Tex Avery is a film director, animator and dubbing actor best known for his work at Warner Brothers. He was the one who brought world fame to the cheerful, nimble and somewhat cheeky rabbit who can clear the air with the simple phrase: “What’s up, Doc?” The roots of this phrase go back to the 1920s when Tex Avery was in school. Read more at i-dallas.
The origin of the legendary phrase
Tex Avery was born in Taylor, Texas, but spent most of his childhood in Dallas. He attended North Dallas High School, where he first became interested in drawing and creating caricatures for the school newspaper.
During those years, the slang term “doc” was popular among teenagers and young people. It was not the informal abbreviation for “doctor” but was used as a synonym for the word “dude.” Tex and his peers greeted each other with “Hi, Doc” and asked, “What’s up, Doc?” That is why, when creating Bugs Bunny, Avery decided to infuse him with a sense of carelessness and lightness that was felt at North Dallas High School during his time there.
The emergence of Bugs Bunny on TV screens
The original version of Bugs Bunny is considered to be the rabbit that appeared in the cartoon Porky’s Hare Hunt, released in 1938. Although he did not have a name and was white, he was already expressive and a little crazy.
This same character reappeared in 1939 in the films Prest-O Change-O and Hare-um Scare-um. His fur was changed to gray and he was called “Bug’s Bunny.” Over time, the quotation marks and apostrophe were dropped, and Bugs Bunny was born.
He debuted on July 27, 1940, in Avery’s film A Wild Hare. It was then that the rabbit approached Elmer Fudd, who was aiming a big gun at him, and said, “What’s up, Doc?” Since then, this phrase has become an inseparable part of the agile rabbit, who is always in control of the situation.
The phrase itself is quite simple and can sound funny in situations where you least expect to hear it. Bugs Bunny does just that. If anyone else were held up at gunpoint, they would probably panic and try to run away. However, Bugs Bunny simply asks, “What’s up, Doc?” while munching on his carrot.
What’s wrong with the carrot?
The scenes where the rabbit constantly gnaws a carrot were borrowed from the movie It Happened One Night. There, in one of the scenes, Clark Gable leans against a fence, eats a carrot and talks to a girl with a full mouth. This scene was quite popular at the time, so people recognized who was being imitated in the cartoon.
Interestingly, the actor Mel Blanc, who voiced this funny character and gave him a Brooklyn accent, also chewed a carrot while reading his lines to accurately convey all of the rabbit’s actions. But he did not swallow it. This led to rumors around 1945 that Mel was allergic to carrots. However, it turned out that the actor simply did not like vegetables.
Other interesting facts about Bugs Bunny
- In 1950, Warner Bros. Pictures released the cartoon What’s Up, Doc? for Bugs Bunny’s 10th anniversary. He gained immense popularity that grew rapidly from the very beginning.
- The character appeared in more than 150 cartoons from 1940 to 1964 alone and became an icon of American culture. Even after so many decades, Bugs Bunny still has a lot of fans and is one of the most recognizable characters in the world.
- Bugs Bunny was the first animated character to appear on a U.S. stamp, which was issued in 1997.
- On December 21, 1985, he received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.