Not even bad in a good way

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

" . . . I'm a moron," proudly proclaims The Giant in a soliloquy about 3 minutes, 45 seconds into another prophetic Warner Bros. warning from its Animated Shorts Seers division (aka, The Looney Tuners) to We Americans of (The Then) Far Future. Exactly WHO is this Giant, subject of this Cautionary Tale from Warner? The answer comes about half a minute later (4:15), when Bugs Bunny refers to our current deplorable White House occupant #45 by name: "I'll bet you're a regular Don Juan with the Ladies," Bugs says to the Giant condescendingly, in an unmistakable reference to Red Commie KGB Chief Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin's White House Sock Puppet, Don Juan Rump, and the latter's infamous ACCE$$ H0LLYWOOD tape. What does JACK-WABBIT AND THE BEANSTALK predict the Future has in store for Rump's once-great USA? The Giant's final Fall from Grace at the end suggests an Extinction Event is in store for Humanity, as one Killer T-Rex Hurricane (named after Putin's pick for U.S. Secretary of State, Rex "Exxon Valdez" Tillerson, the man whom experts tab as the guy MOST responsible for the current spate of Unnaturally Strong Global Warming Typhoons) UNLESS America acts swiftly to avert God's Wrath and dispatches Don Juan Rump as the sailors did in feeding Jonah to the Whale (or as Navy SEAL Team 6 acted, by shooting Osama in the eyes and feeding his corpse to the sharks)!

I notice that "Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk" is one of a couple of cartoons in which Bugs Bunny's opponent is a total klutz - complete with a voice like George from "Of Mice and Men"* - whom Bugs could clobber without even trying. But even though the giant here is an easy target, it's impossible not to like the wacky series of events (or the literal ear drum).There's one other thing that I notice. This cartoon contains an obvious WWII theme, as the brainless giant claims to be more powerful than Bugs but obviously isn't (much like the Nazis claimed to be). If this is what's going to happen to the US given the current state of affairs...well, don't say that they didn't warn us.But I digress. It's a pretty funny cartoon.*Other such characters were Beaky Buzzard ("Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid"), Junyer Bear ("Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears") and Pete Puma ("Rabbit's Kin").

The giant in this one has got to be the dumbest adversary Bugs has ever faced. Even Beaky Buzzard is brighter. However, lost in all this is the fact that the giant is actually the aggrieved party here. Bugs is stealing from his garden in the beginning. Granted, Bugs is our hero and the giant isn't the shiniest pebble in the pond, but there are property rights to consider.This is mostly verbal gags, with a few sight gags involved for timing purposes, I'd expect. Lots of very funny gags here, with the obligatory reference gags to World War II here, naturally. The duel between Bugs and the giant is beautifully executed and the closing sequence is great! Well worth watching. Most recommended.

Discovering a bean stalk, Bugs Bunny climbs it to find himself face to boot with a giant who claims to be bigger and smarter than Bugs. However, the wily rabbit goes about outsmarting the giant and avoiding capture in his kingdom in the sky.From the start I had a good feeling about this short as Bugs looks a little rough and ready in his sleek, darker grey version - it always makes me feel that he suits his smart mouth in this version. The plot is simple enough but the character with Bugs is not strong enough (you know what I mean!) to help carry the weight of the film and the gags.While Bugs does his usual stuff well, the giant is not as responsive as other characters and doesn't really interact with Bugs as well as he needs to. The only point where he is effective is as a joke against the Nazi's as the giant claims superiority over little Bugs, but is easily defeated himself. Outside of this side joke, he doesn't have a whole lot to offer and Bugs seems to lose a little of his impact without a really good foil.Overall I love Bugs and enjoyed this outing. However it goes to show that Bugs is weaker when he doesn't have a co-star to bounce things off (literally!).