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A Star Is Bored is a 1956 Looney Tunes short directed by Friz Freleng.

Title[]

The title is a reference to Warner Bros.' 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.

Plot[]

In Bugs' dressing room, he is talking to the journalist, Lolly (a reference to the nickname of famed Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons), about his great film career, albeit rather modestly. "Who'd want to read about little old me?" Outside of Bugs' room, lowly Warners studio janitor Daffy says, "What a job for a duck with MY talents! Pushing a broom while others with absolutely nothing on the ball get all the breaks." He eavesdrops on Bugs' conversation and is disgusted by it. "Listen to that ham [Bugs] putting it on," Mockingly, he says of Bugs, "Anything my public demands! Anything my public demands! That does it! If a long eared rabbit can be a star, so can a duck!"

Daffy then marches into the casting director's office just as he is on the phone with another executive discussing the difficulty in finding anyone "stupid enough" to be Bugs' stunt double for his next picture. "Hang up," Daffy triumphantly tells the boss, who in a low voice tells his colleague on the phone, "I think I've found a pigeon." Daffy hears that comment and tells the boss that, "I'm a duck. D-U-K, duck. Loaded with talent." The boss grants Daffy the role without elaborating about its stunt double status.

After a visit to the Make-Up Department, Daffy gets his first taste of on-the-set film action shortly thereafter, aWestern co-starring Yosemite Sam. Bugs walks onto the set when the director says "Rrrroll 'em" in a Scottish accent. Customary carrot in hand, Bugs says his catch phrase, "Eh, what's up, Doc?" to which Sam growls, "All right, 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 a-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 face; a large number of his feathers, as well as his beak, fall off. Daffy quickly hollers for "MAKE-UP!"

Next, 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 on which Bugs is sitting, 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, "Remember, Elmer, you're not supposed to cut the limb all the way through." However, with a maliciously insane laugh, not Elmer but Daffy climbs the tree and jeers, "HA! Goodbye, Rabbit! You're gonna be a falling star," and saws right through the limb. However, unbeknownst to the greedy duck, Bugs was safe all along; his limb was attached to a telephone pole, so the rest of the tree comes crashing down. The director then says "Ok, Print it!" despite the complications.

After this sequence, Bugs is fishing off a pier. Daffy shows up and snaps "OH NO YOU DON'T! Taking all the soft jobs and leaving the tough ones for me to do, huh? I'll do this one!" Bugs protests, "But Daffy, I really think I ought to do this scene," but Daffy takes no notice. "AHA! 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.

Bugs is chased by Elmer again when Bugs dives into another tree. With the "scwewy wabbit" cornered, Elmer aims his gun into the tree but gets poked in the rear by the gun's barrel, though in reality, it's really Bugs holding another gun. When Elmer pulls his gun back, the other one makes the same movements. Wondering just how stupid Elmer is, Daffy furiously 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 sticks up through a hole in the ground just behind him! In reality it's HIS gun bent around so that it points at his hindquarters. 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. The ribbon is white with red spots! Daffy didn't see Bugs switch the ribbon. Daffy yells "MAKE-UP!" for the fourth time.

Bugs is piloting a plane accelerating up to twenty thousand feet, then going uncontrollably groundward. Just as Daffy, dressed in his rabbit suit, jokes about not looking at Bugs' demise, the director screams "CUT!" and the plane halts, seemingly a few feet from crashing into the ground. The director calls for "the double" one more time. Daffy is helicoptered onto the scene, where he and Bugs switch places. After the director yells "Rrrroll 'em," the plane resumes its super-high-speed course into the ground. Predictably, it's wrecked, and Daffy again yells "MAKE-UP!", but this time in a more frustrated tone.

Having finally had more than enough, Daffy announces that "I'm through playin' stooge to a rabbit. I want to star in my own picture!" to the casting director, who promptly tells the distraught Daffy that he has just sorted a script: the starring role in a new movie called The Duck.

During the filming of The Duck, with Daffy starring as a typical duck in a peaceful pond and directed by the same man who helmed the earlier movie wherein Daffy subbed for Bugs. Just as before, Daffy digs out his script to rehearse his line. When the director announces "Camera, action!" Daffy says, "I wonder where all the hunters are today?", at which point 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 screenwriter turns out to be none other than... Bugs, who says, "I'd love to tell him, but... (chuckles)... modesty forbids."

Caricatures[]

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.[1]
  • The WB version not only edited the cartoon to completely remove the two times that Daffy is the victim of gunshots (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.[1] The sequences of the uncut version went as follows:
  1. Daffy stepping in for Bugs during his scene with Yosemite Sam.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Daffy substituting for Bugs during his airplane-flying scene
  • The edited version on the WB showed the cartoon this way: the third scene aired first, followed by the second scene, and then the last two scenes, with the scene with Yosemite Sam cut.

