- “What's up, Doc?”
- ―Bugs Bunny's catchphrase in various productions.
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character, best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of theatrical short films produced by Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American Animation. His popularity during this era led to his becoming an American cultural icon, as well as a corporate mascot of the Warner Bros. company.
Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare, famous for his relaxed, passive personality, pronounced New York accent (Mel Blanc, Bugs' original voice actor, described the voice as being a mixture of Brooklyn and Bronx accents), depiction as a mischievous trickster, and his catchphrase "Eh, what's up, doc?" (usually said while chewing a carrot). Though a similar rabbit character (also known as Happy Rabbit) first appeared in the 1938 short "Porky's Hare Hunt", directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, the definitive characterization of Bugs Bunny is widely credited to have made his debut in the Oscar-nominated 1940 short "A Wild Hare", directed by Tex Avery.
Bugs starred in over 160 short films produced between 1940 and 1964, most of which were directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, and Robert McKimson. He has since appeared in various other productions that include feature films (i.e. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam), television series (i.e. The Looney Tunes Show, New Looney Tunes), compilation films (i.e. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie), compilation series (i.e. The Bugs and Daffy Show), and video games (i.e. MultiVersus). Bugs has also appeared in more films (both short and feature-length) than any other cartoon character, has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is the 9th most-portrayed film personality in the world.
Notably, Bugs Bunny helped launch Cartoon Network when it debuted on October 1, 1992, as the first cartoon to air was Bugs' 1946 short "Rhapsody Rabbit".