Good idea lost in the noise

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Fox hunting hounds disturb Bugs' peace and quiet, so he decides to mess with them by dressing up as a fox. Now, honestly, this plan doesn't make a lick of sense because he's just endangering himself. Of course this is a cartoon and therefore doesn't have to make sense so we just go with it. Anyway, Bugs spends most of the short tormenting a fat dimwitted hound that is yet another in a long line of Looney Tunes characters inspired by Lennie from "Of Mice and Men." It's a funny short with many good gags and lines. The train gag is my favorite. Energetic music from Carl Stalling. Great voice work from Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg. The animation is beautiful with bright, rich colors and well-drawn characters and backgrounds. An unofficial remake of a Tex Avery short called Of Fox and Hounds but with enough charms of its own to make it feel fresh.

" . . . and cut his tail off," the would-be fox-hunting sheep dog tells Bugs Bunny again and again during the course of this animated short, FOXY BY PROXY. To spite this mutt and his pack of hounds house-mates, Bugs digs out his fox costume from the previous Halloween and tries to lead the canines astray on a merry chase. The longer this "kid's cartoon" continues, the darker its story gets. Though the "real" fox is never shown here, Bugs inexplicably risks life and limb to "save" it. After several close shaves, Bugs succeeds in offing the herd of hounds by tricking them to run off a cliff, like lemmings. But his moment of triumph is cut short--along with his tail. The butt of Bugs' running jokes truncates the joker's own butt decoration, a development likely to confuse if not frighten some of its boy viewers, it not the girls. But Bugs simply echoes the over-achieving eunuch's comment to the harem: "Well, okay, just call me 'Stubby.'"

Is Foxy By Proxy one of Bugs' very best? Probably not. Is it a great cartoon? I think so. Bugs is on top form, his persona and wisecracks are still as priceless as ever. The hound is one his stupidest foils, but incredibly endearing at the same time. The humour is imaginative and still hilarious. There are some great quotes here especially Bugs' "I've seen better heads on a glass of root beer!!!", and of the gags the best was the whole train track sequence which I just can't get enough of and it makes me bust a gut every time. The pacing is also crisp, and there is not a dull moment in the story. The animation is beautifully done, both characters are drawn very well and it is sumptuously coloured. The music as ever is full of incisive energy and lively orchestration. Mel Blanc does a wonderful job again with the voicing, how he managed to voice so many characters the way he did I don't know. In conclusion, very well recommended. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Awakened by a fox hunt, Bugs Bunny turns his attention to the dumbest dog and proceeds to play a series of tricks on him. Well, either the dog was just a plain old idiot, or he somehow became one upon meeting Bugs. Either way, Bugs plays some great - and even nasty - tricks on the guy. Once I saw the log, I knew what was going to happen, since that trick has appeared in other cartoons.OK, so how many times can Bugs pull these gags on his enemies, none of whom really has a noticeable IQ level? Who cares? The point is that it's funny! "Foxy by Proxy" definitely is. I'm certainly not one to throw away Halloween costumes either.Stubby indeed.