| Director: | Robert Clampett |
| Story: | Lou Lilly |
| Animator: | Manny Gould |
| Starring: | Mel Blanc |
| Music: | Carl W. Stalling |
| Producer: | Leon Schlesinger |
| Studio: | Leon Schlesinger Productions |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Color Process: | Technicolor |
| Language: | English |
Buckaroo Bugs is a 1944 American Western Looney Tunes cartoon film directed by Bob Clampett.[1] The cartoon was released on August 26, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny in his official Looney Tunes debut.[2]
In the quaint town of San Fernando Alley, Bugs Bunny assumes the role of the Masked Marauder, a notorious carrot thief. Red Hot Ryder, tasked with apprehending the Marauder, repeatedly fails due to his inability to discern Bugs Bunny from the actual culprit. Despite eventually catching on, Ryder remains outsmarted by Bugs, who cleverly tricks him and his horse into plunging into the Grand Canyon. As the dust settles, Ryder finally realizes Bugs's true identity, culminating in a humorous revelation.[3] [4]
Buckaroo Bugs and The Old Grey Hare share the same opening title font and were both directed by Clampett in the same year. Buckaroo Bugs served as Bugs Bunny's inaugural short in the Looney Tunes series, coinciding with a period where both Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes were converging in style. Additionally, the Looney Tunes series transitioned to full-time three-hue Technicolor in 1944.
This marked Leon Schlesinger's final Warner Bros. cartoon as producer, as he sold the studio to Warner Bros. around the time of its release. Despite this, Schlesinger remained involved in marketing the characters until his death on December 25, 1949.