Watch Show Biz Bugs For Free

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Boring

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Friz Freleng's 'Show Biz Bugs' is a great cartoon largely due to its premise. Drawing on the Bugs and Daffy rivalry established by Chuck Jones, 'Show Biz Bugs' places the two characters in a show biz context as they perform for an audience. However, no matter how extravagant a show Daffy puts on, the audience refuse to applaud him, only clapping whenever Bugs comes out. This idea for a story draws on the bafflement of many animation insiders regarding Bugs's popularity with the public over the more versatile Daffy. As a long term Daffy fan, I can very much sympathise with this and 'Show Biz Bugs' depicts it beautifully. Bugs does practically nothing at all in the cartoon, acting as mere motivation for Daffy's antics and still garnering the appreciation of the audience. A hoofing routine in which the pair do exactly the same dance in exact unison side by side (beautifully animated, by the way) highlights the injustice of the public's reaction. The greatest irony, of course, is that the cartoon is called 'Show Biz Bugs' despite Daffy doing all the work and garnering all the laughs! There are a couple of old, well-worn gags in 'Show Biz Bugs' but they are well executed and the context improves them too. The final, explosive gag that close the short is not only very funny but also makes a greater point about the frustrated artist: he can only achieve the acclaim he deserves after he dies.

In spite of the late-1950s atmosphere of shrinking budgets and apathy toward theatrical shorts, Friz Freleng pulled off a comedy masterwork here. Yes, some of the gags have been used before, but like other old masters who rework favorite themes during their autumn years, Freleng and Co. distill and focus on the essentials to make this film a highlight of the entire Looney Tunes series. Set in the theatrical milieu Freleng used repeatedly during his Warners tenure, Show Biz Friz responds with a Bugs-Daffy outing that for sheer enjoyment can take its place alongside the Chuck Jones "trilogy" of B&D epics. Note also the animation in the wabbit and duck's "Tea for Two"; such elegance would soon be sacrificed at the altar of Hanna-Barbera and other Saturday morning TV fodder factories.

Another instance of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck getting on each other's nerves, this time as they perform on stage and Bugs gets all the applause while Daffy gets none. As always, Daffy tries to undermine Bugs's integrity, but always gets his just desserts, most notably with the xylophone gag (these cartoons sure had a way with dynamite).I noticed that some of the tricks in "Show Biz Bugs" were yanked out of the Porky Pig vehicle "Curtain Razor", namely the end. But even so, it's always a treat to see what happens to Daffy when he tries to harm Bugs, sort of like what happens to Wile E. Coyote when he tries to get Road Runner. Another classic.

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are a dancing double act in a vaudeville theatre. However Daffy is not content for equal billing and wants to have all the glory for himself. He challenges Bugs that whatever he can do, Daffy can do better. Bugs does his stuff on stage to great acclaim from the audience, but everything Daffy tries is greeted with all the appreciate of a f*rt in a lift. As the stakes continue to rise, Daffy increasingly pulls out all the stops.I love Daffy Duck a great deal but much prefer him when he is in full-on wacky mode rather than the more greedy duck of his later cartoons. In this short we see Daffy being his greedy self but him being pushed to crazy limits reminds me of whom he once was. The material is not that good when I think about it and some of the gags are a little under whelming but it still manages to be pretty amusing. The ending is OK but it has been done elsewhere to better effect with Porky Pig and a wolf.What makes this short work past the average material is the characters. Bugs' delivery is pretty fun although he isn't really his usual tricky self - all he's doing is being a good dancer. Daffy is also good and it is his jealous rage that makes the material much better than it should be. His big finish is not as good as he deserved but up till that point he is funny even if he is not the Daffy that I prefer.Overall this is enjoyable enough but that's it. The material is average enough and is pretty thin but thankfully the two famous characters both do good work to make it better than it really is.