Prince Violent
| Prince Violent (Prince Varmint) | |
|---|---|
 Original issue title card | |
| Directed by | Friz Freleng Hawley Pratt |
| Story by | Dave Detiege |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Edited by | Treg Brown |
| Music by | Milt Franklyn |
| Animation by | Gerry Chiniquy Virgil Ross Art Davis Bob Matz |
| Layouts by | Willie Ito |
| Backgrounds by | Tom O'Loughlin |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures Vitagraph Company of America |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6 minutes 21 seconds |
| Language | English |
Prince Violent (retitled Prince Varmint for television until the 2020s) is a 1961 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and Freleng's longtime layout artist Hawley Pratt.[1] The short was released on September 2, 1961, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.[2] The title is a pun on "Prince Valiant", a long-running comic strip at the time. The film is a war comedy set in the Viking era.
The film depicts a Viking invasion led by Sam. He easily enters the local castle, but Bugs disarms him and expels him from the castle. Sam's subsequent attempts at a siege are always thwarted by Bugs' imaginative schemes. Sam eventually gives up and leaves the area, though he vows revenge.
Plot
[edit]A Viking named Sam the Terrible (Yosemite Sam) embarks on a mission of invasion, rowing towards a castle along a river. Observing his approach, Bugs Bunny, a resident of the castle's vicinity, initially dismisses Sam's attire as resembling a "broken loose electric can opener." However, upon witnessing Sam's forcible entry into the castle, Bugs resolves to confront the intruder.
Engaging Sam in a series of comedic skirmishes, Bugs employs clever tactics to outsmart the Viking. In their initial encounter, Bugs deftly disarms Sam and ridicules his costume, prompting Sam's expulsion from the castle. Subsequent confrontations see Bugs employing imaginative schemes, including painting a faux door on the castle walls and orchestrating the elephant's unwitting involvement in thwarting Sam's siege attempts.
Despite Sam's relentless pursuit, Bugs continuously outwits him, culminating in the Viking's humiliating defeat. Sam's various schemes, including catapulting rocks and mining beneath the castle, are foiled by Bugs' ingenuity and the inadvertent assistance of the elephant.
Ultimately, Sam's frustration escalates as his efforts are consistently thwarted. Vowing revenge against Bugs and the elephant, Sam departs, leaving behind a scene of chaos. As the narrative concludes, Bugs muses on the achievements attainable through resourcefulness, rewarding the elephant with peanuts for its unwitting assistance.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 333. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
External links
[edit]
- 1961 films
- 1961 American animated films
- 1961 animated short films
- 1961 war films
- 1961 comedy films
- 1960s war comedy films
- 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films
- 1961 English-language films
- Looney Tunes shorts
- Animated films set in castles
- Animated films set in the Viking Age
- Short films directed by Friz Freleng
- Films scored by Milt Franklyn
- Prince Valiant
- Bugs Bunny films
- Yosemite Sam films
- Films produced by David H. DePatie
- Films directed by Hawley Pratt
- Animated films about elephants
- English-language short films
- Films about invasions
- Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films