A Star Is Bored

"A Star Is Bored" is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon of the "Looney Tunes" series, directed by Friz Freleng, produced by Eddie Selzer, and written by Warren Foster, with music provided by Milt Franklyn. Originally released to theatres on September 15, 1956, it stars Mel Blanc and Arthur Quirk Bryan, who provide the main voices. Irv Wyner painted the backgrounds; Hawley Pratt designed the layout. Animated by Art Davis, Virgil Ross and Gerry Chiniquy. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049792/fullcredits Full cast and crew for "A Star Is Bored" - IMDb] ] It was also the first cartoon to star both Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck without Elmer Fudd as their primary antagonist (although he does make a cameo, he is not one of the main characters here).

Plot

ummary

The cartoon expands upon the rivalry depicted between Bugs and Daffy in such films as Chuck Jones' "Rabbit Fire", this time placing the action in a show-biz setting. In this 7-minute short, Daffy must double for Bugs in "any" slapstick that Warner deems too dangerous for its top star. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049792/ "A Star Is Bored" - IMDb] ]

Full Plot

In the opening frame, Bugs' room is depicted from first the outside, then the inside, as he talks to the journalist, Lolly, about his great film career, albeit rather modestly (“Who'd want to read about little old me?”)

Next, Daffy shows up in the role of the Warners studio janitor. “What a job for a duck with MY talents!” he snarls as he sweeps past Bugs' room. “Pushing a broom while others with absolutely "nothing" on the ball get all the breaks. Listen to that "ham" (Bugs) putting it on. EEEEWW!”

In the next scene, Daffy marches to the studio head's office and demands a part. He is granted a part as Bugs' stunt double in his latest film. (The big boss had been discussing just that on the phone as Daffy walked in, saying that he hadn't been able to find anybody stupid enough — and he also mistook Daffy for a black pigeon. Daffy corrects him, but manages to misspell "Duck," D-U-K.)

After a visit to the Make-Up Department, Daffy gets his first taste of on-the-set film action shortly thereafter (a Western co-starring Yosemite Sam. See “Censorship” for details.) Bugs walks onto the set when the director says “Rrrroll 'em” in a German accent. Customary carrot in hand, Bugs says his catch phrase, “Eh, what's up, Doc?” to which Sam growls, “OK, rabbit! Say your prayers! I'm a-gonna blast ya!” However, right at this moment, the director announces “Cut! Brrring in the double!” Initially, Daffy is extremely excited to be finally in any motion picture. He takes Bugs' place in a rabbit costume and holding a carrot, and stands next to Sam, whereupon they repeat the “What's up Doc?” / “I'm gonna blast ya!” exchange — only the director doesn't announce “Cut!” again. Instead, he lets Daffy continue the picture; he forgets his next line and has to look back at his script to see that it's “I dare you!” Sam shoots Daffy in the beak and a large number of his feathers fall off; Daffy hollers for “MAKE-UP!”

Next, Bugs is in a scene where Elmer Fudd is cast in his usual role as trying to hunt Bugs. Bugs is high in a tree, and Elmer is supposed to climb it to saw the branch Bugs is sitting on, off (though not all the way through, as Bugs reminds him). However, Daffy has other ideas. He tells Elmer to come closer to him, as he has something to tell him. Lacking a clue to Daffy's actual motive, Elmer shuffles closer to Daffy, who whacks him in the head to knock him out. Daffy dresses up like Elmer and grabs his saw and gun. When the director says, “Camera ... ACTION!” Bugs responds by telling Daffy, “OK, Elmer. Saw the limb off the tree.” However, with a maliciously insane laugh, not Elmer but Daffy climbs the tree and jeers, “You're gonna be a FALLING star,” and saws right through the limb. However, unbeknownst to the greedy duck, Bugs was safe all along. The limb was attached to a telephone pole, so the rest of the tree comes crashing down. Forcibly, Daffy manages to extract himself from the wreckage and again calls “MAKE-UP!”

After this sequence, Bugs is fishing off a pier. Daffy shows up and snaps “AHA! Tryin' to hog all the easy scenes for yourself, eh! I'LL handle this one.” Bugs protests, but Daffy takes no notice (“Scared I'll show up your acting ability, huh?”). He also takes Bugs' place at the end of the pier and his fishing rod. Yet he is not safe from the film script even now, as a giant bluefin tuna swallows him whole. After a long struggle, Daffy frees himself and shouts “MAKE-UP!” again.

