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Apes of Wrath is a 1959 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.

Title[]

The title is a play on the 1939 John Steinbeck novel The Grapes of Wrath and its 1940 film adaptation.

Plot[]

Bugs is in the woods, and The Drunk Stork is talking to himself while completely inebriated, resulting a gorilla baby to walk out of his bag. The stork finds out about the baby's disappearance; so he needs to find a new baby or he'll be kicked out of the Stork Club. He sees Bugs roasting a carrot and singing I Dream of Jeannie with a Light Brown Hare. He knocks him out and sends him to the gorilla's house where a gorilla couple lives.

He brings in the bag closed and they are both excited, until they open the bag, which reveals Bugs. Elvis, the male gorilla, goes to get a mallet but the mother stops him. Bugs tries to get away but the mother spanks him for running away. Elvis, who hates the idea of being a father to Bugs, roars at Bugs and she hits him over the head with a rolling pin, to get him to stop scaring the "baby." Seeing that this will be fun, Bugs decides to go along with it. He even pretends to be a monkey.

Elvis rocks Bugs to sleep, first at a normal speed, then at a fast speed, and after getting hit by his wife, back to a normal speed. Bugs whines for a drink of water and Elvis pours a bucket of it down on Bugs. He then plays horsey with Bugs and he throws him up into the air and he lands on Elvis and then he chases Bugs. But Elvis is confronted by his wife after Bugs reaches her and then Bugs and Mrs. Elvis chase and hit him.

Later, Bugs continuously hits Elvis with a bat. But while that was going on, the stork brings their real baby back and Elvis chases Bugs. Bugs first hides in a tree, but Elvis pulls it out and chases Bugs once more. Bugs finally appreciates the danger he is in when he crosses a rope bridge and tries to keep Elvis at bay by threatening to cut it if the gorilla crosses it; Elvis instead pulls the entire opposing cliffside to him in one effortless yank. Bugs later runs around to another cliff and stops, thinking that he finally lost the mad gorilla. But, after Elvis goes up top and Bugs to the bottom, he throws a huge rock, he dashes away, and it hits the mother after she approaches the cliff. "ELVIS! Guess what the baby said?" She begins to hit him and Bugs says "I'd like to see him eeh-ooh-aah-ooh and but his way outta this one!"

Then the stork delivers Bugs a baby, which turns out to be Daffy Duck! Daffy then says to Bugs, "Ooh, I love you mommy!" and repetitively kisses him, while Bugs is disgusted.

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

  • On ABC, all the scenes with the drunken stork were edited out (including the entire beginning sequence wherein the drunken stork clubs Bugs on the head to substitute him for the real baby ape was gone, and the part near the end where Daffy dives into Bugs's arms and kisses him), along with the scenes of the Elvis getting hit in the head by his wife and Bugs. Further, scenes of Bugs "playfully" hitting Elvis with a stick were shortened.[1]
  • When this cartoon was shown as part of the clip show movie Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales, Bugs' line, "Eh, so I'll be a monkey" after he decides to stay with the gorilla family was redubbed to "Eh, I'll sell books later" (to coincide with the plot about Daffy and Bugs selling stories of their wackiest adventures). Even the ending of that cartoon was cut out to be changed to have Bugs burrow his way out of the jungle and into the open desert.

Notes[]

  • This cartoon recycles the plot from the short "Gorilla My Dreams" (1948), also incorporating plot elements from the short "A Mouse Divided" (1953).
  • This short was used in Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales.
  • When Bugs, disguised as a baby, encourages Mrs. Elvis to repetitively beat her husband Elvis in the head with a rolling pin, he says the lines "Give him another, mummy! And another! And another!" and "Bad ol' daddy!", the latter being a variation of Tweety's catchphrase "Bad ol' putty tat!" Coincidentally, Tweety would also say similar lines to that of Bugs did in "Tweet and Lovely" which was released later that same year when he encourages Hector the Bulldog to repetitively beat up Sylvester.
  • The gag of Bugs threatening to cut the rope, and Elvis pulling the entire opposing cliff has became an internet meme around December 2021.
  • After the gorilla baby is delivered, Bugs, realizing his predicament, borrows Daffy's classic I'm-in-trouble line "Mother!"
  • Due to Daffy's brief cameo at the end, this short marks the first time Bugs lost to Daffy in the end. Daffy would defeat Bugs in the end again in a Tang commercial in the 1960s, the Cartoon Network television special The Big Game XXIX: Bugs Vs. Daffy, and in the New Looney Tunes episode "One Carroter In Search Of An Artist".
  • When the stork hiccups from his drunken speech when taking a break on his delivery trip at the beginning, if one looks closely, the stork is seen having two visible eyeballs in each of his eyes in a number of quick blink-and-miss frames. Whether this is an animation mistake or completely intentional on the animators' part is unknown.

