it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

WE HAVE JUST watched this one on video; as a bonus feature on the special 2 disc DVD release of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. Although the cartoon has been around and available on television for well over the half century point, it seemed to be new.THE SHORT BECAME familiar to us as one of those "Associated Artists Productions" TV releases. In our case, we saw it (often) on the old BUGS BUNNY & FRIENDS local kids TV show on WGN TV, Channel 9, in Chicago. As was the custom, there was a host; in this case, it was one Dick Coughlin. He always sported a sort of "Lumberjack Wardrobe"; featuring dungarees and flannel shirts (always).THE SET WAS done up to look like a farm or woodland locale. A puppet version of Bugs would interact with the host in comic sketches; between the screening of the 2 or 3 cartoons that were shown each evening, from 6:30 to 7:00 PM. (there were some other character puppets, such as "Radcliffe Racoon" and others, whose names we can't recall). Mr. Coughlin provided the voices, although no ventriloquist himself.AT THE TIME of seeing BUGS BUNNY GETS THE BOID, we found it to be funny and would have rated it at or near to the top of the pack. The gags were energetic and genuinely tickled the funny bone. The animation was smooth and the short storyline had not a wasted frame of film.AS WITH ALL Warner Brothers Looney Tunes & Merry Melodies, a hallmark identifier is its music. This was no exception; as its soundtrack has the lively and totally customized Carl Stalling original score. Although the sound era animated shorts are visual, with the advantage of having snappy dialog & comical voices as an adjunct, just try viewing & listening to the same cartoon; but without the music.ONE ASPECT OF the humor, that was not readily apparent to us as kids in the 1950's was that Warner's cartoons often time parodied some of the then popular entertainers or Radio characters. In this case, the young vulture, "Killer" is a spoof of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's Mortimer Snerd. The buzzard, his brothers and Italian accented mother would be reprised for other, recurring appearances.ON THE PARTICULAR DVD that we viewed, the cartoon must have been remastered. The color is brilliant and the images are crystal clear. (Clever, these Americans!)

Bob Clampett's 'Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid' is not an example of the director at his finest. As a huge fan of Clampett's unrivaled wackiness, I was fully expecting to love this oft praised short but if truth be told I find it almost entirely tedious. The main problem is the character of Beaky Buzzard, who makes his first appearance in this cartoon (although he's called Killer here). Briefly touted as a new star in the making, Beaky proved far too annoying with his dopey voice (an imitation of Mortimer Snerd, the dummy of radio ventriloquist Edgar Bergen) and slow thought processes. This dawdling character sits at odds with Clampett's frantically paced directional style and his presence slows the cartoon down to a crawl. Warren Foster's script is also a problem since so very little happens. Far too much time is given over to Beaky's goofy reactions and a gruesome but overdone gag involving a pile of bones. Clampett's more aggressive take on Bugs Bunny is usually a hoot but he's very off form here because he's given so little to work with. The ending is also a little forced and results in the cartoon just petering out. When a script is so weak that even Bob Clampett can't save it then you know you've got a turkey on your hands. Or in this case a buzzard!

This was Clampett's third Bugs Bunny cartoon, but it marks the first time Bugs Bunny looks like the rabbit we all know. Prior to this Bugs had a more oval head giving him a rat-like appearance. It was as an animator in Clampett's unit that Robert Mckimson developed the model sheet of Bugs that all the other units eventually used. In the cartoons of the other directors at this time Bugs looked pretty ugly while he kept getting better looking in the Clampett cartoons. This is also the first appearence of Beaky Buzzard, a Mortimer Snerd caricature. This cartoon is funnier than Clampett's first two Bugs films and the animation is pretty solid, especially Mckimson's. However, Clampett would go far beyond this one with such cartoons as What's Cookin', Doc?, The Old Grey Hare, The Big Snooze, and Tortoise Wins By A Hare. Overall, a good cartoon, though.

The inept Beaky Buzzard in this was quite funny, and they brought him back on several different occasions.However, there's one scene that I do not get and I find disturbing, and that is the animal bone gag. What the heck was going on there? We see Bugs Bunny falling over the remains of a buffalo and the remains are in front of him and there was a carrot in the rib cage, he feels the rib cage and the carrot inside. Bugs then cries over it and goes "Gruesome, ins't it?" Did he think he was dead? I have no idea what it was supposed to be.I'd say if you are Bugs fans, stick with stuff like "Rabbit Fire," and the hunting trilogy as well as others.