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Bugs Bunny is a character from Looney Tunes. He is a male anthropomorphic rabbit with grey and white fur who is considered one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time. Known for being a trickster character, he's generally calm and collected, though he will get back at others when provoked. One of his best-known trademarks is munching on a carrot and saying, "Eh... What's up, Doc?" when talking to his enemies face-to-face.

Creation and Inspiration

An earlier rabbit character created by animator Ben Hardaway appeared in the 1938 short Porky’s Hare Hunt, but it is very different from what would later be known as Bugs Bunny today. He has white fur, is short in stature, wears no gloves, and has a more manic personality akin to the earlier, screwball Daffy Duck. He would then later appeared in other shorts like Prest-o Change-o (1939), Hare-um Scare-um (1939) and Elmer’s Candid Camera (1940), the later of which is his first paring with Elmer Fudd. This incarnation of the character wasn’t given a name yet until he was christened as Bugs Bunny after Ben's model sheet that referred him as Bugs’ Bunny.

The character would change for his official debut in the 1940 Merry Melodies short A Wild Hare, directed by legendary animator Tex Avery. Here, he is given a more casual personality, made to look less cute, and would be given a Brooklynese accent. A Wild Hare became a instant hit and be given a nomination for an Academy Award for best animated short.

A lot of his personality traits are derived from famed comedian Groucho Marx. For instance in the movie Duck Soup, Groucho and the other characters have the catchphrase "This means war!", a phrase that would later be sometimes used by Bugs when someone harasses him to some point.

His nonchalant pose when munching a carrot took inspiration from a movie starring Clark Gable called It Happened One Night, in which his character does exactly that (stance and all).

See Also:

• Bugs Bunny's Wikipedia Article
• Looney Tunes
• Lola Bunny