Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . as it's a gladiator sport pairing people whose sole intent it to beat each other's brains out. Now, if we live in a World in which diminished Brain Power were a Virtue, boxing would actually make sense. But a recent survey conducted by the Ring Physicians Group (or RPG) discovered that the average pugilist lost one IQ point per fight. Since 40 bouts constitutes a typical ring career on the ropes, and 121.7 is the median Intelligence Quotient of boxing rookies, "lucky" boxers retire with an IQ in the 80 to 83 range. (Unlucky boxers die in the Ring.) This sort of mental deterioration not only bans them from driving in 18 states, but it also more than doubles the time they must spend to solve a crossword puzzle. (Though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that most retired boxers are not eligible for the Death Penalty due to their diminished faculties, many of them might be better off taking up NFL football, as Jury Nullification exempts the NFL's Best and Brightest killers from ever facing the Needle.) Bugs Bunny skates around all of these issues during RABBIT PUNCH, before he tires of such a tawdry exercise and literally cuts this cartoon short.

slymusic Written by Tedd Pierce & Michael Maltese, and directed by Chuck Jones, "Rabbit Punch" is a fine Bugs Bunny cartoon that teams him up with a familiar burly, mean-looking prizefighter who I believe was later known as the Crusher. This film certainly has the look and the boisterous atmosphere of an outdoor nocturnal prizefight, where plenty of funny gags abound as Bugs and his gargantuan opponent are not above a fair amount of subterfuge in order to win the match.There are a couple of scenes in "Rabbit Punch" that I think especially stand out. After Bugs dares to boo the multi-muscular palooka, Bugs makes a couple of hilarious facial expressions as he gets hoisted out of his hole, literally thrown into a dressing room and flying out wearing a pair of pink boxing trunks. While Bugs has a struggle with one of his challenger's legs, the big galoot peacefully lies onto the canvas playing solitaire, to the familiar accompaniment of Mendelssohn's Spring Song.As with all of Bugs' larger-than-life nemeses, in "Rabbit Punch" he takes care of his opponent not with his brawn, but with his brain. Problem is, after 110 rounds, I'm still unsure as to who the winner is.

paulo20 Avid fans may note the resemblance of this toon's plot to Freleng's Baseball Bunny (1946); i.e. Bugs berates big, hulking athlete(s) for playing dirty and boasts that he can defeat said athlete(s) and athlete(s) takes him up on it (actually, lots of toons borrowed plots and themes from other toons, but whatever). Chuck Jones was a big fan of Friz Freleng and didn't think he was in the same league (though I myself would beg to differ). I see this cartoon as either an attempt to place himself in that league or a tribute to recognize Freleng's ability. Whatever it is, it's a great cartoon. Those toons where Bugs defeats his adversary but not without taking a few lumps himself tend to be the best Bugs cartoons. This one's one of my favorites.

Mister-6 TIDBIT - Rabbits never fight fair.And nowhere is that more evident than in this classic "Rabbit Punch" where boxing fan Bugs jeers and heckles a boxing champion until he finds himself in the ring with the aforementioned champ to duke it out.And anyone who knows what Bugs Bunny is capable of pretty much expects the champ to get the worst of the deal.Director Chuck Jones makes a veritable ballet out of the antics in the ring and manages to make Bugs (naturally voiced by Blanc) and the champ (Bletcher) graceful, clumsy, victorious and beaten up badly in equal turns.And granted, this is the only boxing match you'll ever see axle grease, bricks, cannons and trains used in.Ten stars and a golden glove for "Rabbit Punch" and for our champ Bugs.