On July 27, 1940, a brand-new Looney Tunes cartoon called 'A Wild Hare' flickered onto movie screens across America. Audiences in their popcorn-scented theaters watched as the bumbling hunter Elmer Fudd crept through the woods looking for rabbits. Out of a hole popped a wisecracking gray-and-white rabbit with long ears and an even longer attitude. He leaned against a tree, munched a carrot, and said the line that would become legendary: 'Eh, what's up, doc?' Bugs Bunny had officially arrived.
Bugs was the creation of a whole team at Warner Bros. studios - directors Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, writer Rich Hogan, and especially voice actor Mel Blanc, who voiced not only Bugs but also Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and dozens of other Looney Tunes characters. Earlier rabbit characters had appeared in Warner Bros. cartoons, but 'A Wild Hare' was where Bugs got his full personality: cool, clever, sneaky in a fun way, and always one step ahead. The cartoon was nominated for an Oscar.
Over the next 80-plus years, Bugs starred in more than 175 cartoons, met every U.S. president in animated form, played basketball with Michael Jordan in 'Space Jam,' and got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's appeared on stamps, lunchboxes, T-shirts, and even cereal boxes. Generations of kids have grown up quoting 'What's up, doc?' Bugs Bunny taught the world that the smartest character in the room is sometimes the smallest one, and that a good carrot crunch can solve almost any problem.
