Bugs Bunny has and continues to be a standing favorite all, his popularity spans generations crossing over form one millennia to the next, he is iconically global and can be viewed in many languages in thousands of homes. True to form the creation of this character has spawned within our culture a love for such a character that he has become not only a welcomed spokes person but an undying legend whose roots can possibly be traced back hundreds of years he is everybody’s hero we laugh and cheer when he is victorious and are shocked and somewhat upset when he “loses.” Warner Bros., released his first cartoon over sixty years ago. Since “There have been over 150 Bugs Bunny cartoons, and all but about twelve are still shown rather frequently on television today. Bugs has had a more diverse and accomplished career than many Hollywood actors ever have, and some of the zaniest and funniest performances ever in film history. This did not happen overnight, by any means. Bugs Bunny's cartoons were directed over the years by such creative geniuses as Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, Frank Tashlin, and others, all of whom left their mark in film history with these animated films, and Bugs was only one of the dozens of classic creations these men worked with and created. Also not to be forgotten are the creators of the Warner cartoon soundtrack, Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs) and musicians Carl Stalling, Milt Franklyn and William Lava” (Hunter). One can argue that legend all started in a cartoon short envisioned by then director Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, where Porky Pig was the “star” of a black and white Looney Tunes short called "Porky's Hare Hunt". Now, even legends must have humble beginnings and can appear as mere semblances of the final product, that if one were to infer and take notice one can half hazardly guess and be correct that “The character was not exactly Bugs Bunny, he was short, simply drawn, white, and acted like a cross between Daffy Duck and Woody Woodpecker (It is said that Hardaway and vocal genius Mel Blanc can also be attributed to Woody's creation for Walter Lantz a few years later.) Porky Pig goes hunting with his dog, zero, and takes a beating from his prey in a situation much like the earlier Tex Avery effort "Porky's Duck Hunt"(1937), the film that introduced Daffy Duck. This rabbit can pull himself out of a hat, fly with his ears and bounce on his head, and he finally puts Porky in the hospital. Hardaway and Chuck Jones would continue to use this character, though slightly redesigned, in a series of color Merrie Melodies over the next two years, including the manic "Hare-Um Scare-Um" and "Presto Change-O". Most importantly, with the exception of "Presto", Bugs was turned into a gray rabbit with a more expressive face, but he was still not quite Bugs. In fact, some argue that this rabbit is only Bugs because of his name, derived from a model sheet calling him "Bugs' Bunny", with the apostrophe removed”(Hunter). But in 1940 the character changed Bugs Bunny was no longer “wild” he was a bit more shrewd in dealing with his seemingly dim witted opponents in an almost methodic sort of way. It seems a magic formula was discovered; trouble causing stupidity was confronted by whimsically smart. Bugs Bunny’s creators were at the forefront of an animated revolution “When director Tex Avery made "A Wild Hare", one of the most infamous short cartoons ever made. This film was the second pairing of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and Fudd's second cartoon. Elmer was previously a wildlife photographer after Bugs in Chuck Jones' "Elmer's Candid Camera" a year earlier. What Avery did differently was to make Elmer Fudd an incompetent hunter with a gun, and Bugs a timid woodland rabbit...er...until provoked, that is. Instead of running like typical cartoon characters of the day, from Disney's Mickey Mouse to Warner's Porky Pig, Bugs did not fear danger, but simply sat down next to it and calmly asked "Eh, What's Up, Doc?" It got laughs, so much so that producer Leon Schlesinger demanded more films from the rabbit, and the "Wild Hare" plot was varied over the next few years to include such memorable films as "All this and Rabbit Stew"(Avery) and "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt"(Friz Freleng) (Hunter).

