All This and Rabbit Stew

1941 film directed by Tex Avery

All This and Rabbit Stew

Title card

Directed by| Tex Avery
Story by| Dave Monahan
Produced by| Leon Schlesinger
Music by| Carl W. Stalling
Animation by| Virgil Ross
Color process| Technicolor

Production
company

Leon Schlesinger Productions

Distributed by| Warner Bros. Pictures
Vitaphone

Release date

* September 13, 1941 (1941-09-13)

Running time

| 6:29
Country| United States
Language| English

All This and Rabbit Stew is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery.[1] The cartoon was released on September 13, 1941, and features Bugs Bunny.[2]

Because of the cartoon's racial stereotypes of African-Americans, United Artists decided to withhold it from television syndication in the United States beginning in 1968. As such, the short was placed into the so-called Censored Eleven, a group of eleven Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts withheld from U.S. television distribution.[3] It was one of 12 cartoons to be pulled from Cartoon Network's 2001 "June Bugs" marathon by order of AOL Time Warner, on grounds of the subject material's offensiveness.[4] Mel Blanc and Darrell Payne were not credited for their voice works.[5]

## Plot[edit]

An African American hunter tries to catch Bugs Bunny, who tricks him into destroying a tree. Bugs outsmarts the hunter by using his own gun against him and tickling him. Then, Bugs leads the hunter into a cave where they encounter a bear. They both run away scared when they realize the bear is in the rabbit hole. The hunter chases Bugs with birdshot bullets, leading to a wild chase through various holes. Bugs tricks the hunter into falling off a cliff and then beats him in a game of strip dice. Bugs walks away wearing the hunter's clothes, leaving the hunter naked and embarrassed.

## Analysis[edit]

The film contains a reference to World War II, when the hunter threatens to Blitzkrieg Bugs.[6]

The hunter is identified in his model sheet as "Tex's Coon".[7] The hunter fills the role usually associated with Elmer Fudd; this was one of four Bugs Bunny short films of 1941 that have him facing a different hunter each time (the others were Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt, in which Bugs faced an Indian; The Heckling Hare, in which Bugs faces Willoughby the Dog; and Wabbit Twouble, which pits Bugs against Fudd).[6] A later scholar, John Stausbauch, described the hunter in terms of racial stereotype: as a "shufflin', big lipped, sleepy-eyed country coon", who cannot resist a game of craps.[8]

The hunter is dressed in a hat, a short-sleeved shirt, overalls and oversized shoes. A character with the same attire and demeanor would later be used in Angel Puss (1944). He essentially plays a stereotypical Sambo role in the film, and was named Sambo in its publicity material,[9] as he had been in Rabbit Stew.

The hunter's and Bugs' reaction from the bear's unexpected appearance from the rabbit hole (horn sound included) was somewhat reused in Wabbit Twouble (1941).

The giant hollow log gag was reused in The Big Snooze (1946), Foxy by Proxy (1952), and Person to Bunny (1960).

## Reception[edit]

Motion Picture Herald (September 13, 1941): "The little colored Sambo decides to try his hand at capturing Bugs Bunny, but meets with the same success as his predecessors. Just as he has the screwy rabbit cornered, Bugs Bunny entices him into a craps game, and little Sambo winds up a sadder and wiser hunter."[10]

Boxoffice (September 14, 1941): "One big, long hand. That's what this Technicolor cartoon is. It shows unmistakable signs of extra effort, preparation and ingenuity in all departments. The central character, a little bitty colored Sambo, is a cinch to capture fun-loving audiences. Here he decides to go gunning for some rabbits. He meets up with a nimble-witted adversary that has little Sambo in a constant dither."[10]

Motion Picture Exhibitor (September 17, 1941): "Sambo, a little negro boy, goes rabbit hunting, meets cynical Bugs Bunny, the screwy rabbit... This is a very funny reel in every respect—characters, situations, and story. If the feature is heavy or not so good, this will make the customers feel good anyhow."[10]

The Film Daily (September 12, 1941): "A Bugs Bunny Howl: Having eluded Hiawatha and other Leon Schlesinger characters, Bugs Bunny this time is pursued by Sambo in a riotous short that will make anyone laugh, and laugh hard. Trying to describe the action would be like trying to explain a maise but the Technicolor cartoon is about as mirth provoking as anything has any right to be."[11]

