Soy yo ✋😇🤚

(Back in Action was my earliest exposure to Looney Tunes as a toddler, and I was OBSESSED with the looney tunes show in middle school. So already I am HIGHLY biased when I say that Bugs and Daffy are really really good for each other. You need to understand much of my argument will draw from a skewed and fangirl logic)

Cartoon characters in the early 20th century were either drawn as standalone characters, or with a counterpart in mind. Those relationships stayed more or less consistent, whether they be a romantic couple like mickey and minnie, or a dynamic duo like Porky and Daffy, their personalities were designed to counterbalance or compliment the other, or at least develop with each other at the early stages of their run. But Bugs and Daffy’s relationship tells a much different, unconventional story, one that was 20 years in the making (quite literally). Let’s start at the beginning.

Were it not for Daffy, Bugs would not exist. He was created as a carbon copy of Daffy, a throwaway standin rival for Porky when Daffy was clearly a better option. Unlike Daffy, who’s debute ushered Looney Tunes’ golden era AND the creation of a character archetype, Bugs’ character was nearly scrapped at every failed debute. Audiences were bored of his first appearance in Porky’s Hare Hunt, audiences found him annoying as variants of Happy Rabbit. It was until his 4th cartoon that he struck gold and earned an oscar nomination. Fast forward to Porky Pigs’ Feat, and audiences are pleasantly surprised with a left field Bugs Bunny cameo. The end is as zany as they come, but the significance of the short is how these three characters view each other. Porky and Daffy are familiar with Bugs (who isn’t?). Porky admires Bugs, while Daffy is *inspired* by him, calling him his hero. He admires his wit and how he’s able to get our of any tricky situation, but in line with the LT universe, sincerity is offset by a gag. Daffy rings up Bugs, and his view of Bugs is completely shattered when he finds that Bugs is not the hero he imagined, and in fact thought to act the same way he did. Dramatic yes, but so is our Duck. From here on out, the Looney Tunes pantheon grew and for Daffy to stand alone outside of Porky, his stories leaned into his theatrics and preservationist tendencies until meeting up with Bugs Bunny again in 1950.

Why the long winded backstory? Their relationship is built on the context of their character evolution and subtle relation to each other. Maltese and Jones saw that Daffy’s spotlight was stolen by Bugs, and translated his frustration through the iconic Hunting Trilogy. Not just them, but the directors of Termite Terrace were eager to cast Bugs and Daffy as each other’s foils and friend in proceeding shorts.

The trilogy shows that while other characters are either too incompetent, or lazy, impatient, high strung, or self absorbed to outmatch Bugs, Daffy keeps up. He’s so crazy he doesn’t know it’s impossible to defeat Bugs. So he tries. The shorts explore the full spectrum of their relationship, surprisingly. They can either recognize their strength in partnership and fall in sync (positive), Bugs winning over Daffy by taking control of the dialogue, frustrating Daffy (neutral), or driving Daffy to the brink of insanity, all characters near parodies of themselves (negative).

Plus, the significance and longevity of the Duck Season Rabbit Season gag is that it’s Bugs and Daffy’s stalemate. Bugs’ cool is lost, Daffy’s focus is honed, all snarky comebacks are thrown out the window. It’s a last ditch effort to win an elusive goal, evolved beyond survival and the threat of elmer himself. It takes an outside force in the form of an Elmer Season poster to break their spell.

Then Bugs, in a rare display of amity, defeats the greater conflict with Daffy by his side. It’s not a shock that they would be depicted as friends in their next shorts; that aforementioned act alone invites a level of trust that Bugs doesn’t lend to other Tunes.

My comment errs on the side of blasphemous, but I believe Duck Amuck wouldn’t be revered as a culturally significant piece of media if Bugs wasn’t revealed as the artist in the end. His significance to Daffy (and the payoff to 6 minutes of buildup) is THAT important. I envy audiences of the mid 1900s, they were able to see the Daffy and Bugs’ character reach it’s apex, their iconic dynamic was a brilliant buildup of the shorts that came before it.

Ok, that’s enough of my rant about the trilogy/ chuck jones era. Let’s move on to Bugs’ side of the relationship, both in film canon and show canon, because that’s where a lot of the weight lies.

