Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny

"Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny," a Warner Bros. cartoon, features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, with cameos from Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The title references James Joyce's novel *A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man*. Released in 1980 as part of the TV special "Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over" on CBS, it was one of four new Bugs Bunny cartoons produced between 1979 and 1980, ending a 16-year hiatus since 1964's "False Hare."

The plot follows Bugs Bunny, who crashes into a tree after dismissing the excitement of summer vacation as absurd. In his dream, a younger Bugs meets a youthful Elmer Fudd, reenacting classic cartoon scenarios, including the "death scene" and Bugs threatening to expose Elmer. During their interactions, Elmer nearly falls off a cliff but learns about gravity from a book Bugs leaves for him. Ignorant of gravity afterward, Elmer shoots Bugs with a machine gun that fires corks. The adult Bugs wakes up unharmed, humorously remarking on how young they were to start chasing each other. The cartoon ends with a young Wile E. Coyote chasing an unhatched Road Runner.

This film revisits iconic characters and their dynamics while incorporating elements of absurdity and nostalgia.