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Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales is a 1979 animated Christmas television special featuring Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters in three newly created cartoon shorts with seasonal themes. It premiered on CBS on November 27, 1979.

Summary[]

The special opens with Bugs Bunny leading some of his fellow Looney Tunes stars - Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and Pepé Le Pew - in singing "Deck the Halls". However, Porky and Foghorn have trouble singing solo lines due to their speech patterns, Yosemite Sam refuses to sing solo, and Pepé sings "Alouette" when asked to sing solo. Bugs instead says he'll sing the regular lines of the song while the others pick up on the "Fa-la-las".

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol[]

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol Title Card

The first segment is a parody of A Christmas Carol, featuring Yosemite Sam in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge and Porky as Bob Cratchit. Scrooge is counting money in the counting house of his firm when Cratchit comes in, wanting to borrow a lump of coal as he is freezing, but Scrooge refuses. Bugs then comes in with Christmas decorations and mistletoe, but he is tossed out and decides that "somebody oughta teach that little humbug some Christmas spirit". Bugs borrows a piece of hot coal from Scrooge's stove and places it in Cratchit's office, and then invites Elmer, Pepé, and Foghorn in to sing "Deck the Halls" with him. Scrooge, furious at this, throws them all out and also fires Cratchit.

Cratchit invites Bugs to dinner, introducing him to his youngest son, Tiny Tim (Tweety Bird). Just then, Scrooge sends the light company to take away the Cratchits' last candle (as Cratchit is past due), and then sends them a notice that the house is being foreclosed, forcing the Cratchit family to move out by midnight. Bugs decides this is the last straw.

First, when Scrooge tries to go to bed, Bugs and his group of carolers annoy Scrooge so much that he rushes outside to deal with them and slips on the ice. Next, when Scrooge tries to take a hot bath, Bugs tosses snow into the bathtub ("This'll probably cool off everything but his temper"). He then puts on a sheet, drags around chains, and beats a drum, which causes Scrooge to investigate. He does so, and accidentally slips down the stairs and into the cold, along with his cat Sylvester. They go back to bed, but then Bugs appears, still acting like a ghost, which scares off Sylvester. Calling himself "The Ghost of Christmas", Bugs threatens to take Scrooge to see "the man in the red suit" (the Devil, though Scrooge first guesses Santa Claus). Scrooge quickly promises to change and runs through town, giving money to the poor and later making Bob Cratchit a partner in his firm. At Christmas dinner, Tweety raises a toast to him, and Bugs kisses him under his mistletoe again. Scrooge remarks that he still hates kissing, though.

Freeze Frame[]

Freeze Frame Title Card

As the second segment begins, Bugs congratulates Sam on his great portrayal as Scrooge in the last segment. Sam, however, states that he was only acting and starts taking his money back. Outside, the Road Runner (Semper Food-Ellus) and Wile E. Coyote (Grotesques Appetitus) have briefly stopped their chase to look at the dinner that the others are currently enjoying. Wile E. then immediately resumes chasing his prey.

Wile E. looks in a book about Road Runners to find out the bird's weakness and is flabbergasted to learn that Road Runners hate cold and snow and can be easily caught in snow drifts. With that, he orders an Acme Little Giant Snow-Cloud Seeder, which is supposed to make instant snow. However, every time he uses the machine, it causes a large pile of snow to drop on him, and he eventually discards the useless device.

Wile E. paces around, trying to figure out another way to use Road Runners' hatred of snow to his advantage. He then gets the idea to switch around two signs reading "Snow Summit" and "Desert Crossing" so that the Road Runner will instead take the path to the snowy mountains. The Road Runner, sure enough, takes the wrong path and ends up getting himself stuck on a frozen lake. Wile E. puts on some ice skates and skates a circle around the bird, but it causes the entire lake around the circle to break apart, dropping Wile E. into the water below. As Road Runner revs up his ice floe like a boat, the now-frozen Wile E. walks out of the water.

