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Bugsy and Mugsy is a 1957 Looney Tunes short.

Plot[]

This cartoon begins with a view of the outdoors — and Bugs Bunny's hole is visible. However, over it stands a sign presumably constructed by Bugs reading “Moved to Drier Quarters — Bugs Bunny”. The presence of the sign is justified by the fact that it is heavily raining.

Shortly, Bugs is seen under the floor of an empty house, commenting on the dryness, peace and quiet of it (“Dry as a bone. What more could a rabbit want?”) But Bugs is very soon disturbed, as a pair of fugitives from the law soon enter it, assuming it to be entirely abandoned (as it had been before Bugs entered and found it suitable for the drier quarters he desired). These criminals are Rocky and Mugsy, who have just robbed a highly guarded repository of plenty of gold, gems and silver worth an undisclosed sum. Rocky closes the open blinds and states that, although he's given the police “the slip,” they can't be allowed to know that he and Mugsy are hiding there; at least not from his point of view. (He tells Mugsy to “toin it on the radio,” and they hear the radio announcer saying that the police believe Rocky and Mugsy to have been the thieves, and nearly gets as far as mentioning where the police last saw them, before Rocky makes Mugsy “toin it off the radio”.)

Mugsy asks, “But that was some haul, wasn't it, boss?”

“Yeah,” Rocky answers. “All 14-carat.” And this is where he uncovers the stolen loot, and he and Mugsy stare at it.

The “carrot” part has aroused the interests of Bugsy, whose head pops out from under the floorboards. (He remains unseen by Rocky and Mugsy, only by the audience, throughout the picture.) He mistook the purity level of minerals for the vegetable that rabbits and hares are all too well known for fondness of. This is where Rocky makes a relatively small, and yet colossally damaging (to Mugsy and himself), mistake that leads to the comical turn of events to follow: he tells Mugsy to “get some shut-eye if we're gonna pull that big job tomorrow.” They certainly assume themselves to be alone in the house.

This alerts Bugs to the fact that he's dealing with seasoned robbers who have already lightened the wallets of several in the world and will do so with many, many more if not brought under control soon. He makes the very serious decision to teach them that crime cannot, does not, should not and will not pay.

First, he takes an old-fashioned telephone (very similar to the original model of Alexander Graham Bell) and slips one end next to Rocky's ear, keeping the other end in his own hole. (Face impassive, Rocky is sitting in the only chair and Mugsy is lying down on the couch with a goofy grin on his face.) Bugs whispers to Rocky that “you're crazy to trust your pal Mugsy with that suitcase of jewellery. Don't make me laugh!” Rocky sits bolt upright in the chair, but assuming he heard a random voice, shrugs and goes back to sleep. But Bugs won't let him. He snickers, “Look at 'im, just lyin' there pretending he's asleep. And all that time he's actually thinking. Not just that. He's gettin' ideas.” However, Bugs pulls the cord away from Rocky before he can see it. Assuming Bugs' words to be true, Rocky gets out of the chair, walks over to Mugsy and the sofa, and rudely awakens his partner by slapping him three times in the face (“That'll teach ya's to get ideas.”) Mugsy protests that he doesn't get ideas. However, Rocky, having been fooled by Bugsy, tells Mugsy to see to it that he doesn't. He storms away to leave Mugsy looking confused.

Next, Bugs glances out of his hole and, seeing that the two criminals are sound asleep, tiptoes out — carrying a giant battleaxe. This he places with extreme caution in Mugsy's right hand. Then he dives back under the floorboards, retrieves the old phone and informs Rocky that Mugsy isn't called “the Detroit Butcher for nothin'. Don't be fooled by dat smooth talk. He's prob'ly waitin' for you to fall asleep — then ... (effects a squashing sound) KER-RIECCKKK!” And Rocky, once again, thinks that Mugsy is actually out to maim him. He again sits up and notices the axe Mugsy is holding. However, rather than let it remain in Mugsy's clumsy hands for another second, Rocky seizes the weapon and slices one of the couch's arms cleanly almost in half. He then pronounces that “Your dirty scheme didn't work, did it? Now go back to sleep.” Mugsy merely chuckles that Rocky is “a million laughs,” thinking (wrongly) that he mutilated the sofa for fun.

