Story: Warren Foster
Director: Robert McKimson
Animation: Charles McKimson, Manny Gould, John Carey
Layouts: Cornett Wood
Backgrounds: Richard H. Thomas
Voice Characterisations: Mel Blanc
Musical Direction: Carl Stalling

This short made in 1948 owes much to the Tarzan movies so popular at this period. Incidentally Tarzan himself even makes a brief appearance at a jungle vine intersection. It features three main characters all voiced by Blanc. Gruesome Gorilla, his broody wife (Mrs. Gruesome Gorilla) and the shipwrecked Bugs Bunny, object of her affection.

We first encounter Bugs singing from the interior of a floating barrel, bobbing on the ocean. I was reminded of the four Marx Brothers stowing away on an ocean liner inside herring barrels singing “Sweet Adeline” in “Monkey Business” (1931).

On the island of ‘Bingzi-Bangzi – Land of the Ferocious Apes’ we meet a community of Gorillas reading books with corny titles like “Apes of Wrath” and “Our Vines have Tender Apes” and Gruesome Gorilla and his broody wife.

Mrs. Gruesome Gorilla wants a child, “Why hasn’t the stork ever visited us Gruesome?” Gruesome Gorilla is having none of it!

A forlorn Mrs Gruesome Gorilla finds Bugs as he floats by in the barrel and adopts him. Bugs goes along with the adoption because “That’s my soft spot – dames crying.” he end up wearing a baby suit throughout, I suppose the ribbons and the bonnet helped with the vine swinging animations but for me the Bugs character was slightly lost as a result.

Gruesome Gorilla takes “junior out for a little walk” and is clearly out to do Bugs a mischief. A protracted chase and fight sequence ensues. It seems that the entire premise of the cartoon was an excuse to animate characters swinging on vines. Sadly that’s about all we get by the end.

Richard H. Thomas’ backgrounds are fantastic, lush and detailed with lots of depth and distance. The animators seem to work to this strength in his artwork, because there are a number of really effective vine swing sequences where the characters either disappear off into the distance or come right into the foreground, giving the world of “Bingzi-Bangzi” a tangible realism.

I’m fond of the sequence where Bugs the baby is thrown into the air “Ehh, this kid don’t know his own strength” as Bugs flails about, the sky background moves downwards giving the impression that Bugs is moving upwards, it would have been easy enough the send the background in the opposite direction to simulate the fall and allow Bugs to continue flailing, but the baby’s bonnet rises with the wind giving the sequence an extra charm and realism.

There is a rather poorly timed dance sequence about five minutes in, where Bugs kicks a coconut tree at the end of each line of the song, culminating in a predictable coconut concussion. This momentary lapse of quality is saved by a terrific chase sequence through the jungle with distance to foreground vine swinging, and a lovely shot in silhouette where multiple silhouettes of Bugs and Gruesome are seen teaming over a tree landscape silhouette, to represent their frenzied chase.

Unfortunately this successful scene is thrown away by a poor ending. Bugs is victorious as he blows on the exhausted Gruesome who falls over defeated.

Like Gruesome Gorilla the cartoon runs out of steam. I was left feeling unsatisfied and caring very little about any of the characters. Thanks to Richard H. Thomas and his lovely backgrounds the team had created such a believable little world populated by great characters but the weak plot made it all seem like a waste of time.