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Southern Fried Rabbit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Southern Fried Rabbit | |
| Looney Tunes series | |
 |
|
| Directed by | Friz Freleng |
|---|---|
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Animation by | Ken Champin Arthur Davis Manuel Perez Virgil Ross |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | May 2, 1953 (USA premiere) |
| Format | Technicolor, 6 min. 45 sec.(one reel) |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
Southern Fried Rabbit is a Looney Tunes cartoon by Warner Brothers and was directed by Friz Freleng. The film was first released on May 2, 1953. A newspaper date however places the events on September 2, 1952. It is generally not shown on American television due to some racial stereotypes displayed in the short.
This film features Bugs Bunny attempting to flee to Alabama to escape a carrot famine. His attempt to cross the Mason-Dixon line is stopped by Yosemite Sam, a zealous soldier of the Confederate States of America.
Sam was reportedly ordered by General Robert E. Lee to guard the borders between the Confederate States and the United States during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). He is oblivious to the fact that the war ended "almost ninety years ago" ("I ain't no clock watcher!") and continues to await newer orders from General Lee. He refuses to allow any Yankee to cross the line. Sam remains unaged and vital despite being on guard from the 1860s to the 1950s.
Bugs finds himself fighting to cross the line. He disguises himself as Jim Crow, Uncle Tom, Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson and Scarlett O'Hara to little effect. He at last succeeds in removing Sam from his guarding post after informing him that "the Yankees are in Chattanooga", Tennessee. Sam marches to Chattanooga. The finale has Sam using a rifle to threaten the New York Yankees, preventing them from competing against the Chattanooga Lookouts. Bugs is assumed to have successfully crossed the line by that time.
Bugs being disguised as a Uncle Tom has been the reason of this short accused of racism. However one should note that the stereotypes were the subjects of parody rather than being reinforced.
The cartoon is featured in Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4.