Next, Bugs is shown in the attic of the old house with a screwdriver, preparing to unscrew the screws connecting the light over Rocky's head to the roof of the main room. The camera then turns back to Mugsy, who has suddenly awoken, but seeing his boss to be still in the chair, chuckles, “That Rocky,” again. Cut back to Bugs, who has now begun to unscrew the light. Mugsy sees the screws coming loose, and so, knowing that Rocky will blame him if the light falls on him, grabs his own screwdriver and a ladder and climbs up, tool in hand, intending to screw the light back in. But Bugs is too quick for the hulking accomplice, as he finishes with the last screw before Mugsy gets to it. Looking up, Rocky sees Mugsy on the ladder, thinking that HE unscrewed the light, so he tells him to “C'mere.” Mugsy does so, and when he does, he is kicked up high into the air by Rocky, who then screams: “NOW GO TO SLEEP!”

Next, Bugs switches Rocky's cigarette with a dynamite stick. Then he walks over to Mugsy and effects Rocky's voice, saying, “Hey, Mugsy, c'mere. Gimme a light.” Having clearly worked with Rocky for years, Mugsy walks over to his boss with a match and verbalizes how glad he is that “you're not mad at me no more.” He strikes the match and lights not a cigarette, but a stick of dynamite. The resulting explosion leaves them looking much the worse for wear; Mugsy moans, “Aw, now you're mad at me again!”

“Get in here,” Rocky snaps. Here, he shoves Mugsy into the next room (with many screams of protest from his partner), beats him up and ties his feet and hands together. The walls become knocked right through. Underfloor, Bugs "winces" pleasurably. "NOW GO TO SLEEP!!!" Rocky yells with great finality.

Next, Bugs saws a perfect circle around Rocky's chair, only letting him see the tool near the end. Bugs then slips it into Mugsy's hands — and slips back beneath the floor — just in time for Rocky to open the door to the next room, see it in Mugsy's possession and proclaim, “I dunno how ya's done it, BUT I KNOW YA'S DONE IT!!!!!!!!” He then beats Mugsy up some more, and storms out of the room.

Finally, Bugs pops out from under the floor, unties Mugsy and quickly pops a pair of entirely metallic roller skates to his feet. He then snatches a highly powerful magnet and drags it down with him. The skates feel the power of Bugsy's magnet; they skitter right to it; Mugsy is forced to stand up. For a split second, Rocky stares at Mugsy in complete bewilderment, then tells him to get off the skates; but the skates and, by extension, Mugsy, are controlled by the rogue underfloor magnet. Bugs drags the magnet several times towards Rocky so that Mugsy is forced to smash into him. Every time Mugsy skates into Rocky magnetically, his boss snarls, “Why you . . . (disparaging single word)!” and shoves him back. But Bugs simply drags the magnet over to Rocky again and again, thus necessitating multiple repeats of that cycle. Quite apart from the chaotic banging in that house, police cars suddenly pull up to it (a notice stating that the Public Health Department has condemned it is on the back of the building). A short time later, Rocky and Mugsy are in one of them; as it wails off, Rocky wonders out loud how the police knew where he and his partner were hiding. Mugsy begins protesting his innocence repeatedly, but Rocky cannot believe Mugsy's explanation. He shoves Mugsy down to the floor and jumps up and down on him.

However, Mugsy was telling the truth. He was not the one who turned Rocky in — rather, Bugs disclosed their location. At the very end, he remarks, “Isn't it amazin' what you can do with a few electric bulbs and some wire?” And that was how he turned Rocky and Mugsy in: he ingeniously hooked up bulbs and wires to the building and configured them so that they flashed the words “ROCKY'S HIDEAWAY” and presumably found a modern telephone in the house by which he called the police and told them the location of the house that displayed his light pattern, and that it was what it said it was. Iris out.

Oddly, there are continual continuity errors in this short. In particular, Bugs' size changes; outside his hole, he is normal-sized, but inside, he is the size of a mouse (take the size of the magnet he's holding near the end of the short, for instance.

Gallery[]

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Trivia[]

  • This short shares similarities with Stooge for a Mouse such as Rocky and Spike saying to Sylvester and Mugsy "I don't know how youse done it but I know youse done it!" and the mouse and Bugs using a magnet to make it look like Mugsy and Sylvester are fighting Rocky and Spike. Coincidentally, both cartoons were directed by Freleng.

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
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. 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. 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
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