not as good as all the hype

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

. . . and probably Bugs Bunny is no exception. The offish lout of a deep-voiced rabbit starring in ELMER'S CANDID CAMERA sports hideous, beaver-sized buck teeth and an overly Ginormous bushy white tail. As this gray rabbit torments Nature lover Elmer Fudd throughout this Warner Bros. animated short, he comes off as being more of a mean-spirited mischief maker than the suave hero of his later years. Elmer does not threaten the bunny with a firearm at any point here. To the contrary, it's this Bugs Bunny prototype who's consistently the aggressor, whether burying Elmer under a Treeful of apples with the recoil of Elmer's own telephoto lens, or booting the hapless rookie photographer into a pond to close out this sad tale. (Beta-bunny's maniacal cackling after this final humiliation is more consistent with a rude Heckle and Jeckle cartoon outing than something you'd expect from Bugs.) Speaking of Jekylls, this Warner sketch hare certainly has a lot more in common with the sadistic Mr. Hyde than an idealistic Dr. Jekyll.

Elmer Fudd is reading "How To Photograph Wildlife" and he's ready. He has all the equipment, from tripod to flashbulbs. He heads out into the beautiful countryside. The first thing he sees are "wabbit twacks, er, rabbit tracks.The rest of the cartoon is basically Fudd trying to photograph the rabbit (a forerunner of Bugs Bunny) but very little happens. I didn't anything funny in here....nothing. There were a few odd things, like th rabbit putting his elbow in Elmer's butt (really) but nothing humorous.The only good aspect of this early Elmer Fudd cartoon is the artwork and colors. Bright, bold colors in the foreground and nice watercolor-like drawings in the back (reminiscent of "Bambi") were the only highlights of this animated short. However, it was obvious that the characters we all know - Fudd and Bugs Bunny - were in the early stages of development.

In Elmer Fudd's first ever appearance we do not get the Elmer we know and love but fatter guy with a huge head and an ugly bulbous nose. He puts together a 'camera' (snigger) and heads to the woods to take pictures of wildlife. Once there he settle for a picture of Bugs Bunny. Or at least something very remotely resembling (and sounding nothing like) Bugs Bunny. Bugs then proceeds to torment him for no good reason. The cartoon feels like the Itchy and Scratchy parody 'Worker and Parasite' from an episode of The Simpsons. The one even Krusty himself yells 'What the hell was that?' to. Neither Bugs nor Elmer seem at all familiar and act way out of character. Not very good at all.

ELMER'S CANDID CAMERA (1940) is the debut of Elmer Fudd and the Bugs Bunny prototype. Woody Woodpecker is much better suited to that annoying and painful shriek of a laugh. Elmer? He's better than the rabbit at least. Besides, what is it with that sadistic rabbit? All Elmer wanted to do is take pictures. Except for those small flaws, and the weird, primitive animation, I have no complaints about ELMER'S CANDID CAMERA.