Bugs is who we want to be. Daffy is who we are.
—Chuck Jones

The standard two character short provided creators with a protagonist and antagonist and with only 7 minutes to fill, they didn't need much more than that. But Chuck Jones saw some potential to use Daffy differently than anyone ever had before. Completely devoid of his zaniness, daffy becomes a self-preserving, average Joe, who's just trying to beat out the next guy (in this case Bugs). Throwing him in the mix with Elmer and Bugs made a whole new dynamic available to Jones and he revisited it twice more in his Hunter Trilogy and then again in a variety of shorts with other settings and antagonists. Elmer, Bugs, and Daffy were never better than they were when they were together.

 

Rabbit Fire 1.2
1950 directed by Chuck Jones
Featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd

Awards

• Honorable Mention on the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time as chosen by members of the animation field.

This is the first film in Jones' hunter trilogy. It is also the first film to feature Bugs and Daffy together. The film marks a significant change in Daffy's style, away from the screwball and toward the foil for Bugs. The short starts out with Elmer Fudd following a trail of rabbit tracks. It turns out, however, that the tracks are being left by Daffy Duck, who, using the feet from a rabbit costume, makes the prints lead right up to Bugs' rabbit hole. When Elmer appears, Bugs informs him that the hunter cannot legally shoot the rabbit, since it is Duck Season. Daffy emerges from his hiding place, screaming that it is in fact rabbit season. The argument then continues, with a variety of verbal games all resulting in Daffy having his bill blown off in different ways.

Trivia

• The title is a play on the expression rapid fire, and refers to the verbal gags rather than the gunfire.
  
• All three Hunter Trilogy films are generally considered among Chuck Jones' best works, and noted for their use of dialogue gags in lieu of the physical gags more typical in animation.
  
• The duck season/rabbit season argument from this short became one of the most notable references of the Looney Tunes franchise, (though it should be noted that this
  gag was actually used by Daffy against Porky 6 years earlier in the cartoon Duck Soup to Nuts).
  
• The film has been said to parallel the human experience. It contains the clearest definition of character roles: Elmer can't control anything because he never knows what's going on; Daffy is bright enough to understand how to be in control, but never quite makes it; Bugs always knows what's going on and is in control of things.
  
• The non sequitur elephant character based on Joe Besser was the inspiration for Horatio the Elephant, a recurring character on PBS's Sesame Street.
  Rabbit Fire and its two sequels often have two characters in the same frame for some length of time, which was unusual for animation at the time.
  
• Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, and Duck Rabbit Duck are set in the Spring, Fall, and Winter respectively.

Earworms

• Duck Season! Rabbit Season!
  
• No moowah boowets, hey laughing boy…I know I know: no moowah boowets!

 

Rabbit Seasoning 1.1
1952 directed by Chuck Jones
Featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd

Awards

• #30 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time as chosen by members of the animation field.

This is the sequel to Rabbit Fire, and the second entry in the Hunting trilogy. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck again argue over which of them is in season, while a befuddled Elmer Fudd tries to figure out which animal is telling the truth. Between using sneaky plays-on-words, and dressing himself in women's clothing, Bugs manages to escape unscathed, while Daffy repeatedly has his beak blown off.

Trivia

• The title is a play on Rabbit Season
  
• Rabbit Seasoning is most noted for an extended dialogue sequence in which Bugs' plays-on-words cause Daffy pronoun trouble.
  
• See Rabbit Fire for more trivia about the Hunter Trilogy

Earworms

• Duck Season! Rabbit Season!

 

Duck Rabbit Duck 3.1
1953 directed by Chuck Jones
Featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd

This is the sequel to Rabbit Seasoning, and the third and final entry in Jones' hunter trilogy. Daffy Duck removes and burns every Duck Season sign he finds (while humming the tune "La Vie en rose") in order to warm himself in the winter. He attempts to convince Elmer Fudd that it is actually Rabbit Season, prompting Bugs Bunny to use his wits to keep Elmer from shooting him. After each shot, Daffy is forced to put his beak back in place.

Trivia

• The title is a play on the back and forth between targets, and the suggestion that the rabbit should duck to avoid being shot.
  
• This is the only film in the trilogy where Bugs does not cross-dress.
  
• See Rabbit Fire for more trivia about the Hunter Trilogy

Earworms

• Duck Season! Rabbit Season!