The Voice of Bugs Bunny Picks His Three Favorite Classic Bugs Bunny Shorts
When Mel Blanc — the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and several other Looney Tunes icons — died in 1989, no one person could fully replace him, but of the handful of talented actors who inherited Blanc’s mantle, the one who has come closest is Jeff Bergman. Over the last 33 years, Bergman has portrayed *deep breath* Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Tweety, Pepé Le Pew and countless smaller characters in various Looney Tunes projects. He’s a voice talent like no other, and now, he joins us here to reveal his three favorite classic Bugs Bunny shorts…
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Racketeer Rabbit (1946)
“Racketeer Rabbit personifies the gangster period,” says Bergman. “This cartoon is stupid, fun and very much of the time period when gangster movies were everything. Some Bugs Bunny shorts are more dated than others, but this one is dated in a very fun, stupid way. I love seeing Bugs like that.”
What’s Opera Doc? (1957)
“What’s Opera Doc? was an homage to Wagnerian opera,” explains Bergman. “As an actor, to see Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, who voiced Elmer, do what they did — it was so beautiful. That singing was not so easy for them to do — I’ve sung that whole cartoon, and it’s difficult! I’m friends with Mel’s son, Noel Blanc, and he always said his dad was a natural singer, but the amount of singing in What’s Opera Doc? was challenging, especially since Mel was a heavy smoker.”
Ballot Box Bunny (1951)
“Ballot Box Bunny is just a tour de force,” says Bergman of the cartoon where Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam are both candidates for mayor of a small town. “It’s so funny. It’s like walking by the television and seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark; you’re going to watch it no matter what. Ballot Box Bunny is the sweet spot of a Bugs and Yosemite Sam cartoon.”
