Supervising Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Apr 27, 2008, 2:58 PM
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"Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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This is a semi-response to Glowworm's "Flying Circus" thread. Doing a random Dailymotion surf, I found a late-1960s Looney Tunes cartoon that was surprisingly good! It was a Bunny and Claude cartoon called "The Great Carrot Train Robbery." And I meant "surprisingly" good. Usually when a late-1960s LT cartoon starts, I'm sure it's going to be a "meh" sort of program. Though I liked the Cool Cat cartoons, I personally can't stand those late-1960s Speedy vs. Daffy shorts (especially "See Ya Later Gladiator"... yuck!)
But when Robert McKimson took over from Alex Lovy's position as director of Termite Terrace's output, things began to look up again. (I was re-hired to star in some new segments for "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour" by this period.) First thing McKimson did was a parody of WB's hit "Bonnie and Clyde," with the two rabbit gangsters "Bunny and Claude." Here is one of their shorts, "The Great Carrot Train Robbery" from 1968 (it was held over to 1969 on the release schedule).
http://www.dailymotion.com/...n-robbery_shortfilms
Even though Pat Woodell is pretty obscure, Mel Blanc did a great job voicing Bunny and the Southern Sheriff (the Sheriff seems to remind me of a cross between Foghorn Leghorn and Hoot Kloot). And Bill Lava composed some great music here, unlike those horrid Speedy vs. Daffy scores and the annoying repeated music loops from my 1965-1966 shorts! The music at 2:00-2:43 just makes you wanna get up and dance!  And the gags are rather funny, too, though they could've used a few more visual jokes. The only flaw I find with this cartoon is the animation. It's quite limited, it almost looks like it was meant to be a segment on "Tennessee Tuxedo and his Tales" or "Linus the Lionhearted!"
This cartoon is a reason why some should give the non-Speedy shorts from the 1967-1969 Termite Terrace period a second chance.
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People think I am crazy just because I didn't like "Ratatouille." Am I REALLY crazy, or do I see things differently?
(This post was edited by WileECoyote on Apr 27, 2008, 2:59 PM)
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
Apr 27, 2008, 8:36 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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I'm sure that was a typo,but I think you meant that Mel voiced Claude.
Heh-as a kid I loved Bunny and Claude, whenever I saw either of the their two shorts,I was extremely happy! Although in my honest opinion,I liked "We Rob Carrot Patches" more than "The Great Carrot Train Robbery.I even drew some horrible drawings of them and made a "book" out of the cartoons when I was in first grade.
What I really loved was that Bunny was as awesome as Claude-definately not a weak female!
The theme song was totally awesome too!
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Bugs Bunny cartoons are not supposed to feature a lisping Viking rabbit hunter enthusiastically professing his operatic love for a bunny in drag.
(This post was edited by Glowworm on Apr 27, 2008, 8:48 PM)
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Directing Animator / Moderator
Posted:
Apr 28, 2008, 7:11 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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I just watched it... I have to say I personally didn't find it all that funny; I hated the cheesy SFX, limited animation (a far cry from the glory days of just 15 years earlier) and I've never cared for Bill Lava's cartoon scores.
Bunny is actually kinda cute (there's just something about a cigar-chomping dame that always gets me)! For a moment, I actually thought Bunny and Claude were gonna "get busy" in that boxcar ("...c'mere, Claude")... but then the cartoon immediately cut back to the ticketmaster; darn it! 
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"Sit, Ubu, sit... good dog!" ("Arf"!)
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
Apr 28, 2008, 11:50 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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Bill Lava's cartoon scores are usually good when paired with such cartoons as Depatie Freeling's Inspector,Bunny and Claude, Cool Cat, "Flying Circus", basically anything that isn't a classic Looney Tune-although his music actually worked well in "Banty Raids" However when used in "To Beep or Not to Beep" for instance,it wasn't very good.
I use to get a kick out of the part where the dopey Sheriff talks into his desk lamp instead of the phone!
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Bugs Bunny cartoons are not supposed to feature a lisping Viking rabbit hunter enthusiastically professing his operatic love for a bunny in drag.
(This post was edited by Glowworm on Apr 28, 2008, 11:57 AM)
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Cartoon Aficionado / Contributor
Posted:
Apr 28, 2008, 12:36 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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Man, I wish I could have seen both of those cartoons. At least Bunny and Claude didn't get it in the end like their real life counterparts.
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"Here's to thirty years of Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla. And....Godzooky!"
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
Apr 28, 2008, 3:30 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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Man, I wish I could have seen both of those cartoons. At least Bunny and Claude didn't get it in the end like their real life counterparts.
Wile E. Coyote has provided a link to "The Great Carrot Train Robbery" for your enjoyment, Tammi Toon.
In my opinion, if there ever was a post 60s Disc on one of the future Looney Tunes Golden Collection, it would have to include both Bunny and Claude cartoons, some Cool Cat, Merlin the Magic Mouse, "Flying Circus" ,"Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too", "Now Hear This"," Chimp and Zee" and "Sugar and Spies"(one of the few non-Chuck Jones Roadrunner cartoons that was actually quite good)
Not a single Speedy and Daffy should be included.
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Bugs Bunny cartoons are not supposed to feature a lisping Viking rabbit hunter enthusiastically professing his operatic love for a bunny in drag.
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
Apr 28, 2008, 9:36 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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Well, as bad as most of them are, Warner Bros. is spending buckets of money to clean up the negatives of those cartoons. So, they'll definitely be putting Daffy and Speedy cartoons onto future dvd sets if for no other reason than to at least make some of that money back.
