As a young adult buff of the Warner cartoons, I felt that this was #5 on my personal list of Freleng's greatest Bugs films….that was a couple of years before I saw more of the greatest pre-1948 cartoons when I re-subscribed to cable. Man. There were biggies like "Stage Door Cartoon," "Bugs Bunny Rides Again," and "Slick Hare"—prompting me to revise somewhat my list of Freleng faves.I've always been befuddled by cartoon buffs' downgrading a short because it uses gags utilized before. If it's a "cheater" film, that's a different matter. But nearly all the animation here's genuinely new, including Gerry Chiniquy's exemplary execution of Bugs's and Daffy's dances. Also, I for one never penalized, say, Benny Hill for using the same dozen or so gags multiple times: he always makes me feel I'm experiencing it and laughing at it for the first time because he always puts some new wrinkle in.Similary, then, I don't penalize Freleng for borrowing wholesale several scenes and jokes from his earlier "Curtain Razor" and "Ballot Box Bunny" because, despite the fact he's aware of that, he now is doing all those gags in DEFINITIVE form."Show Biz Bugs" also benefits from the work of new backgrounds man Boris Gorelick. He was at Warner's for only a year, and contributed to the success of some of Freleng's finest (this one, and " Birds Anonymous"). The signature part of Gorelick's style was his use of portions of art apparently crayoned or charcoaled over sandpaper (or maybe a miniature pebble garden). Gorelick apparently crumbled early on, over Freleng's frequent and legendary temper tantrums.

Directed by Friz Freleng, "Show Biz Bugs" is a fantastic Warner Bros. cartoon that may be the definitive rivalry between the nonchalant Bugs Bunny and the insanely jealous Daffy Duck. In this classic cartoon, Bugs and Daffy are vaudeville stars, and Bugs rarely has to do anything on stage to receive applause, whereas Daffy bends over backwards to entertain the crowd, only to be rewarded with complete silence (or the all-too-familiar cricket sounds). As proved in the earlier "hunter trilogy" from director Chuck Jones ("Rabbit Fire" [1951], "Rabbit Seasoning" [1952], and "Duck! Rabbit, Duck!" [1953]), Daffy is constantly frustrated whenever he has to compete with Bugs. But Daffy finally receives his share of applause at the end when he blows himself up after drinking some highly dangerous substances and swallowing a lit match. This painful sequence is not exactly the kind of material intended for children.Here are my favorite highlights from "Show Biz Bugs." Daffy's jealousy toward Bugs is evident right from the opening scene when Daffy notices Bugs' huge name in lights above Daffy's puny name. Daffy's anger is further enhanced (after he and Bugs tap dance together to Milt Franklyn's nicely-orchestrated version of "Tea for Two") by Bugs' simple "Shave and a Haircut" dance receiving enthusiastic applause, and yet, when Daffy engages in his fastest, flashiest soft-shoe dance to "Jeepers Creepers," the audience's response does not even come close. Daffy sets up a few miniature circus objects for his trained pigeons, but when they all immediately fly out the window upon being released from their cage, Daffy has no choice but to smile and shuffle off the stage! And finally, a great musical gag that I've seen in other Warner Bros. cartoons involves Daffy secretly attaching an explosive underneath one of the wooden bars of Bugs' xylophone; as Bugs begins to play "All Those Endearing Young Charms," he repeatedly misses the explosive note, which completely frustrates Daffy, who finally runs out on stage, shoves Bugs away, plays the song correctly, and triggers the explosive! I love "Show Biz Bugs" because of Daffy's overly-competitive nature, which causes him to get his butt whipped every time. Just about the only thing missing from this short is a line that I remember Daffy saying to Bugs in another cartoon in which they portray vaudevillians: "Anything you can do, I can do better. Yes I can. Yes I can! YES I CAN!!!"

Daffy Duck is in a vaudeville act with Bugs Bunny which he detests because of all the accolades that Bugs gets, and the lack of them that he gets. Which leads him to drastic measures to win the audience over. Some re-used famous gags cause this short to be less than what it could have been, but using the old saying that "any Looney Tunes is Good Looney Tunes", I can't really dislike this one either. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and also features an optional commentary by Greg Ford (as well as vintage sound clips and unused musical scores) My Grade: B-

And, this one shows that Bugs can even outsmart Daffy again, even if it's from different directors!This one is my favorite Bugs Vs. Daffy cartoon from Friz Freling!!!