Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special is a Christmas special spun off from the HBO Max/Warner Bros. Animation show Looney Tunes Cartoons (based on the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts). It premiered on December 3, 2020.
Synopsis
Inside a comfy house decorated with a Christmas tree, stockings, presents and other Christmas trappings, with a few Looney accessories, a narrator guides the viewer to the Christmas tree decorations which are themed after the following five shorts:
Elf Help
Up at the North Pole, an ambiguous anchor man recounts the terrible news that Santa Claus has been forced to unsuccessfully make all the presents by himself due to his elves going on strike, despite trying to work out a deal with them, coming to the conclusion that there won't be a Christmas at all this year. Watching this on TV, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are distraught, specifically the latter as he is especially infuriated at the elves' selfishness and laments that Santa constantly brings them lumps of coal to supply them with warmth for being naughty all year long. Porky worries over Santa's predicament, to which Daffy decides that the two of them will be Santa's new elves. He is hesitant at first, but the duck easily persuades him into tagging along.
Upon their arrival, they discover that the elves are blocking their path, so Daffy uses Porky as a bowling ball to strike their way in, with the pig landing slam dunk onto Santa's belly. Santa is understandably depressed over his elves deserting him. However, Daffy lifts up his trademark jolliness when he says he and Porky are up for the job of saving Christmas and he belly smacks them into their elf suits. Ecstatic about their new position, Porky and Daffy eagerly set to work on building wooden horses and painting giraffes. Unfortunately, Santa heartily states he's traded it all away in favour of the mass manufacturing of high tech video game systems such as the Q Gam Spot DX before directing the pair to the foreboding factory in which they are made and telling them to get to work or else. When they enter, Porky begins to fear that Christmas is ruined when Daffy discovers a book titled A Total Nincompoop's Guide to Building A Video Game System which he believes will both save Christmas and their hides, and thus they begin their laborious toil with Porky reading and Daffy making. Going all the way from Step 1, which is grab hold of the Central Processing Unit, to Step 1276, which is securely attach the electro chassis with the appropriate sticky stuff, Porky is eventually worn out whilst Daffy is still active in the production. When they are finished, the pig is appalled with Daffy's workmanship as it bares nothing to the intended model. Daffy nonchalantly states that he still needs to add the final blow, of which he means using the machinery to squash the shoddy looking craftsmanship together into the resulting product. After being, squashed as well, Daffy marvels at his creation until Porky reveals that it is actually a killer robot that then proceeds to use Daffy as a mallet to ground the pig who unintentionally walks onto the conveyor belt, much to his misery. The robot then makes Daffy into his machine gun and fires duck eggs all over Porky, causing him to fall off the belt along with the duck, rendering them both cornered as the robot prepares to use rockets as an attempt to end them both once and for all. Porky pleads for his life in utter cowardice, so Daffy uses him as a bowling ball once again to strike into the robot and launch its rockets back at it, concluding in an explosion which awakens Santa and creates the perfect game system. Santa is pleased at first with the completed system, but realizes he should make amends with his elves after an explosion causes him to have a brief fit of rage. He succeeds after promising them a 20% raise and an increase in their dental hygiene, thus saving Christmas for all. Still, he remembers to reward Porky and Daffy with their very own high tech video game system, which haplessly turns out to be the killer robot from earlier, and the two of them are chased out of the North Pole and back to Looneyville.
Yuletide Taz
Taz has left his native home of Tasmania to go out caroling from door to door.
- Attempt #1: He proceeds to sing, but a meow comes out instead, so he digs inside his own mouth to discover a cat he ate earlier had gotten a hold of his tongue. The door then shuts in his face.
- Attempt #2: He tries to sing a variation of "Angels We Have Heard on High", but a police car constantly interrupts, eventually driving him to the point where he goes crazy and thrashes the car before hurling it away. The door then shuts in his face just as he is about to sing once more.
- Attempt #3: Taz has now found a particular interest in pressing the doorbell. The tenant of the house requests him to stop, but he roars in his usually defiant fashion. Having gotten his point across, he continues to press the doorbell.
- Attempt #4: He proceeds to sing a rendition of "Jingle Bells", but he decides that the handbell he is using is too flimsy, so he spins off the the local churchyard to steal its bell so he can give the song more of an impact. The door then shuts in his face.
- Attempt #5: Taz discovers that a trio of carolers have taken his place and are singing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear". In a frenetic tornado of rage, he proceeds to eat them offscreen, giving the tenant of the house no choice but to lock the house in fear of that they'll be eaten as well. However, Taz opens his mail flap and states that he knows that they're still in the house, so the tenant nails it shut.
- Attempt #6: Taz is now in a foul mood because he hasn't managed to successfully sing to anyone he has encountered. He proceeds to freshen up with breath spray and uses a tuning pipe to get into pitch before singing a heart warming rendition of "Silent Night", but the owner of the house is revealed to be Granny, who has not heard a single note, leaving Taz confused.
