The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (G, 1979)

This Looney Tunes feature begins with Bugs Bunny lounging at home, discussing his career, focusing on his collaborations with cartoon director Chuck Jones. From this point, the movie becomes a compilation of several classic Jones shorts, with introductions provided by Bugs. First off is "Hare-way to the Stars," one of Bugs' many encounters with Marvin the Martian, followed by "Duck Dodgers in the 24th½ Century," in which Daffy also battles the pint-sized alien. In "Long Haired Hare," Bugs has an encounter with a pompous opera singer, and then makes his own opera appearance in the Wagner spoof, "What's Opera Doc?" Some of the other cartoon classics featured here are "Duck Amuck," "Bully for Bugs," and "Rabbit Fire." In "Operation: Rabbit," Bugs meets up with Wile E. Coyote, which leads into a series of highlights from various Road Runner cartoons.

THE BUGS BUNNY / ROADRUNNER MOVIE was the first in a series of Warner Bros. cartoon features in which classic theatrical shorts -- many of the most highly regarded in animation history -- were compiled and linked together via newly animated segments. This one focuses on the work of the legendary Chuck Jones when he was at his very best. It's hard to go wrong with titles like "What's Opera Doc?" and "Ali Baba Bunny," with their precise comic timing and surprisingly literate dialogue. Great moments are abundant: Daffy's growing hysteria as his world is repeatedly obliterated by a malicious animator in "Duck Amuck;" Daffy's greedy meltdown in "Ali Baba Bunny;" Bugs and Elmer's ludicrous love duet in "What's Opera Doc?"

In cramming these shorts into a feature format, however, the opening titles to the cartoons have been eliminated; kids won't mind, but animation buffs will. Even worse, a few of them -- such as "Robin Hood Daffy" and "Long Haired Hare" -- have had major chunks edited out, dulling their impact. The Road Runner sequence is a hodgepodge of highlights from several cartoons, and while definitely entertaining, the material worked better in its original form. Still, many of these cartoons are currently unavailable anywhere but on this collection, and that alone makes The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie worth having.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Chuck Jones, Phil Monroe
Cast: Arthur Q. Bryan, Mel Blanc
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: January 1, 1979
DVD release: July 25, 2000
MPAA Rating: G
MPAA explanation: all audiences