Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' is one of the all-time great Christmas stories and has been adapted numerous times with variable success.
'Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol' is neither among the best or worst Christmas Carol adaptations, instead it's somewhere around low middle. Adaptation-wise, the story is told in 8 minutes which means it's very condensed and it's only the basic gist here really. But 'Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol' is going to be judged as a standalone right now, and it's quite fun though Looney Tunes' best days, ideas and execution were long gone, having gone into decline around the mid-60s and apart from some decent efforts around and after this period it hasn't been the same since.
There is a made-for-TV feel in the animation sometimes, which does see some movement stiffness and lack of finesse, but much of it is colourful with some nice fluid and detailed backgrounds and a good sense of the festive season with the wintry setting. The music is good and works well within the cartoon but it isn't outstanding, it's no Carl Stalling or Milt Franklyn who composed with more character and more of an ability to enhance the action, but it doesn't sound cheap, it has energy and at least it fits.
In terms of laughs, 'Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol' is fun but not laugh-a-minute or completely hilarious. Yosemite Sam as Scrooge has some of the best moments, though Bugs is also a sheer delight and his personality is not sanitised one bit. The script is witty and very entertaining, getting Sam's and Bugs' personalities dead on. The story is a fun take on the story, and does a good job maintaining the fun while having some emotion too and a believable change in character, but eight minutes really does feel too short and the cartoon does feel rushed a lot of the time and could have been wilder and loonier.
Characters are true to personality and likable, but in an attempt to cram in as many familiar faces as possible there is the feeling of too many characters and only about three of them (Sam, Bugs and Porky) have proper screen time which was disappointing. Sam however is perfectly cast as Scrooge, while Bugs similarly delights as his usual smart and funny self and Porky is touchingly humble and timid. Mel Blanc is characteristically brilliant, once again showing an unparalleled ability to give multiple characters their own identity and such.
Overall, fun if rather rushed. 6/10 Bethany Cox