In 1941 Bob Clampett and Leon Shlesinger took over the Bugs Bunny character after Avery’s unceremonious departure, they felt they could step it up a notch and proceeded on campaign that would in effect propel Bugs Bunny to stardom. The Campaign focus was American patriotism during World war II, it was an eight film campaign where Bugs Bunny would elicit his patriotism through the solicitation of war bonds. This campaign became an instant success only 4 episodes in propelling the character into near legendary status, a possible reason aside patriotism is the “energetic and zaniness” of the character that facilitated his rise stardom(Hunter). “Throughout the 1940's, Bugs Bunny quickly became the Warner cartoon department's flagship character, and the star of dozens of Merrie Melodies cartoons, titles like "Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid", "Fresh Hare", Little Red Riding Rabbit","Super Rabbit"," Buckaroo Bugs", and many more, with such costars as Elmer Fudd, Cecil Turtle, The Three Bears, and, in one memorable short, Chuck Jones' "Super Rabbit", Cotton Tail Smith, a rabbit-hatin' western outlaw (not to be confused with another rabbit-hatin' western outlaw introduced later). Several titles were designed to boost American morale by placing Bugs in wartime themes (such as airplane hijacks by mythical gremlins in "Falling Hare"(1943) and a few others had Bugs take on America's enemies, most notably the infamous "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips", a now-rarely seen film with Bugs fighting the Japanese on a Pacific island” (Hunter). The continuation of the Bugs Bunny's films into the late 40's, the cartoons began to get more zany and situationally driven as well more sophisticated. Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett continued on with the formula that had made Bugs bunny a Warner Bros’ star and an American icon. The producers “Continued their series of twists to the Elmer-hunts-Bugs scenario in classics like "The Old Grey Hare" and "Stage Door Cartoon", both 1944. 1945 saw the introduction of Friz Freleng's Yosemite Sam, and, sadly, 1946 saw the departure of Bob Clampett from the studio, after one final cartoon, the Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd classic "The Big Snooze" (Hunter). In 1946,the newly promoted Robert McKimson directed his first Bugs Bunny cartoon entitled "Acrobatty Bunny". This cartoon propelled that character in to a new era into the evolution of Bugs Bunny taking him from the late 40’s into the early 50’s. The evolution of this Bugs Bunny revolved around other new characters “It would be Robert McKimson's version who would dominate in the late 1940's and early 1950's. All the more notable is the fact that McKimson created the model sheet used by all of Bugs' directors in the 1940's, even before he was a director of cartoons himself, only an assistant animator. Many Bugs cartoon fans claim that this McKimson character is the definitive Bugs, period. Watch a film like "Rabbit's Kin", "Rebel Rabbit" or "Hare We Go", just to name a few of McKimson's best, you will see. In 1954, McKimson created the Tasmanian Devil in a film called "Devil May Hare", and although he only appeared in five cartoons, this character is one of the most popular cartoon characters in the Warner canon. Bugs had changed over his first several years, and had noticeably evolved in the hands of so many creators into a mixture of all of their talents” (Hunter).

By the 1950’s Bugs Bunny had become the very essence of cool, of grace under pressure he had evolved into the very essence of what defined 1950’s modernity almost an animated juxtaposition to Miles Davis’ birth of cool, that is until trouble came his way and it usually did as where these antagonists are seemingly innocent character portrayals of everyday people incroaching upon his personal space “By the likes of Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, or any other adversary stubborn enough to keep torturing him. Some wanted him to move, some wanted to eat him, some wanted to kill him for the sport of it, and none got their wish” (Hunter). “ Also in the 1950's, the Bugs we all know as Bugs today emerged in the films of Chuck Jones. Jones hit his peak in the 1950's, and defined Bugs Bunny to the very last whisker, if it was McKimson who captured the idea of Bugs best, it was Jones who mastered it and took it to new levels. Chuck Jones first paired Bugs with his redefined, greedy version of Daffy Duck in "Rabbit Fire" (1951) and from that idea came up with two more classics, "Rabbit Seasoning" (1952) and "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!"(1943.) In these films, Elmer Fudd hunts Bugs and Daffy, who each try to prove that it's not their season, hence "rabbit season!" "duck season!" This partnership between Bugs and Daffy has continued ever since, and many cartoons from many different creators use Daffy as Bugs' foil. In fact, Chuck Jones said in a PBS special "Extremes and Inbetweens" that this relationship is much like him: "I can dream I'm Bugs Bunny, but when I wake up, I'm Daffy" (Hunter)

