User Reviews

Friz Freleng's 'Rabbit Transit' is the final installment in the Tortoise and Hare trilogy. Although it is not a patch on its predecessors (Tex Avery's essential 'Tortoise Beats Hare' and Bob Clampett's bananas classic 'Tortoise Wins By A Hare'), 'Rabbit Transit' benefits greatly from a very funny script by Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce, which is full of unexpected twists and turns. 'Rabbit Transit' deviates from the other two cartoons in the series in that Bugs doesn't seem to remember his past races against Cecil Turtle this time round which technically makes 'Rabbit Transit' more a remake than a sequel. The character of Cecil is also a little different in that he has been given a new sense of vulnerability. In Avery and Clampett's cartoons he was completely in control the whole time, exploiting Bugs' egotistical complacency with ease. In 'Rabbit Transit', Cecil himself has quite an ego and this makes him vulnerable to some reciprocal heckling from Bugs. While these differences aren't detrimental, they do disassociate 'Rabbit Transit' from its classic forerunners, as does the less attractive animation. Enjoyed without any comparisons, however, 'Rabbit Transit' is a hoot. The back-and-forth battle involving the jet-propelled shell throws up many inventive bits and even the one predictable gag in the cartoon (the old running-through-the-painted-scenery gag) leads to a brilliant sequence in which an out-of-body Bugs attempts to wake himself up. The ending puts a nice full stop on the trilogy as well, finally allowing Bugs to win the race in such a way that he also loses the battle. Despite being unworthy of the genius it attempts to emulate, 'Rabbit Transit' comes highly recommended as a solid piece of comedy.

"Rabbit Transit" is a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Friz Freleng's direction is superb and Bugs is hilarious. A clever takeoff of the famous "Tortoise and the Hare" fable, this cartoon once again pits Bugs against Cecil Turtle, reminiscent of the earlier Bugs/Cecil cartoons "Tortoise Beats Hare" (1941) and "Tortoise Wins by a Hare" (1943). Once again, Bugs actually becomes the fall guy, which I'm sure at least some fans of the wascawwy wabbit find difficult to accept.

My favorite highlights from "Rabbit Transit": Before the race begins, Bugs empties Cecil's robe and reveals a pair of skates, a bicycle, and a couple of scooters. At the end, Bugs finds out that he ran way above the speed limit, and two cops haul him off to jail! Bugs dismantles the engine inside Cecil's shell, and the turtle casually walks up and asks Bugs to hand him a few tools so that he can repair the engine. Remembering an old boy scout rule, Bugs pours water in Cecil's engine, and Cecil is hilarious as he uses a bucket to get the water out of his shell.

When you're in the mood for a brisk-paced, hilarious Bugs Bunny cartoon, watch "Rabbit Transit". I believe it hits its mark in the laughter department.

. . . or, in this carnation, "Cecil Turtle," to close the Warner Bros. animated short RABBIT TRANSIT. True Crime aficionados will immediately recognize this outing as one of those Warner cartoons with a more serious mission than to just elicit a few chuckles: To warn the Olympic World in general and one specific South African Beauty Queen in particular about the Unsportsman-like and murderous ways of the so-called "Blade Runner." If such a sociopath had cropped up in the American context of a sport people actually care about, such as NBA Basketball, no one would have given two seconds thought to the ludicrous idea of allowing some White jerk with a sob story about being short permission to compete against Michael Jordan or LeBron James while wearing five-foot stilts! Yet this is exactly what the bozos running the Olympics did, cowering in the face of a clown wearing souped-up rocket blades for fear of appearing "Politically Incorrect" if they exercised an ounce of Basic Common Sense. So Cecil Turtle is presented here in a cautionary light, trying to cheat his way to the Victory Podium with a rocket-powered shell, just because he was born slow. And, of course, when you let a Menace to Society get away with murder on the playing fields, it should come as no shock when the villain thinks that he'll get a pass for the homicides he commits in Real Life, as well.

"Rabbit Transit" is an American animated short film from 1947, so this one has its 70th anniversary this year and it is of course from the Golden Age of Animation. But sadly, despite the efforts by legends like Freleng, Maltese, Pierce and Blanc of course, these 8 minutes never really gain as much steam as its protagonists. Maybe if you know a bit about old cartoons, then you have come across the hare vs. tortoise race battle on other occasions too as this is the third and final Warner Bros. cartoon on the subject, but other studios have picked up on this underdog story as well several times. But here the turtle really isn't the underdog because the only slow thing about it is his speaking. The technology hidden inside its shell lets him win the race easily, but again it is the underdog that triumphs eventually. This, however, is the only success for Bugs in here because for once he takes the role of Sam, Elmer etc. and the turtle takes the role that Bugs usually has. The tree painting scene is the best example. However, I did not enjoy the watch too much. I like this duel more the traditional way, without motors in shells and the comedy was also pretty mediocre I would say. The only outstanding thing is once again Mel Blanc's voice talent. It's okay they did not make a 4th film about these two. Number 3 gets a thumbs-down from me. Not recommended.