## Home media[edit]

* VHS – 50 of the Greatest Cartoons (released by Starmaker Entertainment Inc.)[12][13]
* DVD – Cartoon Craze Presents: Bugs Bunny: Falling Hare (released by Digiview Productions)[14]

## Notes[edit]

* This cartoon is the final Avery-directed Bugs Bunny short to be released. Although it was produced before The Heckling Hare (after the production of which Avery was suspended from the Schlesinger studio and defected to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), it was released afterwards. The title is a parody of that of All This, and Heaven Too (1940), a Bette Davis film from the same studio. Because the cartoon was released after Avery left Warner Bros, Avery's name does not appear in the credits.[15][16][17][18][19]
* This cartoon fell into the public domain in 1969 in the United States when United Artists, the copyright owners to the Associated Artists Productions package, failed to renew the copyright in time.
* Along with Notes to You, the film was completed and shipped on September 2, 1941.[20]

## See also[edit]

* List of animated films in the public domain in the United States

## Citation[edit]

* "Did Bugs Bunny appear in a racist cartoon during World War II?". The Straight Dope. February 5, 2002. Retrieved September 7, 2021.

## Further reading[edit]

* Barrier, Michael (2003). "Warner Bros., 1941–1945". Hollywood Cartoons : American Animation in Its Golden Age: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198020790.
* Lehman, Christopher P. (2007). "Black Characterizations". The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films, 1907–1954. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 9781558497795.
* Shull, Michael S.; Wilt, David E. (2004), "Filmography 1941", Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939–1945, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786481699
* Strausbaugh, John (2007), "Black & White Film", Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture, Penguin Group, ISBN 978-1101216057

## References[edit]

1. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. p. 121\. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
3. ^ The Straight Dope.
4. ^ Leland, John (June 3, 2001). "Ideas & Trends; Rascal or Racist? Censoring a Rabbit". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
5. ^ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices from the Golden Age, 1930-70. BearManor Media. p. 47\. ISBN 979-8-88771-010-5.
6. ^ a b Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 100
7. ^ Barrier (2003), p. 439
8. ^ Stausbauch (2007), unnumbered pages
9. ^ Lehman (2007), p. 58-59
10. ^ a b c Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900–1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 150\. ISBN 978-0810832503.
11. ^ "Reviews of the New Films: Shorts". The Film Daily. 80 (52): 7. September 12, 1941. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
12. ^ 50 of the greatest cartoons (VHS tape, 1990). WorldCat.org. January 4, 2019. OCLC 24626765. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
13. ^ 50 Greatest Cartoons Vol 1 [VHS] : Movies & TV. ASIN 6302550416.
14. ^ "Cartoon Craze Presents: Bugs Bunny: Falling Hare". Amazon. April 4, 2004.
15. ^ "All This and Rabbit Stew". youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
16. ^ "All This and Rabbit Stew". imdb.com. September 13, 1941. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
17. ^ "Bugs Bunny: All This and Rabbit Stew". Amazon. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
18. ^ "All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
19. ^ "All This and Rabbit Stew". mubi.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
20. ^ "The Film Daily (Jul–Sep 1941)". Wid's Films and Film Folk, inc. July 1941. Retrieved November 16, 2020.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to All This and Rabbit Stew.

* All This and Rabbit Stew at IMDb
* All This and Rabbit Stew is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

Preceded by

The Heckling Hare

|  Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1941  | Succeeded by

Wabbit Twouble

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Bugs Bunny in animation

* List of Bugs Bunny cartoons

Looney Tunes
short films|

| 1930s|

* Porky's Hare Hunt (1938)

|

1940s|

* Patient Porky (1940; cameo)
* Porky Pig's Feat (1943; cameo)
* Buckaroo Bugs (1944)
* Hare Conditioned (1945)
* Hare Tonic (1945)
* Baseball Bugs (1946)
* Acrobatty Bunny (1946)
* Racketeer Rabbit (1946)
* The Big Snooze (1946)
* Rabbit Transit (1947)
* Easter Yeggs (1947)
* Gorilla My Dreams (1948)
* A Feather in His Hare (1948)
* Buccaneer Bunny (1948)
* Haredevil Hare (1948)
* A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948)
* Mississippi Hare (1949)
* High Diving Hare (1949)
* Long-Haired Hare (1949)
* The Grey Hounded Hare (1949)
* The Windblown Hare (1949)
* Rabbit Hood (1949)

