Knighty Knight Bugs

2025-09-21T09:49:43Z

2A00:23C7:B516:DE01:64A2:5A6A:17D4:E07: /* References */

{{short description|1958 film by Friz Freleng}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Knighty Knight Bugs
| image = KnightKnightBugs-TC.png
| director = [[Friz Freleng]]
| story = [[Warren Foster]]
| animator = [[Gerry Chiniquy]]<br/>[[Arthur Davis (animator)|Arthur Davis]]<br/>[[Virgil Ross]]
| layout_artist = [[Hawley Pratt]]
| background_artist = Tom O'Loughlin
| starring = [[Mel Blanc]]
| music = [[Milt Franklyn]]
| producer = [[John W. Burton (film producer)|John W. Burton, Sr.]]
| studio = [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| released = {{Film date|1958|08|23}}
| color_process = [[Technicolor]]
| runtime = 6:28
}}

'''''Knighty Knight Bugs''''' is a 1958 [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon directed by [[Friz Freleng]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=309}}</ref> The short was released on August 23, 1958, and stars [[Bugs Bunny]] and [[Yosemite Sam]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/60/mode/2up |pages=60–62}}</ref>

''Knighty Knight Bugs'' is the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win an [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film]], which was awarded in [[31st Academy Awards|1959]].<ref name="1958 Academy Awards">{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148765.html |title=1958 Academy Awards |access-date=2024-10-18}}</ref> The short was later included in the 1981 compilation film ''[[The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie]]''. The cartoon's title is a pun on the phrase "nighty-night".

==Plot==
[[File:Knighty Knight Bugs.png|thumb|left|250px|Bugs Bunny aims his mallet at Black Knight Yosemite Sam]]
In the realm of [[King Arthur]], trouble ensues when the infamous Black Knight Yosemite Sam steals the Singing Sword. King Arthur, looks to the [[Knights of the Round Table]], as a volunteer to recover the stolen artifact, to which all of them reject. Reluctantly, court jester Bugs Bunny is assigned the mission by King Arthur, facing execution if he fails.

Upon infiltrating the castle of the [[Black knight|Black Knight]], Bugs encounters a dragon, a companion to Yosemite Sam, suffering from a cold-induced sneezing fit. Taking advantage of the situation, Bugs retrieves the Singing Sword from the castle's chest. When Bugs wonders aloud why it is called the Singing Sword, it starts humming "[[Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine]]" and causes Sam to wake up from his nap. As Bugs escapes, Yosemite Sam gives chase of the dragon, leading to a series of comical encounters. Bugs outsmarts Yosemite Sam by utilizing the castle's defenses against him, causing various mishaps, including Sam falling into the moat and being flattened by a failed catapult launch. Despite Sam's persistent pursuit, Bugs ultimately traps him and the dragon in an explosives stockade within the castle.

As Bugs departs with the Singing Sword, the dragon's sneeze triggers an explosion that propels Sam and the dragon towards the moon. Bugs bids them farewell as the Singing Sword plays "[[Aloha 'Oe]]" at the end.

==Awards==
''Knighty Knight Bugs'' is the fifth ''Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes'' entry to win the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film]] in [[31st Academy Awards|1959]]. In doing so, it beat out cartoons [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Studios]]' ''[[Paul Bunyan (film)|Paul Bunyan]]'' and [[Terrytoons]]' ''Sidney's Family Tree''.<ref name="1958 academy awards">{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148765.html |title=1958 academy awards |access-date=2007-09-20}}</ref> It was the third Oscar-nominated Bugs Bunny cartoon, after ''[[A Wild Hare]]'' in [[13th Academy Awards|1941]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148142.html |title=1940 Academy Awards |access-date=2007-09-20}}</ref> and ''[[Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt]]'' in [[14th Academy Awards|1942]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148172.html |title=1941 Academy Awards |access-date=2007-09-20}}</ref> The Oscar was presented to [[John W. Burton (animation)|John W. Burton]], the producer of this cartoon.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6AipTOMpd0 Short Subject Winners: 1959 Oscars]</ref> After Burton's death, the Oscar was handed to the director, Friz Freleng.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cartoonist Friz Freleng dead at 89 |url=https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FOswego%2520NY%2520Palladium%2FOswego%2520NY%2520Palladium%2520May-June%25201995%2FOswego%2520NY%2520Palladium%2520May-June%25201995%2520-%25200552.pdf |date=1995-05-27 |access-date=2023-01-20 |work=The Palladium-Times |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Also, this animated short film would last to receive win for the [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] before its closure in 1964.