While Daffy’s feelings towards Bugs are a HOT MESS and a mixed bag, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Bugs is very fond of Daffy. His laid back, quiet fondness for him stretches across all iterations of LT, from the films, to shows. But how? Why?? I think the creator of the Looney Tunes Show, Tony Cervone, explains it best:

“Bugs Bunny is…cool and in control, and Daffy is nothing but pure chaos, so Bugs is amused by that. He likes [chaos] and he likes Daffy’s unpredictable nature.”

The Looney Tunes Show was canned before Bugs and Daffy’s relationship was fully explored, but episodes like “Gossamer is Awesomer” shows how Bugs needs the chaos brought by Daffy’s impulses in order to function. While Daffy may not say it, the need is mutual. He sees Bugs as a rescuer, someone who offers shelter and accepts him for who he is and asks nothing more of him. In the second to last episode, Daffy’s obsessed with having Bugs to himself— the show creates the one-time character Rodney as a narrative tool to show the time-bending lengths Daffy would go to keep Bugs as a key figure in his life. Not the healthiest expression, but in line with Looney Tunes’ brand of insanity.

Meanwhile in canon, Bugs’ fondness of Daffy is almost a weakness for him. Bugs can be oblivious at times, but whenever Daffy calls in that saccharine pet name (“Oh Bugsy!”) he’s…I wouldn’t say vulnerable, but he’s always caught off guard. Alibaba bunny had him sticking his neck out for Daffy when it was inconvenient to do so, Abominable snowman left bugs open to violent cuddles from the titular monster (and started the adorable gag of Daffy babbling to himself while Bugs tries to catch his attention, his cool mask slipping with each word) In the comics, he doesn’t protest to Daffy inviting himself to dinner, he tells the reader on multiple occasions that he has a soft spot for Daffy, if it wasn’t obvious already. Back in Action shows that Bugs refuses to move forward on projects without him, turning down offers of a hot female co-star in his place, quietly commenting on Daffy’s strengths as an actor (“Daff never misses a cue.”), and travels from earth to space just to get him back. (I may be wrong, but I believe the ending reveals that Bugs concocted the entire movie so Daffy could live out his fantasy of being a hero).

Daffy may act like Bugs is the bane of his existence, Bugs sees him as anything but.

Unfortunately, this love/hate relationship can be one sided. While Daffy’s admiration of Bugs is there, his fixation on Bugs’ status perverts his attitude. He’s too envious and bitter from Bugs’ effortless popularity to positively reciprocate. But I promise you, all Daffy wants to hear is that Bugs appreciates Daffy for who he is and his efforts as an actor. Sadly, Bugs struggles to communicate his deeper feelings (be it in BiA, the classic LT canon, or TLTS) so Daffy has no other way of knowing just how much he means to him other than Bugs’ invitation to road trips and teasing. They’re comedic characters with depth and room to evolve, but not allowed to grow. So in service of comedy and status quo, Daffy stays bitter, and Bugs silently puts up with Daffy’s tantrums and plays back, and they bicker, and duck season, rabbit season, duck season, rabbit season…

What’s more, I think, is there’s something to be said about the popularity of a ship between two characters who have been portrayed through a queer lens more than their toon colleagues (cross dressing, mannerisms, colloquialisms, etc, while at first derogatory have been reclaimed by the queer community, including modern icons like RuPaul). With the recent acknowledgment of Baffy’s existence via social media, who knows? maybe a bone will be thrown our way. There’s still so many ways their dynamic can be explored regardless.

Bugs and Daffy’s team up was 20 years in the making. Thanks to Maltese, Jones and the other directors of Termite Terrace, they developed a lasting and culturally impactful relationship. They are a prime example of an iconic duo, one that’s maleable and marketable in every facet (to my knowledge, Bugs and Daffy are featured together more than any other Looney Tunes pairing, be it romantic or platonic). They work well as rivals, friends, and roomates. I’m of the opinion that the gap from friendship to romance is smaller than we realize. Initially, they weren’t designed to be each other’s perfect foils, yet they individually developed to the point where the directors of termite terrace were itching to pair Bugs and Daffy as soon as they could because of the comedic potential, and they’ve been a matching set ever since.