1950s|

* Mutiny on the Bunny (1950)
* Big House Bunny (1950)
* What's Up, Doc? (1950)
* 8 Ball Bunny (1950)
* Bushy Hare (1950)
* Rabbit of Seville (1950)
* Rabbit Every Monday (1951)
* The Fair-Haired Hare (1951)
* Rabbit Fire (1951)
* His Hare-Raising Tale (1951)
* Operation: Rabbit (1952)
* 14 Carrot Rabbit (1952)
* Water, Water Every Hare (1952)
* The Hasty Hare (1952)
* Hare Lift (1952)
* Forward March Hare (1953)
* Southern Fried Rabbit (1953)
* Bully for Bugs (1953)
* Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953)
* Robot Rabbit (1953)
* Bugs and Thugs (1954)
* No Parking Hare (1954)
* Devil May Hare (1954)
* Bewitched Bunny (1954)
* Yankee Doodle Bugs (1954)
* Sahara Hare (1955)
* Rabbit Rampage (1955)
* Hyde and Hare (1955)
* Roman Legion-Hare (1955)
* Broom-Stick Bunny (1956)
* Rabbitson Crusoe (1956)
* Barbary Coast Bunny (1956)
* A Star Is Bored (1956)
* Piker's Peak (1957)
* Bugsy and Mugsy (1957)
* Show Biz Bugs (1957)
* Hare-Way to the Stars (1958)
* Now Hare This (1958)
* Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)
* Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958)
* Baton Bunny (1959)
* Wild and Woolly Hare (1959)
* A Witch's Tangled Hare (1959)

1960s|

* Horse Hare (1960)
* Rabbit's Feat (1960)
* The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961)
* Prince Violent (1961)
* Wet Hare (1962)
* Shishkabugs (1962)
* The Million Hare (1963)
* Hare-Breadth Hurry (1963)
* Dumb Patrol (1964)
* The Iceman Ducketh (1964)
* False Hare (1964)

1990s|

* Box-Office Bunny (1991)
* Carrotblanca (1995)
* From Hare to Eternity (1997)

Merrie Melodies
short films|

| 1930s|

* Prest-O Change-O (1939)
* Hare-um Scare-um (1939)

|

1940s|

* Elmer's Candid Camera (1940)
* A Wild Hare (1940)
* Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)
* Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)
* Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941)
* The Heckling Hare (1941)
* All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)
* Wabbit Twouble (1941)
* The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (1942)
* The Wacky Wabbit (1942)
* Hold the Lion, Please (1942)
* Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)
* Fresh Hare (1942)
* The Hare-Brained Hypnotist (1942)
* Case of the Missing Hare (1942)
* Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943)
* Super-Rabbit (1943)
* Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943)
* Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
* A Corny Concerto (1943)
* Falling Hare (1943)
* Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)
* What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)
* Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944)
* Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (1944)
* Hare Ribbin' (1944)
* Hare Force (1944)
* The Old Grey Hare (1944)
* Stage Door Cartoon (1944)
* Herr Meets Hare (1945)
* The Unruly Hare (1945)
* Hare Trigger (1945)
* Hare Remover (1946)
* Hair-Raising Hare (1946)
* Rhapsody Rabbit (1946)
* A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947)
* Slick Hare (1947)
* Rabbit Punch (1948)
* Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)
* Hot Cross Bunny (1948)
* Hare Splitter (1948)
* My Bunny Lies over the Sea (1948)
* Hare Do (1949)
* Rebel Rabbit (1949)
* Bowery Bugs (1949)
* Knights Must Fall (1949)
* Frigid Hare (1949)
* Rabbit Hood (1949)

