Bugs Bunny talks about "OPEN" and "CLOSED" (unmade cartoon)

[SkyeFan]

This is really interesting!

I've come across an article recently that claims there was a cartoon to be made for "Sesame Street" starring Bugs Bunny giving a demonstration on the words "OPEN" and "CLOSED". It was to feature stock footage of Wile E. Coyote trying to trap the Roadrunner in a large steel bear trap from a previously made theatrical cartoon. This was to provide a visual demonstration on the words "OPEN" and "CLOSED". I believe Chuck Jones was supposed to direct this segment since it features two of his best well-known characters, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. I'm pretty sure this segment was not produced, although I believe a script had been written. I don't know if Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny and TONS of other characters) had recorded the dialogue, but it was just never dubbed to an animated film. This segment could have very well been created for the fifth season of "Sesame Street", since that same year (1973) was when Chuck Jones created a series of cartoons with the Coyote and the Roadrunner for "The Electric Company". As a big fan of "Looney Tunes" cartoons, I just really wish this segment was actually made. It would have been very interesting, though, to see this Bugs Bunny cartoon regularly show up in an episode of "Sesame Street". Many classic cartoon characters have appeared on "Sesame Street" in segments aired in regular rotation for many years. We've seen Batman and Robin, Superman, the Pink Panther, Jughead (of "The Archies"), Beetle Bailey, and the Simpsons (in a brief cameo appearance during the celebrity version of "Monster in the Mirror"), but not a special segment made especially for the show starring Bugs Bunny, or any other "Looney Tunes" characters. That sure would have been neat to see, though.

 

[YellowYahooey]

We also saw the comic strip characters Tiger and Krazy Kat in classic animated segments. Of the two, I like the "Tiger at school" the best.

 

[SkyeFan]

Oh, yes, the "Tiger" cartoon about "SCHOOL". I've seen that one. I thought of that, but I just didn't think of Tiger as being "well known" in comparison to the other cartoon characters I had mentioned. I don't recall the segment with Krazy Kat, though.

I just considered mentioning this unmade segment with Bugs Bunny since I'm not quite sure if many are aware that this was a segment created especially for "Sesame Street" and was never even produced. I don't know why this segment was rejected before ever being made, but I just only wish it was. Of course, it would only be understandable if it was rejected due to the use of "cartoon violence" such as the Coyote trapping the Roadrunner with an anvil, some TNT explosives, or any imaginative forms of weaponry courtesy of the ACME company. That wasn't the case in this segment made for "Sesame Street". I'm very interested in learning about segments created specifically for "Sesame Street" that had either never been made but were just suggested (in this case the only evidence in existence is a written script), or else had been produced, but just never aired on the show (either at all or else only on international versions outside the U.S.). I'm still curious about certain Muppet inserts created specifically for the show that only aired in foreign adaptations of the program, plus that one unaired animation created by artist Etienne Delessert set to the classic song "Bein' Green".

 

[YellowYahooey]

Well, CTW did air Road Runner cartoon segments for The Electric Company. I am thinking CTW had the rights to the Looney Tunes characters for a period of time. I wonder if the Bugs Bunny sketch for Sesame Street never got produced due to the rights to Looney Tunes characters having expired, possibly when The Electric Company ceased production (in 1977, likely)? To the best of my knowledge, the Road Runner cartoons were aired during the final two seasons of The Electric Company, or at least the fifth season.

Speaking of rights issues, I wouldn't be surprised if HBO Max edited out every instance of the "K for Karate" sketch with the Pink Panther due to rights issues.

 

[SkyeFan]

The Roadrunner cartoons on "The Electric Company" first aired during the third season, which began in 1973. That's the same year the fifth season of "Sesame Street" had begun airing, so I'd say the Bugs Bunny segment for "Sesame Street" was intended for that season.

 

[crackmaster]

I just wish Space Ghost and Birdman had sketches.

 

[D'Snowth]

How about Brak singing a duet with Placido Flamingo?

 

[crackmaster]

How about Brak singing a duet with Placido Flamingo?

Only if it's "Don't Touch Me"