As Jerry Beck said "they're restoring everything regardless of content".
Rats. Hopefully they're not going to sacrifice some good shorts in order to make way for the Speedy/Daffy cartoons.
As for The Great Carrot Train Robbery, it is better than some of the other post 60s cartoons but overall I thought it was just ok. Normally I don't like Bill Lava's music at all but this one was better, though my favorite post 60s short is Banty Raids.
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Directing Animator / Moderator
Posted:
May 2, 2008, 9:16 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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Well, I just watched it again... and actually, I did like the part where the Sherriff's horse eats all the carrots!
Thanks, GW, for reminding me of Lava's scores for The Inspector and The Pink Panther cartoons. I had forgotten about those. Yeah, I guess you're right... it's the classic Looney Tunes in which his scores seem a tad heavy-handed (compared to those of Carl Stalling, that is).
I always liked Lava's theme music and underscores for the first season of F Troop. Lava was a house composer for Warner Bros. during the 40's and 50's, as well... and I also like his music for the "Joe McDoaks" comedy shorts (a number of which have previously appeared as bonus features on WHV DVD's).
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"Sit, Ubu, sit... good dog!" ("Arf"!)
(This post was edited by zavkram on May 2, 2008, 9:17 AM)
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Supervising Animator / Contributor
Posted:
May 2, 2008, 9:26 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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That explains why his scores on the Speedy vs. Daffy cartoons are rather cheesy-sounding. It has no significance with the action on the screen, and sounds as if in 'See Ya Later Gladiator" there was a band playing at the coliseum!
But his Cool Cat scores were good, even though in "3 Ring Wing Ding" half of the short's music sounded like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass! And I liked his score in "Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches" and "Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too." Fact is, even though it's a Road Runner knock-off, "Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too" is my all-time favorite Post-64 WB cartoon, mainly due to the use of pantomime and sight gags, while the other Seven Arts cartoons rely heavily on dialogue and puns.
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People think I am crazy just because I didn't like "Ratatouille." Am I REALLY crazy, or do I see things differently?
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Apprentice
Posted:
May 3, 2008, 6:25 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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Is this short available on either VHS or DVD? If so, where would I get it?
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Supervising Animator / Contributor
Posted:
May 3, 2008, 6:40 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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None of the Warner/Seven Arts Looney Tunes shorts are available on video yet. But it looks like the Golden Collections are getting nearer to releasing a few of those cartoons. As long as they stay away from "See Ya Later Gladiator" for a few years, I'm fine.
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People think I am crazy just because I didn't like "Ratatouille." Am I REALLY crazy, or do I see things differently?
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Director / Moderator
Posted:
May 3, 2008, 4:35 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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I read a tiny murmur of a rumour that Norman Normal will be on Vol. 6 this fall. I'll believe that when I see it though.
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http://exposure.cbc.ca/video/hansel-und-gretel
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
May 3, 2008, 4:56 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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I read that too-it was a post from Jerry Beck himself!
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Bugs Bunny cartoons are not supposed to feature a lisping Viking rabbit hunter enthusiastically professing his operatic love for a bunny in drag.
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Inbetweener
Posted:
May 6, 2008, 7:11 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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Neat- from what I remember of Norman Normal, it was a world away from any of the other Looney Tunes (even more so from the simple plots the post-'63 shorts tended to have), and I'd like to see it again.
I don't hate See Ya Later Gladiator too much- Daffy isn't quite as mean and unpleasant as he is during the DePatie-Freleng shorts, and the time-travelling graphics are...nicely abstract! Still not a patch on the classic toons though.
The one thing I like about these 68-69 shorts is the pacing- it's quite fast (the opposite of, say, a Rudy Larriva Road Runner cartoon). It's helped by an upbeat Lava soundtrack (although the music doesn't exactly match what's on the screen at times). They aren't brilliant, but they shouldn't be thrown in the trash either. Cheap and cheerful, I guess!
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"Stop steaming up my cup!"
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Supervising Animator / Contributor
Posted:
May 6, 2008, 7:36 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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The only Bill Lava soundtracks I probably dislike from this era are the Speedy vs. Daffy cartoons (with the exception of the title card for "Fiesta Fiasco"). "Chimp and Zee" and the Bunny and Claude and Rapid Rabbit cartoons have great upbeat soundtracks. And I also enjoy the Cool Cat scores, and Merlin the Magic Mouse had a pretty good theme music cue, too.
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People think I am crazy just because I didn't like "Ratatouille." Am I REALLY crazy, or do I see things differently?
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
May 6, 2008, 8:52 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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When I was a kid-I hummed the Merlin the Magic Mouse theme a lot! I also like to hum the "Rapid Rabbit" theme theme as well.
I severely miss "Chimp and Zee" and wish to see it again. It was so good!
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Bugs Bunny cartoons are not supposed to feature a lisping Viking rabbit hunter enthusiastically professing his operatic love for a bunny in drag.
(This post was edited by Glowworm on May 6, 2008, 9:02 AM)
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Key Animator
Posted:
May 6, 2008, 9:35 PM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Robbery
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Ironically..."Bonnie and Clyde" was released around the same time that Bunny and Claude was.
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Thank God for kids who love obscure things-Lee Hazelwood (1929-2007)
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Director / Moderator
Posted:
May 7, 2008, 7:24 AM
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Re: "Bunny and Claude - The Great Carrot Train Rob
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I'd moreso say that WB's Bunny & Claude cartoons were inspired by that Warren Beatty / Faye Dunaway film.
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http://exposure.cbc.ca/video/hansel-und-gretel
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