Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . and Bugs Bunny as Fletcher Christian suggests that Warner Bros. believed Clark Gable had bigger ears than Charles Laughton. However, for the sake of the kids in the audience, the topless Tahitian ladies are dispensed with entirely during this animated short, MUTINY ON THE BUNNY. The first half starts out promising enough, as Sam Shanghai's Bugs for a "Free World Cruise"--which turns out to be a job as Sam's deck slave. Bugs turns the tables on Sam by Tom Sawyering him into white washing--Er, swabbing the deck himself (to erase a series of insulting graffiti Bugs has surreptitiously scrawled while Sam's back is turned). But as soon as Bugs tricks Sam into first abandoning ship, and then scuttling it three times into dry-dock for repairs, MUTINY jumps the shark. The visuals of the second half become boringly repetitious; ditto the plot. Furthermore, does the command "Furl the Tattersail Topgallant!" really mean anything? The vast majority of the folks who'd know the answer probably are pushing up seaweed in Davy Jones' Locker right about now.
utgard14
Yosemite Sam (appropriately dubbed Shanghai Sam here) tricks Bugs Bunny into coming onto his ship. Then he conks him over the head and forces him to be his one-man crew. Bugs quickly adapts and takes control of the situation. Very funny Bugs cartoon with lots of great gags, some of which are familiar but fun ("I'm captain / You're captain"). I love the bit where Bugs writes graffiti on the deck just to rile ornery Sam up. Or when Bugs tricks Sam into digging for buried treasure on his ship. Sam's out of his league but it's so much fun to watch him be made a fool of repeatedly. Terrific animation, rousing music, and wonderful voicework. It's a fun Looney Tunes cartoon that everybody should enjoy.
Lee Eisenberg
Probably the reason that Yosemite Sam is so funny is that he's always so short-tempered, and when he gets paired with Bugs Bunny, he always seems like he's about to explode. In this case, Shanghai Sam loses his crew (the guy used to be a human being!) and kidnaps Bugs, only to see Bugs rebel. No matter what Sam does, Bugs figures out a way around it. The whole thing with the cannonballs makes me feel like I'm going to die laughing.The point is, the combination of Bugs's antics and Sam's angry rants (involving insults like "flea-bitten varmint" or "fur-bearin' varmint", only extended) always make for something great. A really classic cartoon.
Chip_douglas
Yosemite Sam gives one of his best and most believable performances as Shanghai Sam, feared captain of the Sad Sack (formerly the Jolly Roger), who has just lost another crew. Seeing as his idea of a crew is that one person is enough, he tricks the first carrot nibbling tourist he can find to get on board for a `free round the world ocean trip'. Of course he finds this Bunny is not so easily broken.Yosemite is probably my favourite Loony villain, especially when paired with Bugs. Marvin may be more threatening to the universe, Daffy more backstabbing and the Coyote more hungry, but Sam is just plain mean. Nobody does the old `No I'm not /Yes I am' routine better than Bugs and Sam. No Toon looks as terrible in a dress as Sam and no one knows how to exploit the gullibility of a bloated ego like Bugs. As a running gag the same footage of the boat sinking and being repaired is used at least three times in a row. Each time the repetitiveness makes it funnier! (maybe this is how Lou Scheimer got the idea to start Filmation?).7 out 10