Foxy by Proxy

Foxy by Proxy is a 1952 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and directed by Friz Freleng. Mel Blanc voices Bugs Bunny and one of the dogs that talks in the short, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voices the large hound. This is the eighth Bugs Bunny cartoon where the title does not refer to "hare", "bunny", or "rabbit". This cartoon is considered a remake Of Fox and Hounds from 1940; in fact, the opening sequence was "borrowed" directly from the original.

Plot
It is hunting season with horse riding hunters blowing horns to awake fox hunting dogs. A number of smaller hounds come out of a giant dog house, followed by a large fox hound (Voiced by Freberg) who is excited by the prospect of the hunt, especially the moment where the fox's tail is to be cut off. The hunters and dogs then pass over Bugs' hole, waking him, with the large fox hound lagging behind. Once Bugs directs the larger fox hound to where the others went, Bugs dons on a fox costume and begins to play tricks with the large fox hound, leaving Bugs amazed at the dog's stupidity to distinguish a fox. Once the large hound realizes the difference, he runs back to the tree where Bugs is now undressed. The bunny giggles at the dog's intelligence, saying that "I've seen better heads on a root beer!" At this point, Bugs (with his fox costume back on) stamps fox tracks to mislead this hound, which lead to train tracks, which the dog continues to follow. Once the dog reaches Bugs and tries to get him, Bugs questions what kind of tracks the dog was following, which ends up putting the dog on the front of a locomotive, while the dog exclaims that he caught a train.

Meanwhile, the other dogs have caught up to Bugs in his costume and he tries to evade them, but to no avail. When he reveals that he is a rabbit, one of the dogs (voiced by Blanc) declares that they are now after rabbits. After a short chase, which includes Bugs running through an open log, Bugs then runs back into the log, and while the dogs run into it, Bugs turns the log three times to ensure that the crowd of dogs always run off the cliff, with the crowd falling to the ground after the third turn. While Bugs is chuckling at their misfortune, the large fox hound sneaks up behind Bugs, cuts Bugs' tail off, and runs away with it. Bugs shrugs to the audience, "Just call me Stubby!". He walks away, his cottontail missing.

Availability

 * DVD - Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire