What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)

Director:

Robert Clampett

Writer:

Michael Sasanoff (story)

Release Date:

8 January 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Short | Comedy

Plot:

When James Cagney wins the Oscar Bugs shows a clip from "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" (1941) and demands a recount of the voting.

Plot Keywords:

Bugs Bunny | Hollywood | Academy Award | Oscar Statuette | Celebrity Caricature

Cast

Mel Blanc	...	Bugs Bunny / Emcee / Hiawatha / Audience Member / Hollywood Wolf (voice) (uncredited)
Robert C. Bruce	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Runtime:

9 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When Bugs tosses the reels of his best scenes to the projectionist, he calls out "Okay, Smokey. Roll 'em." This is most likely a reference to Henry "Smokey" Garner, the cameraman and projectionist for the Leon Schlesinger studio.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Behind the Tunes: Looney Tunes Go Hollywood (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald, Op. 325 (Tales from the Vienna Woods)

What idiot insisted on banning this fine cartoon?

I found this cartoon under the heading "banned cartoons" on Youtube. Now if it's true that Warner Brothers DID pull this from circulation because it might be seen as culturally insensitive, then the people responsible for this are total idiots. While SOME older cartoons are truly insulting and awful in how they depict minorities (particularly awful films featuring the character "Black Sambo"), this one can only be seen as insulting to someone so devoid of a sense of humor and so politically correct that practically nothing is funny to them and everything is offensive. Sure, this is an Indian (the American-type, not the Apu-type) in the cartoon, but he's the basic Bugs Bunny foil--nothing more and nothing less. Does this mean that ANY depiction of Indians is forbidden in cartoons unless they are Earth-loving and noble like the film POCAHONTAS--which, by the way, was highly inaccurate and silly in how it portrayed the natives.

As for the cartoon itself, I saw this one several times over the years and it's a darn clever one that features an obnoxious Bugs Bunny trying to convince the Oscar people (A.M.P.A.S., by the way) to give him the award for Best Actor. While I wasn't thrilled with its use of a clip from a previous film, the odd style where Bugs appears in the real world with real people is pretty interesting and worth a look.

Don't believe the hypersensitive. This is a good cartoon and it probably won't offend the average sane viewer.