I've never been a fan of Robert McKimson's 'Big Top Bunny' and the main reason for that is its villain, Bruno the Slobokian Bear. Aside from his tiresome accent and general lack of charisma, Bruno is so unappealingly designed. A big, ugly brown and white lump, Bruno used to freak me out as a child. I first encountered him on my old Viewmaster which had a single frame from this cartoon, an image of Bugs Bunny flying through the air towards Bruno. I could recognise Bugs instantly of course, but the other character was indistinguishable and disturbing to me. I couldn't tell who or what it was and I used to peer at it through the two eyepieces of the Viewmaster with a mixture of intrigue and genuine unease.
All these years later, I have encountered Bruno on screen several times and my unease has melted into disinterest. Thankfully, this tedious character was never used again after 'Big Top Bunny' and it's not hard to see why. Writer Tedd Pierce struggles to find an enjoyable way to use such a lumpy character and, as a result, Bruno poses so little threat to Bugs that the rabbit doesn't even seem to be trying, resorting in some very feeble clowning. There are a couple of exceptions: an inventive gag involving a pocket watch and the finale in which Bruno and Bugs attempt to one-up each other by threatening to jump off ever higher platforms into diminishing amounts of water, resulting in the deeply satisfying image of Bruno slamming his frightening face into solid cement! Apart from those brief moments of respite, 'Big Top Bunny' is a massive let-down right down to Bugs' off-form final comment to camera.
All these years later, I have encountered Bruno on screen several times and my unease has melted into disinterest. Thankfully, this tedious character was never used again after 'Big Top Bunny' and it's not hard to see why. Writer Tedd Pierce struggles to find an enjoyable way to use such a lumpy character and, as a result, Bruno poses so little threat to Bugs that the rabbit doesn't even seem to be trying, resorting in some very feeble clowning. There are a couple of exceptions: an inventive gag involving a pocket watch and the finale in which Bruno and Bugs attempt to one-up each other by threatening to jump off ever higher platforms into diminishing amounts of water, resulting in the deeply satisfying image of Bruno slamming his frightening face into solid cement! Apart from those brief moments of respite, 'Big Top Bunny' is a massive let-down right down to Bugs' off-form final comment to camera.