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Here’s How Bugs Bunny is Celebrating His 84th Birthday

Photo from CN News/Schedules on X

Here’s How Bugs Bunny is Celebrating His 84th Birthday

By Movieguide® Contributor

MeTV is celebrating Bugs Bunny’s 84th birthday with a special documentary chronicling the cartoon’s life and influence. 

“Bugs Bunny is in that upper pantheon of the most-recognizable cartoon characters in the world,” Michael Schneider, Variety’s TV editor, said in the special, titled HARE’S TO BUGS! A BUGS BUNNY CELEBRATION.

Schneider continued, “[He] is probably one of the most influential characters in comedy history. When you see [on shows] today the use of irony, of asides, of just clever wordplay, that all goes back to all of us watching Bugs Bunny as a kid.”

The iconic cartoon character made his onscreen debut on July 27, 1940, in “A Wild Hare,” after being created at Leon Schlesinger’s animation unit at Warner Brothers studios. 

“Animator Ben (‘Bugs’) Hardaway inadvertently christened him when his casual sketch of a proposed rabbit character was labeled ‘Bugs’s Bunny’ by a fellow employee,” per Britannica.com.

Fox News reported that “A Wild Hare” would go on to be “nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Short Subject: Cartoons.’”

Movieguide® previously reported on Bugs Bunny’s 80th birthday:

Few cartoon characters are as iconic as that sneaky gray bunny with floppy ears, a carrot hanging out of his mouth and that classic, “What’s up, Doc?” phrase ready to fall from his lips. This year, Bugs Bunny turns 80 years old! 

LOONEY TUNES, which launched in 1930, first featured the wise-cracking rabbit in the summer of 1940.

Now, at 80, the rabbit has hopped into the hearts of generations.

Warner Bros. Consumer Products led the celebration for Bugs’ 80th year and revealed an 80-piece capsule collection with KITH’s streetwear brand.  The product sold out in less than 24 hours.

The U.S. Postal Service also honored the timeless character with Bugs Bunny Commemorative Forever stamps. Later this year, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment plans to release the BUGS BUNNY 80TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION.

HARE’S TO BUGS! A BUGS BUNNY CELEBRATION airs Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m./9c on MeTV Toons.


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