Happy 75th birthday, Bugs Bunny! | South Florida Super Fun Team

The only time Disney’s biggest star Mickey Mouse and Warner Bros’ biggest star Bugs Bunny came together was in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Bugs Bunny, one of the most-loved cartoons in the world has turned 75! May you live forever – despite all the Elmer Fudd’s, Yosemite Sam’s and corporate Tasmanian Devil’s in your way.

Bugs Bunny made his official debut in a Tex Avery cartoon, A Wild Hare, released on this date in 1940. Mel Blanc, who provided his smart-alecky voice, wanted to name the character after Hardaway – another legend has it that a designer drew up the sketch at the director’s request, and captioned it “Bugs’ bunny”.

Bugs debuted in the incarnation that has survived for decades in the 1940 cartoon A Wild Hare, which includes the first time he uttered his iconic catchphrase, “What’s up, Doc?” How did he get his name?

However, many people believe What’s Opera, Doc? is Bugs Bunny’s best.

Bugs Bunny became the first cartoon to be on the US postage stamp, in 1997. The sheer force and power of the animated Looney Tunes shorts of Bugs Bunny are like the symphonies of Beethoven or the flawless works of a Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington – Americana in its truest sense of the form, nearly a camp raised to the highest castle.

Hit PLAY on the video above, then drop a comment below: Do you have a favorite Bugs Bunny memory?