With regard to Bugs Bunny’s new found maturity, coolness and modernity Hunter states, “Under Jones, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson, Bugs continued to do almost everything into the later 1950's. Bugs, in these films, was calmer, more secure, but equally as funny. What makes these films different from the 1940's Bugs and, in my personal opinion, better, is that Bugs tends to step back and plot against his tormentors more. Instead of Bugs rushing into action, he steps back and thinks about his next move, and the audience has more time to laugh with Bugs instead of at him. In fact, Bugs encourages his audience to laugh at his enemies, he will, especially in Jones' films, give a sly "look" toward the audience while some villain does something stupid. Some people tend to pick at these films for declining in quality, but I beg to differ, these films are great, each one has something to like about it. More recurring costars from elsewhere in the Looney Tunes stable tend to show up in these films, like Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, and the perennial Elmer Fudd”. As stated earlier with Bugs’ new found cooler look came an introduction to new characters that in a round-a-bout sort of way had to form a symbiotic relationship with these new characters. Methodically timed comical revenge can only ensue with desired success if the players and the situation are perfect, case in point; “Friz Freleng's long-running series of Yosemite Sam films, all but two of which starred Bugs, also took off during this period, as Friz put cowboy outlaw Sam in places where he didn't belong just to prove that it would work, in such cartoons as "Sahara Hare" (1955) and "Captain Hareblower" (1954). In fact, Bugs Bunny's only Oscar was received for a cartoon in which Yosemite Sam played a Black Knight, "Knighty Knight Bugs"(1958). This isn't too different from John Wayne doing war films, some worked and some didn't, but in Sam's case, when they worked, they really worked. It has long been noted that Freleng did not like Elmer Fudd, so he came up with Sam, who apparently so closely resembled Freleng that no other director used him regularly. Sam also had another unique quality, apparently, his big, loud voice was the most difficult of all for Mel Blanc to perform” Hunter). As 1961 rolled around, Bugs Bunny had solidified his position as a definite Hollywood star and had become national icon and was given his own prime-time show much the same as stars from the past, stars such as George Burns and Dean Martin. "The Bugs Bunny Show, essentially introduced the Warner cartoons of the past, not just those featuring Bugs, to a new generation- the TV viewer,[resulting in ] the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon[s]… [being] somewhere on television ever since. Unfortunately, Bugs Bunny's theatrical films at the time suffered, possibly due to the efforts of the studio in compiling the Bugs show, and while there are several highlights, the 1961-1964 Bugs Bunny cartoons are not near as good as the others. For one thing, Milt Franklyn, the retired musical genius Carl Stalling's successor, died in 1962, and was replaced by William Lava, a scorer of live-action television shows. Lava's music was not the worst thing in the world, it was still good, but compared to the work of Stalling and Franklyn it was inferior. Part of the reason was the low, downbeat tone of some of the orchestrations, and the reduction of the cartoon music to merely background instead of part of the action and humor” (Hunter). At this point Bugs’ evolution had come to fruition, his star began to fade, but not as a mere causality of decades production but rather the causality of lack of effort, Hunter writes; “It appears from watching these films in sequence that budgets were lower, but animation far cheaper than this has also been made classic in its own right (The works of Jay Ward and Hanna-Barbera for television, for example.) Money was not the problem, the main problem here is lack of enthusiasm, lack of spirit. Watching Bugs' final films in sequence is like watching Bugs die, he dies admirably and humorously in typical Bugs fashion, but still, somehow, dies, and this time it's not just a prank to fool Elmer Fudd. His last theatrical cartoon was Robert McKimson's "False Hare" in 1964. The Warner cartoon studio closed and reopened again that same year, but this time Bugs Bunny was left out of the films, they seemed to realize that Bugs had run his course. They instead went on to produce dozens of cartoons featuring Sylvester, Daffy Duck, and Speedy Gonzales, later introducing new characters like Cool Cat the hip-talking tiger”. Even though this Hollywood icon is animated, he still had the capabilities of rising from the ashes like the phoenix, his animated short, films and specials continue to entertain audiences and much like his 1940 character inception he is “a hard man fe dead”. “With over 150 cartoons rerun constantly, plus several award-winning television specials and several compilation movies, Bugs Bunny just kept going, and has ever since. His films never get old, and while several of them are no