Holiday Purrchase
Tweety and Granny have just arrived at the Mega Store Mart in New Looney City, which is already packed with customers frantically preparing for Christmas, just in time for the big holiday sale. Meanwhile, in a garbage can just outside the Mart, Sylvester has just set his eyes on the canary and decides that he is the gift that he wants this year. He then slithers up to the entrance of the Mart, but whilst Granny and Tweety manage to slip inside without any issue whatsoever, Sylvester is immediately sucked in after pondering on how to enter without drawing any attention and lands in the tools section, after which he is sawed in half with a buzz saw, rendering him half off. At the clothes section, Granny reminds Tweety to look out for good deals, and he discovers one in the sock compartment in which Sylvester is hiding. However, as he is about to devour Tweety, the price of the left socks is reduced from $5 by 90%, making them cost $0.50, which is such a cheap price that the other customers energetically purchase every last one of them, including Sylvester himself, leaving only his eyeballs and nose. Tweety then leaves the sock compartment, thinking that the one remaining sock is too big for him. He then discards the sock, leaving it to be snatched up by a female customer along with Sylvester's facial features. When they reach the ornaments aisle, Granny asks Tweety to pick a nutcracker for their mantle as the nutcrackers are also 90% off. He picks a big, ugly nutcracker which is actually Sylvester in crummy disguise and requests for his owner to try it out. Despite liking the design, she decides to use walnuts as an attempt to confirm Sylvester's efficiency in being a nutcracker, pulling his tail (which she mistakes for a lever) and breaking his teeth as she does so. In a false bid to aid Granny, Tweety uses a candy cane to break Sylvester's teeth and spill out the nuts, leaving his owner to believe that he's broken and place him back in the incorrect shelf before heading in search of a Christmas tree. A battered Sylvester then uses a dustpail and broom to sweep up his teeth and place them back into his mouth. When they find the trees that are 70% off, Tweety is unsure of their outward appearance before Granny opens one up to cure his skepticism. Sylvester then spots Tweety pretending to be a Christmas star and proceeds to sing a variation of "The 12 Days of Christmas" ("On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a delicious yellow canary!") He leaps off the wall to devour the bird, but misses and accidentally digests a Christmas tree which Tweety takes a funky liking to. Granny opens him up as well, but objects to her canary's decision, calling him scraggly. To prove her wrong, Tweety plugs in the tree, electrocuting Sylvester and lighting him up like a real Christmas tree, causing his now bauble-esque eyes and nose to break from the excess power. At the toy department, Tweety is playing with a remote controlled toy car. Sylvester unsuccessfully tries to catch him from behind a smart television set that is 20% off, failing once more when he reaches the 40% off mark and becoming increasingly savage at the 75% off mark. To his own misfortune, when he accidentally makes his hiding place completely free, the customers hurriedly spend all their money on it and strip him black and blue, at which he makes a dour comment. Realizing that he has no other options, Sylvester disguises himself as a woman and uses a fishing pole baited with mistletoe to get to Tweety, who is shaking a snow globe. When the mistletoe descends onto Tweety, Sylvester reminds him of the law that they have to kiss. The canary reluctantly agrees, giving Sylvester the chance to eat him once and for all time, but suddenly his mouth is set on fire due to Tweety lighting a menorah, revealing himself to be Jewish. Having had enough of the bird's antics, Sylvester captures him and tells him that "O Tannenbaum" is the last ever Christmas carol that he will sing. Tweety interrupts so he can give the cat his Christmas gift, claiming it to be the reason that he went Christmas shopping. Sylvester is suspicious at first, but tearfully accepts due to the fact that no one has ever given him a gift before. He decides to open against Santa Claus' wishes, but discovers that the gift is a plush mouse loaded with a stick of dynamite that explodes in his face and sends him to the fruitcake section, to which the customers express their disgust after Tweety marks the cost as 50 cents. The segment ends with Tweety making a joke about fruitcake at Sylvester's expense.
Ho Ho Go!
It is Christmas in the Snake Bite Desert and Road Runner is off on his usual sprint once again. Meanwhile, Wile E. Coyote is spying on him with a telescope in hunger and decides to create a bootleg gift with a tag that says "To Road Runner from Santa Claus", placing it in the middle of the road and wrapping it up with a red ribbon which is attached to two hooks that connect it with a stick which is keeping a large boulder in place that he plans to use in crushing Road Runner to his death. Unfortunately, when Road Runner seemingly goes for the gift, Wile E. doesn't hear the anticipated crush and sees that the gift has been left intact with a red gift standing next to it. He picks up the second gift and after reading the tag which says "Merry Xmas", he merrily opens it, only to find the stick that was holding the boulder in place, leaving himself to be instantly battered by the boulder and split into two. Undeterred, Wile E. buys an ACME Christmas tree, an ACME camera, and an ACME Extra Large Mace which he places onto the tree and sprays with gold paint to pose as a Christmas star as an attempt to lure Road Runner and chop down the tree to finish him off, made even more obvious with a sign which says "Get your photo with the X-mas tree". When Road Runner arrives, he paints a red X to bait him into the trap. However, when Wile E. hacks the tree, it doesn't seem to topple over in Road Runner's direction, giving him no choice but to push it over by force and causing the mace to plummet on his head in agonizing pain. The end result is represented by a photo which says "Merry Christmas!" Not one to give up, Wile E. purchases an ACME Santa's Workshop Kit with a plethora signs and tags to along with it, and hides a whole bunch of explosives wired to a detonator behind it. Road Runner then arrives at the fake workshop and enters immediately. When Wile E. pushes on the detonator, it doesn't seem to work at all and he goes to the workshop to check, only to be run over by the real Santa's sleigh with Road Runner on board for the ride. Fearing that his idea has gone wrong, Wile E. decides to see for himself and is proven right when the TNT explodes in his face. The short then ends with him stating his hatred of Christmas through a sign which says "Bah Humbug!"
