View source for Witch Hazel (Looney Tunes)

{{short description|Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Witch Hazel (''Looney Tunes'')}}
{{Infobox character
| name       = Witch Hazel
| series     = [[Looney Tunes]]
| image      = hazel0149.jpg
| caption    =
| first      = ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]'' ({{Start date and age|1954|7|24}}) 
| creator    = [[Chuck Jones]]
| alias      = Witch Lezah
| species    = Human
| occupation = [[Witchcraft|Witch]]
| voice      = {{Plainlist|
* [[Bea Benaderet]] (1954)
* [[June Foray]] (1956–2002)
* [[Tress MacNeille]] (1992–1994)
* [[Roz Ryan]] (2011–2013)
* Lauri Fraser (2014)<ref>{{cite web |title=Witch Hazel Voice - Looney Tunes Dash (Video Game) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Looney-Tunes-Dash/Witch-Hazel/ |website=Behind The Voice Actors |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030075835/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Looney-Tunes-Dash/Witch-Hazel/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Candi Milo]] (2017–present)
* [[Eric Bauza]] (2018)<ref>{{cite web |title=Witch Hazel Voice - Looney Tunes World of Mayhem (Video Game) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Looney-Tunes-World-of-Mayhem/Witch-Hazel/ |website=Behind The Voice Actors |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613035234/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Looney-Tunes-World-of-Mayhem/Witch-Hazel/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
}}
'''Witch Hazel''' is an [[animation|animated cartoon]] character in the [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' series of cartoons and TV shows. Witch Hazel is a [[fairy tale]] witch antagonist with green skin, a round figure, bulbous facial features, and a single tooth. The name is a pun on the [[witch-hazel]] plant and [[folk remedies]] based on it.

Created by [[Chuck Jones]] during the [[golden age of American animation]], the character was originally voiced by [[Bea Benaderet]] in 1954's ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]''. Benaderet would later be replaced by [[June Foray]], who voiced the character almost exclusively beginning with 1956's ''[[Broom-Stick Bunny]]'' and concluding with 2002's ''Twick or Tweety''. [[Tress MacNeille]] would briefly voice Witch Hazel from 1992 to 1994 for episodes of ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' and ''[[Animaniacs]]''. After Foray's departure from the role, the character was voiced by [[Roz Ryan]] from 2011 to 2013 for ''[[The Looney Tunes Show]]'' (as Witch Lezah) and by [[Candi Milo]] from 2017 onward.

==Concept and creation==
Different characters of the same name appeared in several studios' short films throughout the [[golden age of American animation]]: the first was in the [[Disney]] cartoon ''[[Trick or Treat (1952 film)|Trick or Treat]]'' (1952), voiced by [[June Foray]].<ref name=am>{{cite web|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/which-witch-is-which/|title=Which Witch is Which?|last=Mallory|first=Michael|work=[[Animation Magazine]]|date=2014-10-23|access-date=2019-06-24|archive-date=2019-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624113348/https://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/which-witch-is-which/|url-status=live}}</ref> Inspired by [[List of Duck universe characters#Witch Hazel|this character]], [[Chuck Jones]] created his own witch for [[Warner Bros.]], reusing the same pun.<ref name=greene>{{cite book|title=Bell, Book and Camera|last=Greene|first=Heather|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4766-6252-7|page=96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ1WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT104|access-date=2019-06-24|archive-date=2022-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615022710/https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ1WDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT104|url-status=live}}</ref> Jones could do this because the name was already in use in commercial products;<ref name=am/> Foray said that the characters were also not expected to have any longevity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Did You Grow Up with Me, Too? - The Autobiography of June Foray|last=Foray|first=June|publisher=BearManor Media|year=2015|isbn=978-1-59393-461-3|chapter=Chapter Seven: Chuck Who?|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k0qqCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT67|access-date=2019-06-24|archive-date=2022-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615022641/https://books.google.com/books?id=k0qqCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT67|url-status=live}}</ref> In her initial appearance, ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]'' (1954), she is voiced by [[Bea Benaderet]]. Starting with ''[[Broom-Stick Bunny]]'' (1956), Foray took over voicing the character.<ref name=am/> To differentiate the characters, Foray said that she performed the Disney version with a British accent, but the Warner Bros. version was "all American".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors|last1=Lawson|first1=Tim|last2=Persons|first2=Alisa|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|year=2004|isbn=1-57806-696-4|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DpRQ7CPkvkAC&pg=PA155|access-date=2019-06-24|archive-date=2022-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615022643/https://books.google.com/books?id=DpRQ7CPkvkAC&pg=PA155|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite their common name, Jones' Witch Hazel is a much different witch from her Disney counterpart. The Looney Tunes character is a highly stylized villainess. Her rotund, green-skinned body is wrapped in a plain, blue dress and supported by twig-like legs. She has wild black hair from which [[Hairpin (fashion)|hairpins]] fly and spin in midair whenever she zooms off on her broom or cackles in glee over her next evil scheme and she wears a crumpled black hat. Her nose and chin jut bulbously from her face and her mouth sports a single tooth. She has two pets: a tarantula named Paul, and a black cat. She also has two magic brooms: one for sweeping the floor and one for flying.