longer shown on television, they are only a fraction. Bugs now appears often on the logo of Warner Bros., tons of merchandise, a 1996 feature film 'Space Jam" costarring basketball legend Michael Jordan, and even an annual celebration of his films, "June Bugs" on Cartoon Network cable channel. Bugs Bunny is possibly the greatest cartoon entity ever created” (Hunter). But what was the inspiration for not just creating but evolving such a character? On the surface Bugs was not only a master strategist and tactician he was quintessentially a representation of early twentieth-century urban stereotypes. He was a conglomeration of tough, street-wise, and clever east coast gangsters. “It wasn’t just a matter of mysteriously pulling already-fused and lit sticks of dynamite out of nowhere to foist upon a dim-witted Elmer Fudd. That was just the icing on the cake. Bugs was resourceful, able to improvise or to talk his way out of a tight situation. If there was one cartoon character you would have wanted to be, it was Bugs. Mickey Mouse, by comparison, seemed too simple and good-hearted. He was able to get the best of Peg-Leg Pete, or the Giant in “The Little Tailor”, but you could tell it was touch and go. When Bugs came up against a giant, there was no doubt that he was going to win, out-smarting and out-maneuvering the big clod” (Meacham). That being said, there is however a possibly deeper root as to the creation and characterization of this “rascally rabbit”, one embedded in mythology and folklore. ”Bugs was like the Trickster character in so many mythologies. Raven in the Pacific Northwest and Anansi in Sub-Saharan Africa and even Odysseus (Ulysses) in Greece. Ready liars, “full of twists and turns”, always ready with an angle, many of these Trickster types are themselves rabbits - Hare in Africa, who became Br’er Rabbit in the American South, Rabbit in the American Southeast and Southwest, and Brother Rabbit and Judge Rabbit in Southeast Asia” Meacham). So, the essential question becomes: “Did Michael Maltese, Chuck Jones and Tex Avery copy these old stories, or not? If not, then why isn’t a Duck or a Squirrel or a Coyote the Hero of our Saturday mornings?” (Meacham). According to Cal Meacham, “The Trickster figure is one that’s not really present in Christian theology or Christian Mythology. He works mischief, but not Evil. Sometimes he helps with the act of Creation. Sometimes he himself is the victim of a trick, as in the story of Anansi and the Rubber Girl (which became the story of the Tar Baby in Joel Chandler Harris). Western culture isn’t terribly comfortable with the Trickster and his moral ambiguity, and often tries to turn him into an unambiguously Evil figure”. Case in point and while not directly related to Bugs Bunny still lends credence to the trickster theory of defining the actual role in accordance with ancient mythologies by putting forth these ancient characters into modern society as evil, take Loki the god of mischief, in ancient lore he merely a prankster but for the purpose to correct such moral ambiguity he has been labeled as a villain. However, as Meacham states; “It’s interesting that the Rabbit or Hare is the Trickster figure in so many cultures. He appears among the Native Americans in the South West and the Southeast. Writing in North America Indian Mythology says that “[The Creek Indians]…had a considerable influence on Negro folk-tales, especially in the imposition of their own concept of the Trickster Spirit, personified as the Rabbit, on to the cycle of Ashanti stories about Anansi, The Trickster. In Jamaica Anansi suffers a spelling change and is often called Nancy, but in the south-eastern United States he took over the name of his Creek Indian archetype and has since charmed the world as Brer Rabbit.” According to the Scribble Bible web site on a post by Abecedariusrex “The Trickster is a traditional archetype in mythology; a character who thinks "polytropically" (as is said of Odysseus) - that is, in twists and turns rather than in linear fashion. He is sneaky, conniving, using cunning in order to survive. The Trickster sees the value of law and structure but traditionally transcends law, morality, structure, civilization itself, bending these to his own whim and will. He is a loner, traditionally, who has a bit of difficulty making friends b/c he cannot trust others readily. Moreover he is someone for whom magic, reason, language, law all are tools in order to deceive or dupe other people. Such dupery, though, is seldom malicious and frequently comical. Against the vast, dark, brute force of the universe, the Tiamat of the heavens, the Trickster uses subtlety, cunning, slyness, and masks - adopting different personas as the need arises. He dresses in drag, he alters space & time, he tells jokes and makes everyone laugh at his cleverness (unless they are trolls who only want to eat him and even then the Trickster has powerful allies, fortune or fate, that turn such monsters of darkness into stone; a la Bilbo). Ultimately, the Trickster is a survivor for whom law, chaos, fortune, and providence are all rafts that bring him home to Ithaka”.