Gallery[]

TV Title Cards[]

References[]


Bugs Bunny Shorts
1938 Porky's Hare Hunt
1939 Prest-O Change-OHare-um Scare-um
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraA Wild Hare
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitTortoise Beats HareHiawatha's Rabbit HuntThe Heckling HareAll This and Rabbit StewWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitHold the Lion, PleaseBugs Bunny Gets the BoidFresh HareThe Hare-Brained HypnotistCase of the Missing Hare
1943 Tortoise Wins by a HareSuper-RabbitJack-Wabbit and the BeanstalkWackiki WabbitFalling Hare
1944 Little Red Riding RabbitWhat's Cookin' Doc?Bugs Bunny and the Three BearsBugs Bunny Nips the NipsHare Ribbin'Hare ForceBuckaroo BugsThe Old Grey HareStage Door Cartoon
1945 Herr Meets HareThe Unruly HareHare TriggerHare ConditionedHare Tonic
1946 Baseball BugsHare RemoverHair-Raising HareAcrobatty BunnyRacketeer RabbitThe Big SnoozeRhapsody Rabbit
1947 Rabbit TransitA Hare Grows in ManhattanEaster YeggsSlick Hare
1948 Gorilla My DreamsA Feather in His HareRabbit PunchBuccaneer BunnyBugs Bunny Rides AgainHaredevil HareHot Cross BunnyHare SplitterA-Lad-In His LampMy Bunny Lies over the Sea
1949 Hare DoMississippi HareRebel RabbitHigh Diving HareBowery BugsLong-Haired HareKnights Must FallThe Grey Hounded HareThe Windblown HareFrigid HareWhich Is WitchRabbit Hood
1950 Hurdy-Gurdy HareMutiny on the BunnyHomeless HareBig House BunnyWhat's Up Doc?8 Ball BunnyHillbilly HareBunker Hill BunnyBushy HareRabbit of Seville
1951 Hare We GoRabbit Every MondayBunny HuggedThe Fair Haired HareRabbit FireFrench RarebitHis Hare Raising TaleBallot Box BunnyBig Top Bunny
1952 Operation: RabbitFoxy by Proxy14 Carrot RabbitWater, Water Every HareThe Hasty HareOily HareRabbit SeasoningRabbit's KinHare Lift
1953 Forward March HareUpswept HareSouthern Fried RabbitHare TrimmedBully for BugsLumber Jack-RabbitDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Captain HareblowerBugs and ThugsNo Parking HareDevil May HareBewitched BunnyYankee Doodle BugsBaby Buggy Bunny
1955 Beanstalk BunnySahara HareHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Hyde and HareKnight-Mare HareRoman Legion-Hare
1956 Bugs' BonnetsBroom-Stick BunnyRabbitson CrusoeNapoleon Bunny-PartBarbary-Coast BunnyHalf-Fare HareA Star Is BoredWideo WabbitTo Hare Is Human
1957 Ali Baba BunnyBedevilled RabbitPiker's PeakWhat's Opera, Doc?Bugsy and MugsyShow Biz BugsRabbit Romeo
1958 Hare-Less WolfHare-Way to the StarsNow, Hare ThisKnighty Knight BugsPre-Hysterical Hare
1959 Baton BunnyHare-abian NightsApes of WrathBackwoods BunnyWild and Woolly HareBonanza BunnyA Witch's Tangled HarePeople Are Bunny
1960 Horse HarePerson to BunnyRabbit's FeatFrom Hare to HeirLighter Than Hare
1961 The Abominable Snow RabbitCompressed HarePrince Violent
1962 Wet HareBill of HareShishkabugs
1963 Devil's Feud CakeThe Million HareHare-Breadth HurryThe UnmentionablesMad as a Mars HareTransylvania 6-5000
1964 Dumb PatrolDr. Devil and Mr. HareThe Iceman DuckethFalse Hare
