion of the animation are consistent with what I recognize of his 1940-41 Schlesinger work. 3:30 to 3:40 has one of Carl Stalling's most lovely pieces of music, as Fudd walks to his tent. That the character walks so insistently to the music's rhythm feels more like Avery than Clampett to me.
Similar shot to a sequence from A Wild Hare;
streamlined contours; no wrinkles, warts or lumps
movement locked into Carl Stalling's score
3:56 to 4:51 is another uninterrupted stretch of Avery-centric footage. The ink and paint might not have been done until after Clampett came on board, but the pencil animation and scene layouts would have been complete. Just as in live-action film, animation projects were worked on out of order, depending on which animators and other artists were available.
close-up; note pie-cuts in pupils; slight fuzz to Bugs' cheeks
5:16 to 5:33 feels this same way. Avery's versions of the characters are more streamlined and smooth than Clampett's. Their lack of wrinkles, bumps and lumps indicates that Avery had nuanced the animation to at least finished pencil drawings.
a more Clampett-centric moment;
Avery-centric action a few seconds later
The difference in treatment of the black bear character is the biggest tell between what Avery had and hadn't finessed. Clampett's tendency for more florid physical expression and asymmetrical poses and detailing stands out against Avery's cleaner lines.
Avery
Clampett
Avery
Clampett
In the midst of some long Clampett-detailed scenes, the nose-thumping closeup at 6:02 to 6:09 feels like Avery unit work. Clampett follows Avery's layouts more respectfully in the footage where the bear re-appears, Elmer clobbers him with his shotgun, and the pantomime bit that follows.
Tell-tale debris is classic Clampett gross-out humor
The moment in this film which may be Clampett's big addition is at 5:30 to 5:40, when the bear sniffs the obese Fudd at body length and cringes at the scent. He sighs "pee-yew!" and stalks off, disgusted. That's germane with the anything-goes philosophy Clampett had already displayed in his black and white Porky Pig cartoons and would enlarge in the brassy epics of the early to mid 1940s.
To play devil's DA, Avery also had a penchant for off-color gags, and playing up a star character's body odor might have been his idea. Without documentation, we're in gray areas,
Would Wabbit Twouble have been better if Avery had completed it in all aspects? Tough call. It would be more conservative in its visuals. By 1941, Avery was less interested in showy business than in the hard mechanics of comedy. If a scene demanded elaborate animation or effects shots, in the service of the narrative, he made exceptions. But given a set situation, from event to event, Avery at his peak eschews showing-off. Clampett, at his peak, revels in excess--visual and verbal. In his best work, that indelicate balance inspires sublime animation and outrageous comedy. Both approaches are valid, and both men made great work from different philosophies.
UP NEXT: a for-real post, with lots of pictures: The Cagey Canary
The 1941 WB flick "Blues in the Night" uses "Says Who? Says You, Says I," which is the source of what you say (and I enthusiastically agree) is one of Stalling's little gems, as Fudd washes his face and is lured over the canyon edge. See the film's usage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbEc1SI0Xu0 (Footnote: future director Elia Kazan is one of the four guys bothering the pianist.) Blues in the Night was released a few weeks before Wabbit Twouble.
ReplyDeleteClampett never really hid Avery's involvement in "Wabbit Twouble" in talking about how 'fat Elmer' came to be, which was different from some of the other things he would take credit for later on in his career (and it could boil down here to Bob just not wanting to be responsible for the 'fat Elmer' misfire by himself, and indicting Tex as co-conspirator).
ReplyDeleteWhat would also be interesting to know is how fast this cartoon was put through the system, given Bugs' booming popularity by late 1941. It does seem to have been fast-tracked through the production cycle, in ways the final four Avery-Clampett combinations were not -- "Cagey Canary" to me feels even more like a pure Avery cartoon than this one does (as for the credit here, it may just have been that Clampett's name in Fuddese was too delicious to pass up, especially if Leon made them take off an original "Fwed Avewy" credit from the opening titles).
This introduced the Big Chungus meme!
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