Another scene wherein Bugs is chased by Elmer follows this one, culminating when Bugs dives into another tree. Elmer: “OK, scwewy wabbit! Now you're cornered!” A furious Daffy marches onto the set, snatches Elmer's gun and shoves him off. Daffy sticks the gun into the hole in the tree in which Bugs is hiding — but what he believes to be another gun (in reality it's HIS gun bent around so that it points at his hindquarters) sticks up through a hole in the ground just behind him! Daffy retracts his gun; the “other” gun does the same. Daffy does this two or three more times before he decides to try a small experiment. He ties a red ribbon around the barrel of his gun, then sticks it into the tree, and looks behind him. The ribbon on the gun in the ground is white with red polka dots, leading Daffy to believe it to be a fake. He shoots, intending to mark Bugs, but the bent-around gun plan is revealed when the bullet hits him in the hindquarters and he pulls the gun out of the tree (See “Censorship” for details on this.) The ribbon is white with red spots! Daffy: “MAKE-UP!” for the fourth time.

The next scene takes place in an airplane; Bugs is a pilot, and the plane is accelerating uncontrollably in the direction of the ground. However, the director screams “CUT!” and the plane halts, seemingly a centimeter from crashing into the ground. Dressed in his rabbit suit, Daffy is helicoptered onto the scene. He and Bugs switch places; when the director yells “Rrrroll 'em,” the plane resumes its super-high-speed course into the ground. Predictably, it's wrecked; Daffy again yells “MAKE-UP!”

Having finally had more than enough, Daffy announces that “I'm through playin' stooge to a rabbit. I need a part that fits ME!” to the casting director, who promptly tells the distraught coal-coloured waterfowl that he has just such a script: the starring role in a new movie called "The Duck".

The final scene shows the filming of "The Duck". Daffy is shown as a typical duck living in a pond peacefully. When the director (the same man as the one who directed the earlier movie wherein Daffy subbed for Bugs) again announces “Rrrroll 'em,” Daffy digs his script up and says “I wonder where all the hunters are today?” ten hunters suddenly surround the pond, gun Daffy down and leave. Again infuriated, Daffy shrieks, “I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO WROTE THIS SCRIPT!” The cruel script writer turns out to be none other than ... Bugs, to whom the camera is now transferred and who says, “I'd love to tell him, but modesty forbids me.” Iris out.

Censorship

* On the syndicated run of "The Merrie Melodies Show", all scenes of Daffy getting shot were replaced with still shots of Bugs Bunny looking offscreen [http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutss.html] .
*The WB version not only edited the cartoon to remove the two sequences involving guns (Daffy getting shot while replacing Bugs in a scene with Yosemite Sam and the end where Daffy [in his own movie] gets shot by a group of hunters after delivering his line, "I wonder where all the hunters are today"), but rearranged the parts where Daffy is working as Bugs' stunt double [http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutss.html] . The sequences of the uncut version went as follows:
**Daffy stepping in for Bugs during his scene with Yosemite Sam.
**Daffy, disguised as Elmer Fudd, attempts to saw through Bugs' tree branch, only to fall with the main part of the tree while the branch stays suspended in mid-air from a prop.
**Daffy, sick of doing all the hard jobs while Bugs gets the soft jobs, replaces Bugs in his fishing sequence, only to be swallowed by a large fish.
**Bugs doing a forest chase scene with Elmer Fudd and Daffy trying to shoot Bugs through a tree hole only to have the barrel come out of a rabbit hole.
**Daffy substituting for Bugs during his airplane-flying sceneThe edited version on the WB showed the cartoon this way: Daffy doing Bugs's fishing scene, Daffy sawing through the branch on which Bugs is sitting and falling with the main part of the tree, Daffy trying to shoot Bugs through a tree hole only to have the barrel come out of a rabbit hole, and Daffy substituting for Bugs during his airplane-flying scene.

Cast

Mel Blanc as "Bugs Bunny", "Daffy Duck", "Yosemite Sam", "Producer" (voice)

Arthur Q. Bryan as "Elmer Fudd" (voice) June Foray as "Lolly" (voice) (uncredited)

Influences

*The title "A Star Is Bored", is an obvious reference to Warner Bros.' fy|1954 film musical "A Star Is Born", starring Judy Garland and James Mason. The film was a big hit upon release and remains a favorite with both critics and audiences alike.

Availability

As of 2007, "A Star Is Bored" is available on the four-disc DVD box set "", [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049792/dvd DVD details for "A Star Is Bored" - IMDb] ] as well as the similar, two-disc DVD "Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 5".

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049792/ "A Star Is Bored" at the] Internet Movie Database