Foxy by Proxy
| Foxy by Proxy | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng Borrowed director: Tex Avery (uncredited) |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Stan Freberg (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Virgil Ross Arthur Davis Manuel Perez Ken Champin Borrowed animation: Robert McKimson (uncredited) |
| Layouts by | Hawley Pratt |
| Backgrounds by | Irv Wyner Borrowed backgrounds: John Didrik Johnsen (uncredited) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7:01 |
| Language | English |
Foxy by Proxy is a 1952 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.[1] The short was released on February 23, 1952, and features Bugs Bunny and Willoughby the Dog, in his latter last appearance.[2] Mel Blanc voices Bugs Bunny and one of the dogs that talks in the short, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voices Willoughby. This cartoon is considered a remake to Of Fox and Hounds from 1940; in fact, the opening sequence was "borrowed" directly from the original.
Plot
A number of smaller hounds come out of a giant dog house, followed by a large fox hound (Willoughby, voiced by Freberg) who is excited by the prospect of the hunt, especially the moment where the fox's tail is to be cut off. The hunters and dogs then pass over Bugs' hole, waking him, with the large fox hound lagging behind. Once Bugs directs Willoughby to where the others went, Bugs dons a fox costume and begins to play tricks with Willoughby, leaving Bugs amazed at the dog's inability to recognise a fox. Once the large hound realizes the difference, he runs back to the tree where Bugs is now undressed. The bunny giggles at Willoughby's intelligence, saying that "I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer!" At this point, Bugs (with his fox costume back on) stamps fox tracks to mislead this hound, which lead to train tracks, which Willoughby continues to follow. Once Willoughby reaches Bugs and tries to get him, Bugs questions what kind of tracks the dog was following, which ends up putting Willoughby on the front of a locomotive, while Willoughby exclaims that he caught a train.
Meanwhile, the other dogs have caught up to Bugs in his costume and he tries to evade them, but to no avail. When he reveals that he is a rabbit, one of the dogs (voiced by an uncredited Stan Freberg) declares that they are now after rabbits. After a short chase, which includes Bugs running through an open log, Bugs then runs back into the log, and while the dogs run into it, Bugs turns the log three times to ensure that the crowd of dogs always run off the cliff, with the crowd falling to the ground after the third turn. While Bugs is chuckling at their misfortune, Willoughby sneaks up behind Bugs with a pair of scissors, cuts Bugs' tail off, and runs away with it. Bugs shrugs to the audience, "Just call me Stubby!". He walks away, his cottontail missing.
Availability
- Laserdisc - Bugs & Friends
- DVD - Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire
- Streaming - Boomerang App
- Streaming - HBO Max
References
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 233. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
 | This Merrie Melodies–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1952 films
- 1952 animated films
- 1952 short films
- 1950s American animated films
- 1950s animated short films
- Merrie Melodies shorts
- American films
- Short films directed by Friz Freleng
- Animated films about foxes
- Films scored by Carl Stalling
- Films featuring Bugs Bunny
- Warner Bros. animated short films, 1950s
- Merrie Melodies stubs