In her appearances in Chuck Jones' cartoons, Witch Hazel was a sweet, lovable grandmother type of person...who just happened to be an evil witch.  She was always smiling and laughing, and she loved doing grandmotherly things such as baking cookies and serving lots of ice cream to children...even as she prepared to eat them alive, as in ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]'' when she brought [[Hansel and Gretel]] into her home.

==Appearances==
===Golden age===
[[File:Witch Hazel transformed.png|thumb|Transformed into a female rabbit, Witch Hazel gets Bugs Bunny's attention in ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]'' (1954)]]
''Bewitched Bunny'' retells the [[fairy tale]] about ''[[Hansel and Gretel]]''. Witch Hazel plays the witch who attempts to cook and eat the titular children. Bugs Bunny witnesses her coax the children inside and saves them from Witch Hazel's clutches because the Masked Avenger is not around. Once the witch realizes that Bugs is a [[rabbit]], she chases him to put him into her witch's brew. Upon putting Bugs into a sleeping spell, he is awoken by a kiss from [[Prince Charming]]; Bugs then tells him that he is in the wrong story. Bugs eventually uses Hazel's own magic against her and transforms her into a female rabbit, to whom he is instantly attracted. He then walks away with her while he breaks the [[fourth wall]] and comments, "Ah sure, I know. But aren't they all witches inside?"

In ''Broom-Stick Bunny'', Witch Hazel takes great pride in her status as the ugliest witch. While [[trick-or-treating]] on [[Halloween]] as a witch, Bugs Bunny visits Witch Hazel's house and she mistakes him for an actual witch. So does her magic mirror, which warns, "You're an ugly one, 'tis true; but ''that'' creep is uglier far than you!" Jealous that this newcomer is uglier than herself, Hazel attempts to trick the "witch" into drinking a "Pretty Potion" disguised as tea. Bugs removes his mask to drink it and she becomes obsessed with using the rabbit in her witch's brew. Hazel captures him by tricking him with a carrot. Hazel is about to kill Bugs, but becomes distraught when his sad eyes remind her of Paul, her pet [[tarantula]]. Bugs calms her down with a beverage which turns out to be the Pretty Potion. Transformed into a beautiful young woman, Hazel asks her magic mirror if she is still ugly. The genie in her mirror instantly falls in love with her and Hazel flies off into the night on her [[Besom|flying broomstick]] and the genie chases after her on his [[magic carpet]]. Bugs calls Air Raid headquarters to alert them about a "Flying sorceress chased by a genie with light brown hair."

Bugs Bunny was pitted against Witch Hazel for the last time in ''[[A Witch's Tangled Hare]]'' (1959), a [[parody]] of ''[[Macbeth]]''. This short was directed by [[Abe Levitow]]. Rabbit is once again the missing ingredient to Witch Hazel's brew and Bugs happens to be in the area. Meanwhile, a [[William Shakespeare]] look-alike observes the action in search of inspiration. Bugs finds out that the man is not William Shakespeare, but is actually a man named Sam Crubish. Witch Hazel hears this and it appears that the two know each other but have not seen each other in a while because Crubish had the wrong apartment number, "2B". The poet and Witch Hazel leave talking about who made the mistake. Bugs Bunny quotes the famous line from ''[[Hamlet]]'' – "[[To be, or not to be]], that is the question."

The Bugs Bunny short ''[[Transylvania 6-5000 (1963 film)|Transylvania 6-5000]]'' (1963) features a brief, silent cameo appearance from Witch Hazel (or a character very similar to her) as Bugs briefly transforms [[Count Bloodcount]], the cartoon's [[vampire]] antagonist, into her through the use of a magic spell.

