A-Lad-In His Lamp
| A-Lad-In His Lamp | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Animation by | Charles McKimson Phil DeLara Manny Gould John Carey A.C. Gamer (effects animation) |
| Layouts by | Cornett Wood |
| Backgrounds by | Richard H. Thomas |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Running time | 7:15 |
A-Lad-In His Lamp is a 1948 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and featuring the Genie and Caliph Hassan Pfeiffer who is after Bugs and the Genie in his lamp. The voice of Bugs Bunny and Caliph Hassan Pfeiffer (Mad Man Hassan) is voiced by Mel Blanc and the voice of the Smokey the Genie is played by Jim Backus in one of his first professional roles. This is the sixth Bugs Bunny cartoon where the title does not refer to "hare", "rabbit", or "bunny". The cartoon is a takeoff of the story of Aladdin's Lamp. Elements of this short would later be re-used for the Arabian Era in Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters
Plot
Bugs finds Aladdin's lamp while digging a rabbit hole; believing it junk, he starts to clean it, and a genie appears and tells him to make a wish. Calling him "Smokey", Bugs reluctantly starts to make multiple wishes, only to be interrupted by the genie each time; Bugs ultimately requests two carrots, which the genie produces. Smokey remarks that he wants to return to his home in Baghdad and wishes to take Bugs with him, so Bugs accepts (through a wish), and the two fly off to Baghdad. Before they arrive in Baghdad (here spelled as "Bagdad"), the aerial view depicts two bodies of water named Veronica Lake and Turhan Bay; when in the city, the view includes places such as "The Brown Turban", the Temple Bell telephone company with a sign for Persian to Persian calls, and Mad Man Hassan's used magic carpet lot.
Bugs and the Genie in the lamp arrive in Baghdad, but Bugs' flying in the air sputters and conks out and Bugs and the lamp fall into the Royal Palace of Caliph Hassen Pheffer (built on a GI Loan), first angering the Caliph, who then wants the lamp. When Bugs refuses, the Caliph threatens Bugs at swordpoint; after Bugs escapes the sword, a chase starts. When Bugs hides behind a door and ladies shriek, forcing him out of that room, Bugs points out it is a harem ("Er, uh, a 'hare-um', I think."), which encourages Smokey to pop out and take a peek himself ("Oh, that was a harem, alright! I know a harem when I see one!")
Bugs' attempts to get the lazy genie's help fail: successive attempts find Smokey bathing, eating, and beating Bugs with a stick. Bugs quickly tries to escape from the Caliph by taking a magic carpet, rigged with an outboard motor. On the magic carpet, Bugs tries again but interrupts the genie, who is kissing a female genie; her disappearance prompts Smokey to leave, but only after threatening Bugs with a beating for the next disturbance.
At this moment, the magic carpet runs out of gas, making Bugs crash land back into the palace and the Caliph has the lamp now. When the Caliph tries to get the genie out of the lamp, in spite of Bugs warning him not to ("You'll be SORRY!"), Smokey erupts, larger and angrier than before and beats the Caliph to a pulp. Cheering Bugs on his victory, he grants Bugs a wish as a celebration. He whispers to Smokey, who produces a ball that ends up as a puff of smoke when dropped. The scene concludes showing Bugs as a Caliph himself, surrounded by a harem of female rabbits and wondering about the plight of other rabbits.
Home Video Releases
A-Lad-In His Lamp is known only to exist on the Warner Home Video laserdisc Wince Upon A Time, and the VHS release titled Bugs Bunny's Hare Raising Tales.