1950s|

* Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (1950)
* Homeless Hare (1950)
* Hillbilly Hare (1950)
* Bunker Hill Bunny (1950)
* Hare We Go (1951)
* Bunny Hugged (1951)
* French Rarebit (1951)
* Ballot Box Bunny (1951)
* Big Top Bunny (1951)
* Foxy by Proxy (1952)
* Oily Hare (1952)
* Rabbit Seasoning (1952)
* Rabbit's Kin (1952)
* Duck Amuck (1953; cameo)
* Upswept Hare (1953)
* Hare Trimmed (1953)
* Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953)
* Captain Hareblower (1954)
* Baby Buggy Bunny (1954)
* Beanstalk Bunny (1955)
* Hare Brush (1955)
* This Is a Life? (1955)
* Knight-mare Hare (1955)
* Bugs' Bonnets (1956)
* Napoleon Bunny-Part (1956)
* Half-Fare Hare (1956)
* Wideo Wabbit (1956)
* To Hare Is Human (1956)
* Ali Baba Bunny (1957)
* Bedevilled Rabbit (1957)
* What's Opera, Doc? (1957)
* Rabbit Romeo (1957)
* Hare-Less Wolf (1958)
* Hare-Abian Nights (1959)
* Apes of Wrath (1959)
* Backwoods Bunny (1959)
* Bonanza Bunny (1959)
* People Are Bunny (1959)

1960s|

* Person to Bunny (1960)
* From Hare to Heir (1960)
* Lighter Than Hare (1960)
* Compressed Hare (1961)
* Bill of Hare (1962)
* Devil's Feud Cake (1963)
* The Unmentionables (1963)
* Mad as a Mars Hare (1963)
* Transylvania 6-5000 (1963)
* Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964)

1990s|

* (Blooper) Bunny (1997)

Other short films|

* Any Bonds Today? (1942)
* Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979)
* The Fright Before Christmas (1979)
* Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
* Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1991)
* Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas (2004)

Feature films|

| Theatrical|

* The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
* The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981)
* Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982)
* Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (1983)
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988; cameo)
* Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988)
* Space Jam (1996)
* Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
* Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

|

Direct-to-video|

* Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992; cameo)
* Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (2000; cameo)
* Baby Looney Tunes' Eggs-traordinary Adventure (2003)
* Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
* Justice League: The New Frontier (2008; cameo)
* Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015)

TV series|

* Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1995)
* Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
* The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013)
* New Looney Tunes (2015–2020)
* Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2023)
* Bugs Bunny Builders (2022–present)
* Tiny Toons Looniversity (2023–present)

TV specials|

* Carnival of the Animals (1976)
* Easter Special (1977)
* Bugs Bunny in Space (1977)
* Howl-oween Special (1977)
* Thanksgiving Diet (1979)
* Looney Christmas Tales (1979)
* Bustin' Out All Over (1980)
* The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special (1980)
* Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988)
* Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)
* The Earth Day Special (1990; cameo)
* Overtures to Disaster (1991)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Tex Avery

Short subjects|

| Walter Lantz|

* Towne Hall Follies (1935)
* The Quail Hunt (1935)
* I'm Cold (1954)
* Crazy Mixed Up Pup (1955)
* The Legend of Rockabye Point (1955)
* Sh-h-h-h-h-h (1955)

|

Warner Bros.|

* Gold Diggers of '49 (1935)
* Plane Dippy (1936)
* Page Miss Glory (1936)
* The Blow Out (1936)
* I'd Love to Take Orders from You (1936)
* I Love to Singa (1936)
* Porky the Rain Maker (1936)
* The Village Smithy (1936)
* Milk and Money (1936)
* Don't Look Now  (1936)
* Porky the Wrestler (1937)
* Picador Porky (1937)
* I Only Have Eyes for You (1937)
* Porky's Duck Hunt (1937)
* Uncle Tom's Bungalow (1937)
* Ain't We Got Fun (1937)
* Egghead Rides Again (1937)
* A Sunbonnet Blue (1937)
* Porky's Garden (1937)
* I Wanna Be a Sailor (1937)
* Little Red Walking Hood (1937)
* Daffy Duck & Egghead (1938)
* The Sneezing Weasel (1938)
* The Penguin Parade (1938)
* The Isle of Pingo Pongo (1938)
* Cinderella Meets Fella (1938)
* A Feud There Was (1938)
* Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas (1938)
* Daffy Duck in Hollywood (1938)
* The Mice Will Play (1938)
* Hamateur Night (1939)
* A Day at the Zoo (1939)
* Thugs with Dirty Mugs (1939)
* Believe It or Else (1939)
* Dangerous Dan McFoo (1939)
* Detouring America (1939)
* Land of the Midnight Fun (1939)
* Fresh Fish (1939)
* Screwball Football (1939)
* The Early Worm Gets the Bird (1940)
* Cross-Country Detours (1940)
* The Bear's Tale (1940)
* A Gander at Mother Goose (1940)
* Circus Today (1940)
* A Wild Hare (1940)
* Ceiling Hero (1940)
* Wacky Wild Life (1940)
* Of Fox and Hounds (1940)
* Holiday Highlights (1940)
* The Crackpot Quail (1941)
* The Haunted Mouse (1941)
* Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)
* Hollywood Steps Out (1941)
* Porky's Preview (1941)
* The Heckling Hare (1941)
* Aviation Vacation (1941)
* All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)
* The Bug Parade (1941)
* The Cagey Canary (1941)
* Wabbit Twouble (1941)
* Aloha Hooey (1942)
* Crazy Cruise (1942)

