Director: Chuck Jones
Release Date: January 19, 1952
Stars: Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote
Rating: ★★
Review:
The second appearance of the Coyote after his debut film ‘Fast and Furry-ous‘ (1949) was, surprisingly, not another Road Runner cartoon.
Instead, director Chuck Jones decided to place his still fresh carnivore character against Bugs Bunny, a character increasingly in need of worthy opponents.
in ‘Operation: Rabbit’ Wile E. Coyote gets his name (in the Road Runner cartoons he’s never called that way). Wile E. introduces himself to Bugs as ‘genius’, and suddenly he is a talking character, speaking with an eloquent, vaguely British voice. The experiment is not successful. The coyote’s ability to speak floods the action with a lot of superfluous dialogue, and he almost totally lacks the sympathetic frustration so wonderfully demonstrated in the Road Runner cartoons. Moreover, there’s hardly any chemistry between the two overconfident characters, which leads to remarkably unfunny gags, with only the one involving a flying saucer being able to create a chuckle.
Despite the shortcomings, Jones would make Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote co-star in three more cartoons: ‘To Hare is Human’ (1956), ‘Rabbit’s Feat’ (1960), and ‘Compressed Hare’ (1961). Meanwhile the Coyote would have a much more interesting career in the Road Runner cartoons, with the second one, ‘Beep Beep’, appearing four months after ‘Operation Rabbit’.
Watch ‘Operation: Rabbit’ yourself and tell me what you think:
This is Bugs Bunny cartoon No. 87
To the previous Bugs Bunny cartoon: Big Top Bunny
To the next Bugs Bunny cartoon: 14 Carrot Bunny
Dr. Grob's Animation Review 
4 comments
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February 21, 2022 at 17:24
Rtotalmagic
Humour is famously subjective, but I personally enjoy this cartoon on its own terms. Coyote’s pompous personality in this short may not be as nuanced as the usual silent persona, but it makes his misfortunes feel all the more satisfying. The dynamite pen, the two exploding dummies and (especially) the explosives lab getting stuck on the train tracks are some of the funniest Wile E. Coyote mishaps, and would have not worked anywhere near as well with the traditional version…
January 29, 2020 at 21:36
Sebastian Howard
I don’t remember this cartoon being particularly bad.
January 29, 2020 at 21:41
Gijs Grob
It’s of course a matter of taste. I know this cartoon has its fans.
February 7, 2020 at 12:01
Sebastian Howard
I actually like their chemistry together and its interesting developing Will E Coyote and giving himself someone to talk to you and some to screw with other than Woody Woodpecker.