Snow Laughing Matter
In the bleak winter season when the forest is laden with snow, Bugs Bunny is enjoying a mug of carrot tea in front of a warm fire deep inside his burrow when two heaps of snow douse his fire and bury him, thus spoiling his festive mood. Bugs then emerges via his homemade elevator to see whatever is the fuss and gets his answer when his head is covered in snow shaped in his likeness and he sees Elmer Fudd shoveling snow from his walkway and singing "I've Been Shoveling the Walkway", so he goes to his house to ask him if he could shovel it somewhere else other than his burrow as it has become extremely cold. Unfortunately, Elmer claims that he is a man does what he pleases whenever he pleases and is unwilling to budge at all and gets even more irritated when Bugs reminds him to love thy neighbor to the point where he bats an entire heap of snow with his shovel at the bunny's chimney and uses a leaf blower to send him packing and trap him in his burrow, much to the latter's anguish. He then heads back home to finish his labor, planning on having raspberry tea and rhubarb pie afterward and unaware that Bugs has modeled the snow similarly to a caber tossed it back at his house, giving him a Donald Trump-esque hairstyle. Bugs gets to work on rebuilding his chimney, but Elmer's shoveling ruins it all. He goes to his house once more to briefly chat with Elmer about his situation before using a bucket of water to freeze his walkway so that he slips flat on his face. Bugs asks Elmer if he's okay, at which point his face literally breaks like porcelain. To salt the wound, he drops a fridge on Elmer for him to use as an ice pack and returns to his burrow whilst singing Elmer's song sadistically before he is immediately pelted with a snowball by his neighbor. Bugs kindly asks him to ceasefire, but Elmer continues to pelt in a blind fury until Bugs cannot stand it any longer. To save himself, Bugs disguises as Elmer's mother and overbearingly tells him to layer up in the winter climate before suiting him too much coats, scarves, and hats, much to Elmer's surprise. He then gives him a pine tree that poses as a mallet and flings him over to the local funeral bank, turning it into a grave that Elmer cracks open before grabbing a drainpipe to annihilate the rabbit, only to see that his house has already been shoveled by Bugs who is seemingly wishing for their feud to end. He joyfully thanks Bugs for giving in and invites him over to tea before realizing that the snow is actually inside his home, causing both the enormous amount of snow and all of his furniture to come hurling out into the yard until his entire property is covered in a mountain of snow. Bugs nonchalantly gloats at Elmer's misfortune before the latter uses a snowplow to get vengeance on him, sending Bugs fleeing for his own life and dodging Elmer's attempts to crush him to death, eventually coming to a stop at the edge of a narrow cliff. Seeing the infuriated glee on Elmer's face as he wishes for his demise, Bugs just manages to tiptoe underneath the cliff and get behind the snowplow to fool Elmer into thinking he has successfully murdered him before hearing him scream to his plummeting doom in an explosion below. To add the final blow, Bugs paints a picture of a tropical beach onto a pair of glasses to fool Elmer into thinking that it's summertime and dresses up in summer clothes to set the mood. To celebrate, Elmer brings out his summer gear, smears his sunscreen and prepares to relax as he believes that he has finally won the day. His victory turns pyrrhic however, as the winter season gives him permanent frostbite all over his body and freezes him to death, with Bugs mocking his shortcomings.
The narrator reveals himself to be Bugs Bunny as his allergies start to act up and he thanks the viewers for stopping by, wishing them all a happy holiday and a joyous season before chewing on his signature carrot.
Cast
Voice actor/actress | Character(s) |
---|---|
Eric Bauza | Bugs Bunny Daffy Duck Tweety |
Bob Bergen | Porky Pig |
Jeff Bergman | Elmer Fudd Sylvester |
Fred Tatasciore | Tasmanian Devil Santa Claus Robot |
Paul Julian (archive audio) | Road Runner |
Candi Milo | Granny |
Note: Wile E. Coyote appears, but as per usual does not have a speaking part.
External links
- Looney Tunes Wiki: Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special
- Looney Tunes Cartoons Wiki: Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special
- Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special at the Internet Movie Database
content from Wikipedia (view authors). |