The Coyote purchases a pair of Acme Jet-Propelled Skis and uses them to chase the Road Runner, but he ends up hitting a tree. He then buys a dog sled and a dozen sled dogs to pull it, but when he tries to open the crate containing the dogs, they mercilessly attack him. After managing to shut them back in the crate, Wile E. looks at the invoice and reads an important note at the bottom: "Sled dogs love coyotes - especially for supper!" He next buys an Acme Rocking Horse to sled downhill while twirling an Acme Road Runner Lasso, but he ends up getting himself tied up in the lasso and stuck on some railroad tracks (the rocking horse runs away before the train can hit him). Finally, Wile E. tries rolling a giant snowball in hopes of dropping it on the Road Runner from a cliff, but as expected, he ends up falling off the cliff himself, with the giant snowball coming down after him. Wile E. climbs out from under the snowball, now wearing a Santa-like snow beard, and rings a bell while holding up a sign that reads "Merry Xmas" and "Happy New Year".

Fright Before Christmas[]

The Fright Before Christmas Title Card

Bugs is leading Porky, Elmer, Sam, Foghorn, and Pepé in Christmas caroling again, this time singing "Jingle Bells". However, while Bugs holds them on one of the notes, his nephew Clyde shows up, telling his uncle he promised to read a Christmas story. Noticing that his fellow carolers are getting breathless from holding on a single note for so long, Bugs stops his conducting, deciding that now is a good time to read A Visit from St. Nicholas to his nephew.

At the North Pole, as Santa Claus is preparing for his Christmas Eve flight, a cargo plane is flying the Tasmanian Devil overhead. Taz escapes from his confinement and ends up parachuting out and landing near Santa's workshop, where he accidentally gets himself into Santa's suit (which was hanging out to dry) and inadvertently takes control of Santa's flying sleigh when he spooks the reindeer.

At Bugs' house, Bugs is reading A Visit from St. Nicholas to Clyde (during which Speedy Gonzales begs to differ when Bugs reads that there wasn't a mouse stirring). They suddenly hear a noise on the roof, and Clyde thinks that it is Santa, so Bugs sends him to bed. Taz, who landed the sleigh on the roof, then drops down Bugs' chimney, and Bugs, despite noticing that this Santa is in fact "an unreasonable facsimile", gives him a warm welcome. He goes to the kitchen to make a snack for Taz and brings him a plate of milk and cookies; Taz responds by eating the whole table.

Bugs reads his nephew's "brief" Christmas list to Taz, during which Taz starts eating some of the ornaments and lights on Bugs' tree ("Watch out for that green one... it's not quite ripe"). Bugs then says he'll make some popcorn and hands a can of it to Taz, who promptly swallows it before Bugs can get the popper, and since he is standing next to the fireplace, the popcorn starts popping inside his body. Taz then takes a look at one of the presents under the tree, at which point Bugs sets up a fake gift exchange desk and asks Taz if he'd like to exchange it for this bigger one. Taz takes the bigger present and opens it up outside; it is a self-inflating rubber raft. He eats the whole raft, which then expands inside his body and sends him floating into the sky.

Clyde returns and tells his uncle Bugs that Santa didn't put anything in his stocking and also left his sleigh and reindeer behind. Bugs, however, tells him that they just need to return the sleigh to the real Santa. With that, they take control of Santa's sleigh and take off for the North Pole.

In the special's closing scene, Bugs, Porky, Elmer, Sam, Foghorn, and Pepé are riding in a open sleigh pulled by Taz, who then eats the sleigh. With that, Bugs says "Merry Christmas" to the viewers, and Porky, despite his speech impediment, also wishes them happy holidays.

Availability[]

It was released on the fifth volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, along with Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over and Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals.