Paramount Pictures|

* Down on the Farm (1941)
* In a Pet Shop (1941)
* In the Zoo (1941)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|

* Blitz Wolf (1942)
* The Early Bird Dood It! (1942)
* Dumb-Hounded (1943)
* Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)
* Who Killed Who? (1943)
* One Ham's Family (1943)
* What's Buzzin' Buzzard (1943)
* Screwy Squirrel (1944)
* Batty Baseball (1944)
* Happy-Go-Nutty (1944)
* Big Heel-Watha (1944)
* The Screwy Truant (1945)
* The Shooting of Dan McGoo (1945)
* Jerky Turkey (1945)
* Swing Shift Cinderella (1945)
* Wild and Woolfy (1945)
* Lonesome Lenny (1946)
* The Hick Chick (1946)
* Northwest Hounded Police (1946)
* Henpecked Hoboes (1946)
* Hound Hunters (1947)
* Red Hot Rangers (1947)
* Uncle Tom's Cabaña (1947)
* Slap Happy Lion (1947)
* King-Size Canary (1947)
* What Price Fleadom (1948)
* Little 'Tinker (1948)
* Half-Pint Pygmy (1948)
* Lucky Ducky (1948)
* The Cat That Hated People (1948)
* Bad Luck Blackie (1949)
* Señor Droopy (1949)
* The House of Tomorrow (1949)
* Doggone Tired (1949)
* Wags to Riches (1949)
* Little Rural Riding Hood (1949)
* Out-Foxed (1949)
* The Counterfeit Cat (1949)
* Ventriloquist Cat (1950)
* The Cuckoo Clock (1950)
* Garden Gopher (1950)
* The Chump Champ (1950)
* The Peachy Cobbler (1950)
* Cock-a-Doodle Dog (1951)
* Daredevil Droopy (1951)
* Droopy's Good Deed (1951)
* Symphony in Slang (1951)
* Car of Tomorrow (1951)
* Droopy's Double Trouble (1951)
* Magical Maestro (1952)
* One Cab's Family (1952)
* Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952)
* Little Johnny Jet (1953)
* The T.V. of Tomorrow (1953)
* The Three Little Pups (1953)
* Drag-a-Long Droopy (1954)
* Billy Boy (1954)
* Homesteader Droopy (1954)
* The Farm of Tomorrow (1954)
* The Flea Circus (1954)
* Dixieland Droopy (1954)
* Field and Scream (1955)
* The First Bad Man (1955)
* Deputy Droopy (1955)
* Cellbound (1955)
* Millionaire Droopy (1956)
* Cat's Meow (1957)

Characters|

* Big Bad Wolf
* Bugs Bunny
* Butch
* Cecil Turtle
* Chilly Willy
* Daffy Duck
* Droopy
* Elmer Fudd
* George and Junior
* Porky Pig
* Red
* Screwy Squirrel
* Willoughby

Related|

* Casper's First Christmas
* The Kwicky Koala Show
* The Tex Avery Show
* The Wacky World of Tex Avery
* Tex Avery Screwball Classics

* v
* t
* e

Censored Eleven

* Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (1931)
* Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (1936)
* Clean Pastures (1937)
* Uncle Tom's Bungalow (1937)
* Jungle Jitters (1938)
* The Isle of Pingo Pongo (1938)
* All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)
* Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943)
* Tin Pan Alley Cats (1943)
* Angel Puss (1944)
* Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (1944)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template