In the ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' episode "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?", the Oscar win of ''Knighty Knight Bugs'' is a major plot point. Mirroring the real-life loss of the [[Terrytoons]] short at the Academy Awards, a character named Sappy "Slaphappy" Stanley (a parody of "Silly" Sidney, here voiced by [[Jonathan Winters]]) was defeated for the [[Oscar (award)|Shloscar Award]]. As a result, Stanley scorned the U.S. film industry. He relocated to France, where [[Jerry Lewis|despite becoming a national star]] still nursed a bitter grudge against Bugs, culminating in the episode's plot.

==References==
* The phrase "Sir Loin of Beef" was used in Bugs Bunny parody ''[[Rabbit Hood]]'' by Bugs to con the gullible Sheriff of Nottingham.
* The phrase "Sir Osis of Liver" was used in the Bugs Bunny parody ''[[Knight-mare Hare]]''.
* The gag on a dopey fire-breathing dragon was also used in ''Knight-mare Hare'' and the cartoon series ''[[Here Comes the Grump]]''.

==Home media==
This cartoon is featured uncut on Disc 1 of the ''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4]]'' DVD set,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=4987 |title=Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Four DVD Review |access-date=2007-09-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010024601/http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=4987 |archive-date=2007-10-10 }}</ref> Disc 1 of the ''[[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection]]'' DVD set, Disc 1 of ''[[The Essential Bugs Bunny]]'' DVD set, Disc 1 of the ''[[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3]]'' Blu-ray and DVD sets, and Disc 3 of the ''[[Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection]]'' Blu-ray set.

==Attractions==
[[File:Bugs' White Water Rapids at SFFT.jpg|thumb|250px|Bugs' White Water Rapids at Six Flags Fiesta Texas]]
[[Bugs' White Water Rapids]] is a [[Hopkins Rides]] [[log flume]] themed to ''Knighty Knight Bugs'' that opened in 1998 at [[Six Flags Fiesta Texas]] in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]].<ref name="Bugs' White Water Rapids">{{cite web|title=Bugs' White Water Rapids|url=http://www.sixflags.com/fiestaTexas/rides/BugsWhiteWaterRapids.aspx|publisher=Six Flags Fiesta Texas|access-date=December 14, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Fiesta Texas History">{{cite web|title=Fiesta Texas History|url=http://www.coasterphotos.com/SFFT/sfft_history.htm|access-date=December 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323193801/http://www.coasterphotos.com/SFFT/sfft_history.htm|archive-date=March 23, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Bug's White Water Rapids Info">{{cite web|title=Bug's White Water Rapids|url=http://sfftnet.com/attractions.php?id=bugswhitewaterrapids|access-date=December 14, 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106184646/http://www.sfftnet.com/attractions.php?id=bugswhitewaterrapids|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also ==
* [[List of Bugs Bunny cartoons]]
* [[List of Yosemite Sam cartoons]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0051825|title=Knighty Knight Bugs}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Now Hare This]] |
title= [[List of Bugs Bunny cartoons|Bugs Bunny Cartoons]] |
years= 1958 |
after= [[Pre-Hysterical Hare]]|}}
{{s-end}}

{{Bugs Bunny in animation}}
{{Yosemite Sam in animation}}
{{Friz Freleng}}
{{Films based on Arthurian legends}}
{{AcademyAwardBestAnimatedShortFilm 1941–1960}}

[[Category:1958 films]]
[[Category:Arthurian animated films]]
[[Category:Best Animated Short Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Short films directed by Friz Freleng]]
[[Category:Films set in the Middle Ages]]
[[Category:Films set in England]]
[[Category:Films scored by Milt Franklyn]]
[[Category:Looney Tunes shorts]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films]]
[[Category:Animated films about dragons]]
[[Category:Bugs Bunny films]]
[[Category:Films set in castles]]
[[Category:1950s Warner Bros. animated short films]]
[[Category:Yosemite Sam films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Warren Foster]]
[[Category:1958 animated short films]]

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Knighty Knight Bugs