1979 Bugs Bunny's Christmas CarolFright Before Christmas
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young BunnySpaced Out Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
1995 Carrotblanca
1997 From Hare to Eternity
2004 Hare and Loathing in Las VegasDaffy Duck for President
Daffy Duck Cartoons
1937 Porky's Duck Hunt
1938 Daffy Duck & EggheadWhat Price PorkyPorky & DaffyThe Daffy DocDaffy Duck in Hollywood
1939 Daffy Duck and the DinosaurScalp TroubleWise Quacks
1940 Porky's Last StandYou Ought to Be in Pictures
1941 A Coy DecoyThe Henpecked Duck
1942 Conrad the SailorDaffy's Southern ExposureThe Impatient PatientThe Daffy DuckarooMy Favorite Duck
1943 To Duck .... or Not to DuckThe Wise Quacking DuckYankee Doodle DaffyPorky Pig's FeatScrap Happy DaffyA Corny ConcertoDaffy - The Commando
1944 Tom Turk and DaffyTick Tock TuckeredDuck Soup to NutsSlightly DaffyPlane DaffyThe Stupid Cupid
1945 Draftee DaffyAin't That DuckyNasty Quacks
1946 Book RevueBaby BottleneckDaffy DoodlesHollywood DaffyThe Great Piggy Bank Robbery
1947 Birth of a NotionAlong Came DaffyA Pest in the HouseMexican Joyride
1948 What Makes Daffy DuckDaffy Duck Slept HereThe Up-Standing SitterYou Were Never DuckierDaffy DillyThe Stupor SalesmanRiff Raffy Daffy
1949 Wise QuackersHoliday for DrumsticksDaffy Duck Hunt
1950 Boobs in the WoodsThe Scarlet PumpernickelHis Bitter HalfGolden YeggsThe Ducksters
1951 Rabbit FireDrip-Along DaffyThe Prize Pest
1952 Thumb FunCracked QuackRabbit SeasoningThe Super SnooperFool Coverage
1953 Duck AmuckMuscle TussleDuck Dodgers in the 24½th CenturyDuck! Rabbit, Duck!
1954 Design for LeavingQuack ShotMy Little Duckaroo
1955 Beanstalk BunnySahara HareStork NakedThis Is a Life?Dime to Retire
1956 The High and the FlightyRocket SquadStupor DuckA Star Is BoredDeduce, You Say
1957 Ali Baba BunnyBoston QuackieDucking the DevilShow Biz Bugs
1958 Don't Axe MeRobin Hood Daffy
1959 China JonesPeople Are BunnyApes of Wrath
1960 Person to Bunny
1961 The Abominable Snow RabbitDaffy's Inn Trouble
1962 Quackodile TearsGood Noose
1963 Fast Buck DuckThe Million HareAqua Duck
1964 The Iceman Ducketh
1965 It's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the HouseMoby DuckAssault and PepperedWell Worn DaffySuppressed DuckCorn on the CopTease for TwoChili Corn CornyGo Go Amigo
1966 The AstroduckMucho LocosMexican MousepieceDaffy RentsA-Haunting We Will GoSnow ExcuseA Squeak in the DeepFeather FingerSwing Ding AmigoA Taste of Catnip
1967 Daffy's DinerQuacker TrackerThe Music Mice-TroThe Spy SwatterSpeedy Ghost to TownRodent to StardomGo Away StowawayFiesta Fiasco
1968 Skyscraper CaperSee Ya Later Gladiator
1980 The Yolks on YouThe Chocolate ChaseDaffy Flies NorthDuck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century
1987 The Duxorcist
1988 The Night of the Living Duck
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
1995 Carrotblanca
1996 Superior Duck
2003 Attack of the Drones
2004 Daffy Duck for President
2012 Daffy's Rhapsody
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