Once production shifted to [[DePatie–Freleng Enterprises]], Witch Hazel appeared in the cartoon ''[[A-Haunting We Will Go (1966 film)|A-Haunting We Will Go]]'' (1966), which also starred [[Daffy Duck]] and [[Speedy Gonzales]].

===After the Golden Age===
All four of Witch Hazel's original ''Looney Tunes'' short cartoons were edited and repurposed into the 1977 television special ''[[Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special]]''. June Foray recorded new and redubbed dialogue for Witch Hazel in the special, including in newly animated content to link the classic clips together into one narrative.

Witch Hazel made a cameo in the deleted "Pig Head" scene of the film ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' (1988)''.'' She is seen flying around on Beelzebub before getting struck by lightning.

Witch Hazel has appeared in cameos in various Warner Bros. productions, such as the movie ''[[Space Jam]]'' (1996) and its stand-alone sequel ''[[Space Jam: A New Legacy]]'' (2021), the video games ''[[The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2]]'' (in which she is the primary antagonist), ''[[Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time]]'' (in which she appears as a [[Boss (video games)|boss]] and also appears on the cover of the game) and ''[[Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!]]'' (2000), one episode each of ''[[Animaniacs]]'' (in a Rita and Runt episode), ''[[The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries]]'', ''[[Pinky and the Brain]]'', ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' and ''[[Duck Dodgers]]'' (which references ''Broom-Stick Bunny'' and where June Foray returns to do her voice). She was also featured as the lead antagonist in [[DC Comics]]' three-issue ''[[Bugs Bunny]]'' miniseries from 1990 (though at the ending of the storyline, her appearance there is actually revealed to be a disguised [[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner|Wile E. Coyote]]). She was used as an enemy in Scott Lowenstein's ''Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4'' and her silhouette can be seen on the cover of the game. Witch Hazel has a cameo in the [[Looney Tunes: Back in Action (video game)|video game adaptation of]] ''[[Looney Tunes: Back in Action]]'' as a painting parodying the [[Mona Lisa]] in the Louvre Museum. Witch Hazel is also spotted in a ''[[MetLife]]'' commercial in 2012.

Witch Hazel also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the film ''[[Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run]]''.

Witch Hazel also starred in the ''[[New Looney Tunes]]'' segments "Finders Keepers, Losers Sweepers", "Hiccups and Downs" and "It's Snout or Never".

Witch Hazel made her first appearance in the ''[[Looney Tunes Cartoons]]'' short "Hex Appeal", which is part of a Halloween special titled ''Bugs Bunny's Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula''.

Witch Hazel appears in the ''[[Teen Titans Go!]]'' episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary". She is among the Looney Tunes characters guests for the Warner Bros. centennial celebration.

===Witch Lezah===
The 2011 animated series ''[[The Looney Tunes Show]]'' introduces Witch Hazel renamed to '''Witch Lezah'''.<ref name=am/> Lezah ("Hazel" spelled backwards) is voiced by [[Roz Ryan]], who gives the character a pronounced [[African American Vernacular English|black accent]]. In the series, she is [[Gossamer (Looney Tunes)|Gossamer]]'s mother. Unlike the other characters and her original character, she is always serious and gives advice that is not nonsensical and is more calm. She has a contradictory relationship with Daffy; she once threatened him into helping Gossamer make friends. Once Gossamer has friends she asks Daffy to stay away despite all his hard work. She has been a [[hypnotherapy|hypnotherapist]] by trade, as seen in "Point, Laser Point", where she provided [[Sylvester the Cat|Sylvester]] with services when he was in denial about his relationship with his mother. In "It's a Handbag", she helped Daffy recall who took his handbag. In "Best Friends Redux", Witch Lezah has a time portal in her home, which Daffy uses to jealously ensure that Bugs Bunny and Rodney Rabbit never meet. When nobody knows Daffy, Witch Lezah, who is unaffected by the time change, sends Daffy back in time to correct it, as it's ultimately because of Rodney that Bugs and Daffy met and became friends. Daffy uses Witch Lezah's time portal again to make sure he and Porky Pig meet.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* All about [https://chuckjones.com/characters/witch-hazel/ Witch Hazel] on [[Chuck Jones]] Official Website.

{{Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies}}
{{Witch Hazel (Looney Tunes) in animation}}
{{Chuck Jones}}

[[Category:Animated human characters]]
[[Category:Female characters in animation]]
[[Category:Animated villains]]
[[Category:Animated characters introduced in 1954]]
[[Category:Film characters introduced in 1954]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who use magic]]
[[Category:Looney Tunes characters]]
[[Category:Characters created by Chuck Jones]]