See also[]


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
Looney tunes and merrie melodies logo
Media
Franchises: Show-logo-looneyTunesMerrie Melodies logo

Shorts:
Television: The Bugs Bunny ShowThe Porky Pig ShowThe Road Runner ShowThe Merrie Melodies ShowSylvester and TweetyThe Daffy Duck ShowThe Daffy/Speedy ShowLooney Tunes on NickelodeonMerrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny and FriendsThat's Warner Bros.!Bugs N' Daffy
Feature Films: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny MovieBugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit TalesDaffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's QuackbustersSpace JamThe Looney Tunes Hall of FameLooney Tunes: Back in Action
Specials: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie GhouliesCarnival of the AnimalsBugs Bunny's Easter FunniesBugs Bunny in SpaceBugs Bunny's Howl-o-Ween SpecialA Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's CourtBugs Bunny's ValentineBugs Bunny's Looney Christmas TalesHow Bugs Bunny Won the WestThe Bugs Bunny Mother's Day SpecialBugs Bunny's Thanksgiving DietDaffy Duck's Easter SpecialBugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All OverThe Bugs Bunny Mystery SpecialDaffy Duck's Thanks-For-Giving SpecialBugs Bunny: All American HeroBugs Bunny's Mad World of TelevisionAn Ounce of PreventionBugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video StarsBugs Bunny's Wild World of SportsHappy Birthday Bugs! 50 Looney YearsBugs Bunny's Overtures to DisasterBugs Bunny's Creature FeaturesBugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes

Characters
Main characters: Barnyard DawgBeaky BuzzardBugs BunnyCecil TurtleCharlie DogClaude CatDaffy DuckElmer FuddFoghorn LeghornGossamerGrannyHector the BulldogHenery HawkHippety HopperHubie and BertieLola BunnyMac and ToshMarc Anthony and PussyfootMarvin the MartianMichigan J. FrogMiss PrissyPenelope PussycatPepé Le PewPete PumaPorky PigRalph WolfRoad RunnerSam SheepdogSpeedy GonzalesSylvesterSylvester Jr.TazThe CrusherTweety BirdWile E. CoyoteWitch HazelYosemite Sam

Minor characters: Blacque Jacque ShellacqueBoskoThe CrusherGiovanni JonesYoyo DodoTasmanian She-DevilMelissa DuckHugo the Abominable SnowmanSpike and ChesterNasty CanastaThe GremlinPrivate SnafuPetunia PigPlayboy PenguinShropshire SlasherCount BloodcountMama BuzzardColonel ShuffleEgghead Jr.Owl JolsonToro the BullRocky and MugsyMinah BirdInkiBeansLittle KittyHam And ExOliver OwlPiggyGabby GoatBuddyHoneySlowpoke RodriguezThe Three BearsFoxyK-9A. FleaSnifflesConstruction WorkerFrisky PuppyRalph MouseHoney BunnyRoxyThe Martin BrothersRalph PhillipsClyde BunnyFauntleroy FlipDr. I.Q. HiGruesome GorillaSloppy MoeHatta MariBusinessmanThe WeaselWiloughbyThe Two Curious PuppiesCool CatBabbit and CatstelloInstant MartiansBobo the ElephantColonel RimfireSmokey The GenieJose and ManuelMerlin the Magic Mouse and Second BananaConrad the CatAngus MacRoryBanty RoosterThree Little PigsTom TurkeyGoopy GeerNelly the GiraffeAla BahmaDr. LorreCottontail SmithBunny and ClaudeClaude HopperThe Hep CatThe Drunk StorkThe CatSinging CatSouthern SheriffOld Woman's CanaryOld Woman's CatBluebeardPorky's Drunken FriendsOld WomanLittle Red Riding Hood's Grandma • Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Walking Hood/Little Red Riding Rabbit/Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears) • Goldilocks (The Bear's Tale/Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears) • The CrowKing ArthurKing Arthur's Knights