External links[]

v - e - d
Bugs Bunny short logo
1930s (Happy Rabbit)
Porky's Hare HuntPrest-O Change-OHare-um Scare-um
1940s
Elmer's Candid CameraA Wild HareElmer's Pet RabbitTortoise Beats HareHiawatha's Rabbit HuntThe Heckling HareAll This and Rabbit StewWabbit TwoubleThe Wabbit Who Came to SupperThe Wacky WabbitHold the Lion, PleaseBugs Bunny Gets the BoidFresh HareThe Hare-Brained HypnotistCase of the Missing HareTortoise Wins by a HareSuper-RabbitJack-Wabbit and the BeanstalkWackiki WabbitFalling HareLittle Red Riding RabbitWhat's Cookin' Doc?Bugs Bunny and the Three BearsBugs Bunny Nips the NipsHare Ribbin'Hare ForceBuckaroo BugsThe Old Grey HareStage Door CartoonHerr Meets HareThe Unruly HareHare TriggerHare ConditionedHare TonicBaseball BugsHare RemoverHair-Raising HareAcrobatty BunnyRacketeer RabbitThe Big SnoozeRhapsody RabbitRabbit TransitA Hare Grows in ManhattanEaster YeggsSlick HareGorilla My DreamsA Feather in His HareRabbit PunchBuccaneer BunnyBugs Bunny Rides AgainHaredevil HareHot Cross BunnyHare SplitterA-Lad-In His LampMy Bunny Lies Over The SeaHare DoMississippi HareRebel RabbitHigh Diving HareBowery BugsLong-Haired HareKnights Must FallThe Grey Hounded HareThe Windblown HareFrigid HareWhich Is WitchRabbit Hood
1950s
Hurdy-Gurdy HareMutiny on the BunnyHomeless HareBig House BunnyWhat's Up Doc?8 Ball BunnyHillbilly HareBunker Hill BunnyBushy HareRabbit of SevilleHare We GoRabbit Every MondayBunny HuggedThe Fair-Haired HareRabbit FireFrench RarebitHis Hare-Raising TaleBallot Box BunnyBig Top BunnyOperation: RabbitFoxy by Proxy14 Carrot RabbitWater, Water Every HareThe Hasty HareOily HareRabbit SeasoningRabbit's KinHare LiftForward March HareUpswept HareSouthern Fried RabbitHare TrimmedBully for BugsLumber Jack-RabbitDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot RabbitCaptain HareblowerBugs and ThugsNo Parking HareDevil May HareBewitched BunnyYankee Doodle BugsBaby Buggy BunnyBeanstalk BunnySahara HareHare BrushRabbit RampageThis is a Life?Hyde and HareKnight-mare HareRoman Legion-HareBugs' BonnetsBroom-Stick BunnyRabbitson CrusoeNapoleon Bunny-PartBarbary-Coast BunnyHalf-Fare HareA Star Is BoredWideo WabbitTo Hare Is HumanAli Baba BunnyBedeviled RabbitPiker's PeakWhat's Opera, Doc?Bugsy and MugsyShow Biz BugsRabbit RomeoHare-Less WolfHare-Way To The StarsNow, Hare ThisKnightly Knight BugsPre-Hysterical HareBaton BunnyHare-Abian NightsApes of WrathBackwoods BunnyWild and Woolly HareBonanza BunnyA Witch's Tangled HarePeople Are Bunny
1960s
Horse HarePerson to BunnyRabbit's FeatFrom Hare to HeirLighter Than HareThe Abominable Snow RabbitCompressed HarePrince ViolentWet HareBill of HareShishkabugsDevil's Feud CakeThe Million HareHare-Breadth HurryThe UnmentionablesMad as a Mars HareTransylvania 6-5000Dumb PatrolDr. Devil and Mr. HareThe Iceman DuckethFalse Hare
1970s-present
Bugs Bunny's Christmas CarolThe Fright Before ChristmasPortrait of the Artist as a Young BunnySpaced Out BunnyBox-Office BunnyBlooper BunnyInvasion of the Bunny SnatchersCarrotblancaFrom Hare to EternityDaffy Duck for PresidentHare and Loathing in Las Vegas
See also
Happy Rabbit


