A Star is Bored
Voices of: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan, June Foray
Directed by: Friz Freleng
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Animation, Short
Length: 7 minutes
1956
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary: Daffy Duck reluctantly works as Bugs' stunt double for the scenes that are too dangerous for the star.
Review:
Tim: I've seen a lot of these Looney Tunes shorts and they are a bit hit-or-miss. Some of them are really entertaining, some are completely forgettable. It feels like A Star is Bored is one of the better ones I've seen. It's totally effective. It features two classic characters up to their usual shenanigans and it's entertaining and fun. This is an especially strong short film.
The premise is straightforward but effective. Bugs Bunny is the star of a movie and Daffy Duck accepts a job as his stunt double. This situation immediately creates so much opportunity for humor. Bugs goes into some very dangerous situations, the director yells "Cut!" and then Daffy walks in and suffers bodily harm. It's simple but effective. Most of the jokes center around this- the highlight might be the plane that is hurtling to the earth. The director yells "Cut!" when it's only feet from the ground, Daffy helicopters in, trades places with Bugs, the director yells "Action!" and the plane smashes into the ground. It's simple, but it's wonderfully clever and entertaining. I had a lot of fun watching this short.
It helps that the story here effectively leverages the personalities of these characters. Bugs is cool and aloof. Daffy is jealous, yet no matter what he does, is always outsmarted by Bugs. Even when Bugs tries to warn him, Daffy doesn't listen. He consistently does the wrong thing, all to comedic effect.
As I mentioned, this is one of the stronger Looney Tunes shorts. It's funny, effective, and entertaining. I laughed out loud at Daffy's line- "Oh boy, I could be sent to prison for all the scenes I'm going to steal." It's fun short film.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A
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