Rebel Rabbit (1949) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Bugs discovers a bounty board showing foxes are worth $50 and bears $75, but rabbits are only worth 2 cents. He finds this insulting and vows to prove that a seemingly harmless rabbit can be more obnoxious than any other animal, starting his campaign of escalating pranks.

• rabbit bounty
• 2 cents
• fox bounty
• bear bounty
• bugs bunny offended

Bugs mails himself to Washington D.C. in a crate to confront the game commissioner directly about the low rabbit bounty. The official attempts to justify the bounty by claiming rabbits are harmless while foxes and bears damage property.

• mailed to washington
• game commissioner
• crate

As part of his escalating pranks to prove rabbits are more obnoxious, Bugs paints barbershop pole stripes on the Washington Monument, turning a national symbol into a satirical target. This stunt demonstrates his ability to deface iconic government property.

Foreshadowing: The monument prank follows his earlier bench renaming, showing his progression from minor to major targets.

• washington monument
• barbershop poles
• prank

Bugs travels to Buffalo and halts Niagara Falls by revealing a giant faucet above the falls and barrels positioned beneath the water. He dramatically turns off the faucet to stop the famous waterfall, demonstrating his claim that he can disrupt natural landmarks.

• niagara falls
• faucet
• buffalo
• stops waterfall

In one of his most audacious stunts, Bugs sells the entire island of Manhattan back to Native Americans. He strolls through the city wearing a feathered headdress and peace pipe, joking about the sale and his price, riffing on the historical irony of Manhattan being purchased for a mere $24.

• manhattan
• native americans
• sells island
• feathered headdress

Bugs uses a giant saw to separate Florida from the rest of the United States, quipping that South America can take it away. The stunt continues his pattern of disrupting major geographic landmarks and national borders through absurd cartoon logic.

• florida
• sawed off
• mainland
• separated from country

Bugs travels to Panama and steals all the locks from the Panama Canal, celebrating with his signature line 'I got 'em! I got 'em! I got 'em!' The stunt demonstrates his audacious ability to disrupt crucial international waterways.

• panama canal
• locks stolen
• steals locks

After Bugs' escalating pranks, including defacing national monuments, disrupting famous landmarks, and mocking a congressman, his actions provoke a full military response. The War Department deploys tanks, soldiers, cavalry, and jet planes, placing a million-dollar bounty on his head for his audacious campaign against the government.

• war department
• mobilization
• million dollar bounty
• army
• tanks

After provoking a nationwide military response, Bugs dives into a foxhole as artillery shells explode around him. The scene then cuts to Alcatraz Island where he sits in a jail cell, suggesting he has been captured as a consequence of his rebellious campaign against authority.

• alcatraz
• jail cell
• captured
• prison

At the very end, Bugs sits in an Alcatraz cell and mutters 'Ehh, could be…!' The line is delivered in his typical resigned, indifferent tone, suggesting he may have gone too far but is unrepentant. It maintains his defiant, cheeky spirit despite being caught, blending an implication of consequence with undiminished rebellion.

• could be
• ending line
• final joke
• defiant