v - e - d
Daffy-Duck-short-logo
1930s
Porky's Duck HuntDaffy Duck & EggheadWhat Price PorkyPorky & DaffyThe Daffy DocDaffy Duck in HollywoodDaffy Duck and the DinosaurScalp TroubleWise QuacksNaughty Neighbors
1940s
Porky's Last StandYou Ought to Be in PicturesA Coy DecoyThe Henpecked DuckConrad the SailorDaffy's Southern ExposureThe Impatient PatientThe Daffy DuckarooMy Favorite DuckTo Duck or Not to DuckThe Wise Quacking DuckYankee Doodle DaffyPorky Pig's FeatScrap Happy DaffyA Corny ConcertoDaffy - The CommandoTom Turk and DaffyTick Tock TuckeredDuck Soup to NutsSlightly DaffyPlane DaffyThe Stupid CupidDraftee DaffyAin't That DuckyNasty QuacksBook RevueBaby BottleneckDaffy DoodlesHollywood DaffyThe Great Piggy Bank RobberyThe Birth of a NotionAlong Came DaffyA Pest in the HouseMexican JoyrideWhat Makes Daffy DuckDaffy Duck Slept HereThe Up-Standing SitterYou Were Never DuckierDaffy DillyThe Stupor SalesmanRiff Raffy DaffyWise QuackersHoliday for DrumsticksDaffy Duck Hunt
1950s
Boobs in the WoodsThe Scarlet PumpernickelHis Bitter HalfGolden YeggsThe DuckstersRabbit FireDrip-Along DaffyThe Prize PestThumb FunCracked QuackRabbit SeasoningThe Super SnooperFool CoverageDuck AmuckMuscle TussleDuck Dodgers and the 24 1/2 CenturyDuck, Rabbit, Duck!Quack ShotDesign for LeavingMy Little DuckarooBeanstalk BunnyStork NakedSahara HareThis is a Life?Dime to RetireThe High and the FlightyRocket SquadStupor DuckA Star is BoredDeduce, You SayAli Baba BunnyBoston QuackieDucking the DevilShow Biz BugsDon't Axe MeRobin Hood DaffyChina JonesApes of WrathPeople Are Bunny
1960s
Person to BunnyThe Abominable Snow RabbitDaffy's Inn TroubleQuackodile TearsGood NooseFast Buck DuckThe Million HareAqua DuckThe Iceman DuckethIt's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the HouseMoby DuckAssault and PepperedWell Worn DaffySuppressed DuckCorn on the CopTease for TwoChili Corn CornyGo Go AmigoThe AstroduckMucho LocosMexican MousepieceDaffy RentsA-Haunting We Will GoSnow ExcuseA Squeak in the DeepFeather FingerSwing Ding AmigoA Taste of CatnipDaffy's DinerQuacker TrackerThe Music Mice-TroThe Spy SwatterSpeedy Ghost to TownRodent to StardomGo Away StowawayFiesta FiascoSkyscraper CaperSee You Later, Gladiator
1970s-present
Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie GhouliesCarnival of the AnimalsDaffy Duck's Easter SpecialDaffy Duck's Thanks-for-Giving SpecialDuck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 1/2th CenturyThe DuxorcistNight of the Living Duck(Blooper) BunnyInvasion of the Bunny SnatchersCarrotblancaSuperior DuckDuck Dodgers in Attack of the DronesDaffy Duck for PresidentDaffy's Rhapsody
See Also
The Bugs Bunny ShowThe Porky Pig ShowThe Merrie Melodies ShowThe Daffy Duck Show (1978)Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic IslandTiny Toon AdventuresMerrie Melodies: Starring Bugs Bunny & FriendsDaffy Duck and the Great Paint CaperDaffy Duck: The Marvin MissionsBugs N' DaffyThe Daffy Duck Show (1996)Space JamDaffy Duck: Fowl PlayDuck Dodgers: Starring Daffy DuckBaby Looney TunesDuck Dodgers (TV series)Looney Tunes: Back in ActionBah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes ChristmasThe Looney Tunes ShowLooney Tunes: Rabbits RunNew Looney Tunes


v - e - d
Elmer Fudd character looney tunes series
1930s
Little Red Walking HoodThe Isle of Pingo PongoCinderella Meets FellaA Feud There WasJohnny Smith and Poker-HuntasHamateur NightA Day at the ZooBelieve It or Else
1940s
Elmer's Candid CameraConfederate HoneyThe Hardship of Miles StandishA Wild HareGood Night ElmerElmer's Pet RabbitWabbit TwoubleThe Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitNutty NewsFresh HareThe Hare-Brained HypnotistTo Duck or Not to DuckA Corny ConcertoAn Itch in TimeThe Old Grey HareThe Stupid CupidStage Door CartoonThe Unruly HareHare TonicHare RemoverThe Big SnoozeEaster YeggsA Pest in the HouseSlick HareWhat Makes Daffy Duck?Back Alley Op-RoarKit for CatWise QuackersHare DoEach Dawn I Crow
1950s
What's Up Doc?Rabbit of SevilleRabbit FireRabbit SeasoningUpswept HareAnt PastedDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot RabbitDesign for LeavingQuack ShotPests for GuestsBeanstalk BunnyHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Heir-ConditionedBugs' BonnetsA Star Is BoredYankee Dood ItWideo WabbitWhat's Opera, Doc?Rabbit RomeoDon't Axe MePre-Hysterical HareA Mutt in a Rut
1960s
Person to BunnyDog Gone PeopleWhat's My Lion?Crow's Feat
1970s-present
Portrait of the Artist as a Young BunnyBox Office BunnyBlooper BunnyInvasion of the Bunny SnatchersDaffy's Rhapsody
See also
Egghead


v - e - d
SAM-LOGO
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s-present
See also
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