Studios
Warner Bros. CartoonsDePatie-Freleng EnterprisesFormat FilmsChuck Jones EnterprisesReel FX
People
Dave BarryWarren BatchelderMel BlancTed BonnicksenArthur Q. BryanBill ButlerBob ClampettRuss DysonMilt FranklynFriz FrelengManny GouldGeorge GrandpreKen HarrisHugh HarmanRochelle HudsonRudolf IsingUb IwerksChuck JonesCarman MaxwellNorman McCabeChuck McKimsonRobert McKimsonTom McKimsonWillian LavaLou LillyMichael MalteseTedd PierceHawley PrattTom RayVirgil RossLeon SchlesingerRob ScribnerEddie SelzerCarl StallingLarry Storch
Music/Songs
A Hot Time in the Old Town TonightWhistle and Blow Your Blues AwayI Think You're DuckyThe Merry-Go-Round Broke DownMerrily We Roll Along
Other


v - e - d
Warner Bros. Animation Logo (Template-only)
Looney Tunes/Spielberg universe
Animated series: The Bugs Bunny ShowTiny Toon AdventuresTaz-ManiaAnimaniacsThe Sylvester & Tweety MysteriesPinky and the BrainFreakazoid!Road RoversHisteria!Pinky, Elmyra and the BrainThe Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie ShowBaby Looney TunesDuck DodgersLoonatics UnleashedThe Looney Tunes ShowNew Looney Tunes

Films: Bugs Bunny: SuperstarThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny MovieBugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit TalesDaffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's QuackbustersSpace JamWakko's WishTweety's High-Flying AdventureLooney Tunes: Back in ActionBah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes ChristmasLooney Tunes: Rabbits Run

DC Comics
Animated series: Batman: The Animated SeriesSuperman: The Animated SeriesBatman BeyondStatic ShockThe Zeta ProjectJustice LeagueTeen TitansJustice League UnlimitedThe BatmanKrypto the SuperdogLegion of Super HeroesBatman: The Brave and the BoldYoung JusticeGreen Lantern: The Animated SeriesTeen Titans Go!Beware the BatmanDC Super Hero Girls

Animated films: Batman: Mask of the PhantasmBatman & Mr. Freeze: SubZeroThe Lego Batman MovieBatman: Return of the Caped CrusadersBatman vs. Two-Face

Hanna-Barbera
Animated series: What's New, Scooby-Doo?Tom and Jerry TalesShaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!Scooby-Doo! Mystery IncorporatedThe Tom and Jerry ShowBe Cool, Scooby-Doo!Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs!

Direct-to-video film series: Scooby-Doo on Zombie IslandScooby-Doo! and the Witch's GhostTom and Jerry: The Magic RingTom and Jerry: Blast Off to MarsThe Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!

Other TV series
Detention¡Mucha Lucha!Xiaolin ShowdownCoconut Fred's Fruit Salad IslandBaby BluesRight Now KapowDorothy and the Wizard of OzBunniculaGreen Eggs and HamUnikitty!WayneheadOzzy & DrixMike Tyson Mysteries3 SouthMadJohnny TestFirehouse TalesThunderCatsThunderCats Roar
Other original films
Theatrical: Quest for CamelotThe Iron GiantOsmosis JonesThe Lego MovieStorksThe Lego Ninjago Movie

Direct-to-video: Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El MaléficoHappiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown

Films, distribution only
Gay Purr-eeThe Incredible Mr. LimpetTreasure IslandOliver TwistThe Nutcracker PrinceRover DangerfieldThumbelinaA Troll in Central ParkThe Pebble and the PenguinCats Don't DanceThe Fearless FourThe King and IThe Scarecrow


v - e - d
Warner Bros. Cartoons 1947
Media
Shorts (1929-1939): Bosko the Talk-Ink KidSinkin' in the BathtubCongo JazzHold AnythingThe Booze Hangs HighBox Car BluesBig Man from the NorthAin't Nature Grand!Speaking of the WeatherDaffy Duck & EggheadKatnip KollegeHave You Got Any Castles?Believe It or Else

Shorts (1940-1949): A Wild HareOdor-able KittyLife with Feathers
Shorts (1950-1959): Home, Tweet Home
Shorts (1960-1969): False Hare

Studios
Songs
Other
Warner Bros. CartoonsLooney TunesMerrie Melodies
See also


v - e - d
Warner Bros. Television 2019
1950s
1960s
1970s
1977: Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special

1978: Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court
1979: Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet

1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
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