Friz Freleng's 'Knighty Knight Bugs' is an Oscar winning cartoon which, though a tad overrated, is solidly entertaining throughout. Jester Bugs Bunny is sent to recover the Singing Sword from Black Knight Yosemite Sam. The set up and ensuing antics immediately bring to mind two other cartoons, Chuck Jones's 'Knight-mare Hare' and Freleng's own 'Sahara Hare'. While Jones's cartoon shares the same medieval setting, 'Sahara Hare' features a similar storyline as Sam pursues Bugs and finds himself attempting to gain entry to a building in which Bugs has barricaded himself. 'Knighty Knight Bugs' is an improvement on both its forerunners, offering a far more charming depiction of medieval times than in Jones's feeble effort and improving on the gags in 'Sahara Hare' with some consistently amusing if hardly uproarious sequences. Also reminiscent of 'Sahara Hare' is Sam's relationship with his beast of burden, a camel in the former cartoon and a dragon in this case. In both cartoons, this relationship is one of the best elements and results in some very funny lines and animations. All in all, 'Knighty Knight Bugs' is an enjoyably pedestrian cartoon in which being able to see the gags coming doesn't hinder the viewer's enjoyment of their good timing. Surely not worthy of its Oscar but certainly worthy of being viewed by any cartoon fan.
Review of Knighty Knight Bugs
