oscaralbert Review of What's Cookin' Doc?

What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)

Bugs Bunny pulls a "Kanye West" at the Oscars . . .

[6/10 · 15 March 2015]

. . . on his own behalf, demanding a "recount" when James Cagney's YANKEE DOODLE DANDY beats him out of the statuette he thought he was a cinch to win. Poor Bugs. He had no idea how "politically correct" Oscar voting tends to be. To illustrate his body of work, Bugs shows the gathered Academy Awards voters a clip from LITTLE HIAWATHA, widely denounced as a defilement of Native Americans from the get-go. Bugs tries for the Big Tobacco voting bloc by following this with the distribution of Cuban cigars. He even anticipates WHIPLASH to drum up support. Despite his pains, the animated rabbit gets pelted with rotten vegetables prior to receiving the very first Raspberry Award. WHAT'S COOKIN' DOC? probably came out during an animator's strike, since about half of it is (pretty boring) live action footage, and half of the rest is recycled material. But since Bugs and Cagney are about the same height, and equally perceived as vocally abrasive, a one-on-one popularity contest between hare and leprechaun would have proved interesting.