As far as archetypes go the concept or definition of a trickster or prankster is not necessarily someone evil nor someone who deliberately and regularly engages in the practice of deception In Actuality “The role of tricksters in mythology and folklore includes raising consciousness, and disobeying norms and conventions. In other words, tricksters can be ‘frequency disruptors’ the job of any trickster…is to think the thoughts and do the things that they say can’t be thought or done. He’s most likely to be found disturbing the complacency of his culture, or deflating the pompousness of its symbols But Bugs is not just a disruptor, he is a tactician who understands the psyche and traits of those around him Traditionally the rabbit has been a symbol of the trickster - Buddhists, American Indians, Europeans, Greeks; all held the rabbit as the quintessential trickster” (Ede). But the edifice of such a character is not merely relegated to gods and animals but people as well, then as the story travels do the forms change, “The Buddhists, for instance, tell the story of the prince with a thousand weapons who fights the demon with the long hair. This prince, like Marduk, gets entangled in the demons black hair and must use cunning to trick the demon to let him go (to sleep like Ephialtes) whereupon the prince slays the demon (even as Marduk slays Tiamat). This story was brought by Buddhist monks to Africa where it embedded in the cultural imagination and came over on the slave ships to America where it was retold as Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. The rabbit also connects to the moon, as the moon goes through changes, metamorphosis, during each month and puts on different "masks" and "dies" only to be reborn. The story of the prince and the demon is a metaphor for an eclipse” (Ede). In many cultures rabbits are not the symbols of trickery and cunning they can also be symbols of fertility. The trick can be considered a two edged sword, dichotomous if you will not only have the trick of great physical attractiveness but also the trick of producing a large progeny in an age where producing plenty of offspring can be seen as a blessing (Abecedariusrex). Indeed the rabbit though not a mythical creature but one who has been bestowed a rather unique gift, a gift that through ancient recounts and modern philosophical ideas has given us such an iconic character of whom while not everybody’s favorite has most certainly kept generations of audiences cheering and rooting.

In conclusion a quote from Devansh Bajaj put it all succinctly; “Bugs Bunny has always had the attitude like that of America. The values and beliefs are simplistic, yet all important. The rabbit is all about survival. Outwitting and defeating the enemy before it defeats him. In the so simple representation of the American culture, he defines every aspect of America. Actively defending his rabbit hole when its in danger of being taken from him, calling war on the offender when he is in danger, using gibe and trickery to keep two steps ahead of his opponents, multiplying himself many, many times to show his might and right. All of these and many other moments help define his outlook and the way he acts. The fact that he usually comes out on top and is almost never beat at his own game endears him to the populace of America and raises his standings in the eyes of the people because the people see some parts of themselves in parts of Bugs. Anyway here's Bugs Bunny (our modern trickster) with a few notes. Chuck Jones, Fritz Freleng, and Tex Avery made an explosive team that crafted some of the best cartoons ever made. Their work has gone around the world and influenced thousands of people to believe in the power of the Trickster (even if they don't know it). This, in my opinion, is how myth always works because the myth is, itself, a bit of the Trickster magic.”