On July 27, 1940, the world received its first glimpse of a wisecracking, animated rabbit called Bugs Bunny. He appeared in a short film titled, very appropriately, A Wild Hare, along with Elmer Fudd, the confused hunter he would go on to frustrate for many years.
For those not familiar with the genre of animated cartoons, Americans weren't the first to create them. Animation had appeared in France as early as 1908, and had been quickly adapted by the United States. By 1918, the first feature-length cartoon had been created, titled The Sinking of the Lusitania.
With the development of talking pictures, animated characters began to gain in popularity. The world finally received a character it would fall in love with big time when Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse. By the 1930s, feature-length cartoons like Sleeping Beauty were no longer a rarity.
Bugs Bunny was born because Warner Bros wanted its own set of cartoon stars. They certainly got what they wanted. Today, animated films go where other genres simply cannot hope to. From talking cars to dancing penguins, we've seen them all. And yet, there's no rabbit like Bugs, is there?
In the picture: Actress Jenna Elfman poses for a photo with cartoon character Bugs Bunny.
Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images
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