Elmers Candid Camera

Elmer's Candid Camera is a 1940 Merrie Melodies directed by Chuck Jones, and first released on March 2, 1940, by Warner Bros. It marks the first appearance of a redesigned Elmer Fudd (voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan), and the fourth starring appearance of Happy Rabbit (excluding Elmer's Pet Rabbit, where he was billed as Bugs Bunny and the last time he was called Happy Rabbit, the first instance of that name being used on-screen, and a cameo in a later cartoon Patient Porky) until Looney Tunes: Back in Action (first re-seen in the final minutes of a deleted scenes montage featured on that film's DVD release).

Contents

• Plot
• Evolution of the characters
• Releases
• References

Plot

Elmer has come to the country to photograph wildlife. As he tries to photograph Happy Rabbit, Happy finds himself a convenient victim to harass. This tormenting eventually drives Elmer insane, causing him to jump into a lake and nearly drown. Happy saves him, ensures that Elmer is all right now - and then kicks him straight back into the lake. Then, Happy throws Elmer's "How To Photograph Wildlife" book on his head thus ending the cartoon as the screen irises-out.

Evolution of the characters

In this short the Bugs Bunny prototype now resembles Bugs except for the apricot-colored mouth, furrier tail, black nose, black-tipped ears, and a different voice. This voice sounds "rural", and at times sounds rather like Daffy Duck's early voice. The laugh at the end of the cartoon ("Heh-heh-heh-HEH-heh!"), is similar to that of another character initially voiced by Blanc, Woody Woodpecker, who would debut later in the year.

Elmer's voice is fully developed, and his appearance is similar to that in later cartoons, though he still wears Egghead's attire and has a shiny nose and cheeks. When in a mild-mannered mood, he is very much like the familiar Elmer. When enraged, his appearance is decidedly uncharacteristic, nearly maniacal.

Releases

VHS- Cartoon Moviestars: Elmer!

VHS- Looney Tunes Collectors Edition: Wabbit Tales

Laserdisc- Bugs! and Elmer!

Laserdisc- Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol 2

DVD- Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1

DVD- Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 1

DVD- The Essential Bugs Bunny

Blu Ray- Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2