Hassan chop! Er, falls for a Paper-Thin Disguise
"Ali Baba Bunny" is a 1957 Merrie Melodies short (directed by Chuck Jones) involving Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as they wind up inside the cave from "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" after taking a Wrong Turn at Albuquerque. Daffy's greed gets the best of him when he sees the cave's treasure, landing him in hot water with the cave's guard, Hassan. Bugs does his best to extricate Daffy from his troubles, despite Daffy's continual backstabbing attempts to seize all the treasure for himself.
"HASSAN TROPE!!!":
- "Arabian Nights" Days: One wrong turn at Albuquerque lands Bugs and Daffy in the middle of the treasure cave from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
- Benevolent Genie: The genie Daffy found was willing to do his bidding, but being benevolent doesn't stop him from being angry when Daffy tries stuffing him back in his lamp.
- Bowdlerization: When shown on the syndicated Merrie Melodies Show and CBS's Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, the part where Hassan slices Daffy's hat in half with his sword was cut.
- Character Catchphrase: "HASSAN CHOP!"
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Daffy does this three times, twice to his alleged best bud Bugs, then decides to try it against a powerful genie. [see Do Not Taunt Cthulhu below]
- Clam Trap: At the end, a shrunken Daffy is trapped inside a clam.
- Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Daffy dismisses the genie's threats, and suffers for it.
- Furry Reminder: "What a way for a duck to travel: underground!"
- Genie in a Bottle:
- Bugs disguises himself as a genie at one point.
- Daffy discovers a real genie when he tries to polish up an old lamp for a quick four bits.
- Gold Fever: Who else but Daffy? "It's mine, y'unnerstand, mine! Get back in there! Go go go! Down down down! Miiiiiiine!!"
- Grail in the Garbage: Daffy doesn't realize that a magic lamp is worth more than any of the riches in the cave. Granted, he may have thought it was an oil lamp.
- Greed: "I'm rich! I'm wealthy! YAHOO! I'm comfortably well-off!"
- Hat Damage: Daffy gets his miner's cap chopped neatly in two by Hassan's scimitar, including the diamond on it and one of his feathers.
- He Went That Way: Or as Bugs says it, "Him go thatthaway".
- Ignored Aesop: A shrunken Daffy did not learn his lesson.Daffy: I'm rich! I'm a happy miser!
- Incredible Shrinking Man: Daffy's fate at the end is to be shrunk to minuscule size by a vengeful genie.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Bugs knows that not even he can save Daffy from a genie, and wisely decides to cut and run while he has the chance.
- Leitmotif: The classic song "We're in the Money
" (from the Warner Bros.. musical Gold Diggers of 1933) plays in the background twice in the short. Daffy even sings the ditty to himself at one point. - Mistaken for Servant: Daffy sees Hassan and thinks he's a hotel bellhop (a "redcap"). He asks for a cab and promises him a big tip. Hassan lets him have it with his scimitar instead.
- No-Neck Chump: Hassan is a torso with a face attached.
- Open Sesame:
- Hassan struggles to remember the password to the treasure cave at one point (similar to what Cassim did). "Open, sarsaparilla? Open, Saskatchewan? Open, saddle soap?"
- At the end, Bugs says "Close, Sesame" to make a clam close with Daffy inside.
- Perplexing Pearl Production: Bugs finds a pearl in one of his clams, which is immediately claimed by Daffy.
- Pooled Funds: Daffy, and then Hassan, dive into the treasure.
- Primp of Contempt: Bugs is busy dusting himself off when Daffy begs him to save him from Hassan. He offers him a diamond as payment and Bugs just tosses it aside and resumes cleaning himself.
- Resized Vocals: Shrunken Daffy at the end's high-pitched and squeaky...which just adds to the hilarity of the closing punchline.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Bugs wisely decides to high-tail it after Daffy makes the genie angry.
- Shout-Out: Bugs, disguised as a genie in a bottle, greets Hassan with "Me genie, the light brown hare".
- Tempting Fate: Daffy dismisses an angry genie, daring him to do his worst "so long as [he's] rich."
- Third-Person Person: Hassan speaks this way.Hassan: Nobody shall pass Hassan.
- Too Dumb to Live: Daffy's reckless greed imperils him at several points. The dumbest is probably letting his paranoia get the better of him and trying to shove a powerful genie (who, bear in mind, could grant him enough wealth to make the Sultan's treasure look like a pile of pennies) back into his lamp.
- Treasure Is Bigger in Fiction: The treasure cave has some very large gems. The one Daffy steals near the end is almost as big as him.
- Tropical Epilogue: Bugs finally makes it to Pismo Beach.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Daffy mocks Bugs' faux spell, instead of thanking the rabbit for saving him from Hassan's wrath.
- With Friends Like These...: With as much clear hostility and animosity between Bugs and Daffy, one really has to wonder why they're spending their vacation together, though at least some of it can be attributed to Daffy getting Gold Fever at the sight of the treasure cave.
- Word, Schmord!: "Consequences schmonsequences, as long as I'm rich."
- Wormsign: We, of course, saw Bugs travel this way in previous shorts, but this is the first time he brought Daffy along for the ride, and he is none too keen about the travel conditions.Daffy: What a way for a duck to travel. Underground. Hey, wait a minute! Since when is Pismo Beach inside a cave?
- Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: Done by the Trope Namer himself.
