9 knockout facts you may not have known about ''Bunny Hugged''

Nine grapplin' facts for you to wrestle with.

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LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

Who knew Bugs Bunny could be a prized pugilist in addition to being our favorite carrot-chomping wise-cracker? It seems there's nothing that hilarious hare can't do. That is until he finds himself toe-to-toe with World Heavyweight Champion, The Crusher. What holds and maneuvers could the outmatched Bugs Bunny possibly deploy to pin the gigantic Crusher?

Whether you're a lifelong fan of Bunny Hugged or if this is your first viewing, here are some facts you might not have known! What else is interesting to you about this cartoon? Make sure to let us know in the comments! 

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1. Directed by Charles M. Jones

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

Chuck Jones was Bugs' most prolific director by a long shot. Bunny Hugged marked the 103rd short Jones directed under the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies banner.

2. Announcer

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

The Announcer character, who opens this cartoon, is based on real-life announcer Dan Tobey. In addition to his career as the voice of boxing matches, Tobey had a pretty prolific career in Hollywood. He racked up 15 credits in as many years — in each of them, he is credited as "Announcer." Now here's a guy not afraid of typecasting!

3. The Crusher

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

This is the second appearance of Bugs' foe, The Crusher. The character debuted in 1948's Rabbit Punch, where he was voiced by Billy Bletcher. Here, The Crusher is voiced by Don T. Smith, another voiceover artist who made a few bucks filling in Mel Blanc's blanks. The Crusher would later appear in Tiny Toon Adventures in an episode soundtracked by They Might Be Giants!

4. "De-Natured Boy" Ravishing Ronald

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

The Crusher's opponent (and Bugs' meal ticket) is announced as the "De-Natured" Boy, Ravishing Ronald. This is a parody of two real-life professional wrestlers. Ronald's blond locks and aloof mannerisms are a parody of big-time heel Gorgeous George. His nickname is an homage to the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers. Of course, the "Nature Boy" nickname would be taken to even greater heights in the '80s by Ric Flair. Woooooo!

5. Gong Show

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

The gong noise marking Ravishing Ronald's entrance is a "stock sound," an archival recording used over and over again in many different productions. Cartoon fans in the UK might recognize the noise from the Rank Organization. The British company uses that same sound to accompany its logo.

6. It's a Living!

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

Flintstones fans are in for some Deja-vu, even the ones who didn't live through the stone age. In his grand reveal, Bugs Bunny utters "It's a living," the oft-repeated catchphrase of many a Bedrock household appliance.

7. Long in the tooth (and in the ears)

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

There are two ways to count the number of cartoons Bugs Bunny appears in. Some include the shorts featuring an unnamed rabbit exhibiting some of Bugs' characteristics. Some only count the ones where he's officially credited as "Bugs Bunny." Either way, Bunny Hugged comes pretty far into Bugs' career. Depending on who's counting, this is either Bugs' 79th appearance or his 83rd. 

8. The "real" Masked Terror

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

Before debuting in the American Wrestling Alliance, real-life wrestler Scott Irwin borrowed Bugs' grappling moniker, coming to the ring as The Masked Terror. The AWA is famous as the territory that launched the career of wrestling icon Hulk Hogan.

9. The "real" Crusher

 

LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI

The Crusher, too, may have been an inspiration to a real-life grappler. The Crusher, sometimes known as Crusher Lisowski, was the most famous of a series of Crusher-named wrestlers. Crusher Blackwell shared the moniker, though there is no official indication that either bruiser was a Looney Tunes fan.

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14 Comments

Kramden62 18 months ago
I remember this short very well.

In fact, I especially remember in 1973 when I was 11, I recorded the soundtrack of this one on a tape recorder I received as a Christmas present. When I listened to the soundtrack again and again, I slapped my knees in time to the music where Ravishing Ronald was prancing across the ring before being knocked out by Crusher, and also when Bugs was dressed up as "Stitchen' Time the Tailor" and he sings that song while threading the needle. My younger sister got P.O.'d every time I slapped my knees and she'd scream at me to knock it off. Maybe that cements why I like this short. So funny!
Tresix 18 months ago
I remember when I compared wrestling to a comic book movie on IMDb, comic book fans came at with such viciousness (“Wrestling and comics are nothing alike and you ought to be ASHAMED for making that comparison!”). They’re nothing alike, huh? Well, this is just a description of wrestling:

1. You’ve got big, muscular, people in tights. Some of them wear masks.

2. You’ve got a good guy, you’ve got a bad guy. The bad guy often has henchmen.

3. There’s a battle for some loot (or “gold” in the form of a championship).

4. You have ineffective authority figures trying to enforce rules. Sometimes to their detriment.

5. Then, there is some sort of finishing maneuver that sounds like some kind of superpower (tombstone piledriver, shooting star press, powerbomb, F5).

Now, doesn’t that all sounds like a certain genre of literature that we all know and love?
Alfetta159 18 months ago
One other thing about De-natured Boy is that besides being a reference to the phrase "Nature Boy," it's also a reference to how some alcohol intended for industrial use (i.e., not for drinking) had toxins added so folks wouldn't drink it as alcohol was difficult to get during prohibition. This is still known today as denatured alcohol.
Jeremy 18 months ago
There's no "k" in "Ric Flair."
Deleted 18 months ago
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Coldnorth 18 months ago
Bugs has a cute patoote
Bapa1 18 months ago
Crusher and The Bruiser! And Pro Wrestling is REAL!
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Bapa1 LoveMETV22 18 months ago
Real entertaining!. and I like it when people tell me, "well, you know, it's fake". Thanks for the info, Sherlock!!
Bapa1 Dugan 18 months ago
Took my Grandsons a few months ago to a WWE show. They were not interested.
Bapa1 LoveMETV22 18 months ago
I went to a match back in the 70's. Championship Wrestling from Florida. From my seat, I saw two tag-teams who "hated' each other and just had a match, sitting together and drinking beers. An Eye-opener.
LoveMETV22 Bapa1 18 months ago
I recall a match back in the 80's- Ken Patera and Bob Backlund were in a match against each other- after the event- backstage- saw them leaving together. No real eye -opener though as it has always been for "entertainment purposes only." It was fun though going to various events.
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