"Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Wile E Coyote, Genius!" With those words, Chuck Jones & Michael Maltese place their most hapless predator squarely in the cross-hairs of that most ruthless of all adversaries, Bugs Bunny! We all know it'll be a mismatch from the beginning, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the rascally rabbit's systematic destruction of his opponent, who ends up collapsing at his feet, moaning "My name is Mud!!" . This is the coyote's second appearance on screen -- his first, of course, was against Road Runner in "Fast and Furry-ous". But Road Runner cartoons were done in the style of the old silent movies, and Coyote was pretty much a helpless victim of his own bad luck. But against Bugs Bunny, he gets a name (Wile E), he speaks -- and he's a much more arrogant (and less sympathetic) character -- and of course Bugs Bunny takes an active role in his disasters. Consequently, I think the Road Runner cartoons are funnier, and more clever. But "Operation Rabbit" still has some great moments (SPOILERS COMING -- BEWARE) -- my favorite is when Wile E designs an explosive mechanical lady rabbit to trick Bugs, only to fall victim to the same gag played on him by Bugsy -- and then get blasted by his own booby trap ("Ohhh No!!" cries the barbecued canine just before disaster strikes again). In all, Wile E is blown up six hilarious times in this short, finally ending up hanging, dazed and confused, from a tree branch, high up the side of a cliff. I always expect that branch to snap... and am actually kind of disappointed when it doesn't! A very funny cartoon, and the best of the Wile E vs Bugs match-ups.

I am about to say something that may shock many of you, so hold on tight! I never particularly liked the Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons. I think most of this is because although I loved Wiley Coyote, I always felt that the Roadrunner had almost zero personality. After a while, I really wanted to see Wiley catch and kill the Roadrunner! In light of this, I was THRILLED the first time I saw this cartoon. Not only is Wiley Coyote at his best, but he finally has a worthy opponent in the form of Bugs Bunny--who has mountains of personality. Wiley is at his best because he talks and shows himself to be a supremely smug jerk who calls himself "Wile E. Coyote--Genius" and asks Bugs to surrender without a fight because he is clearly outmatched by Wiley's brain power! It's great to see Bugs knock him down a few pegs by destroying all of Wiley's attempts to capture him! Violent fun for all.

After his failure to catch the Roadrunner in 1949's Fast And Furry-ous, Wile E. Coyote instead targets a new prey: Bugs Bunny. Unfortunately, his luck with catching Bugs isn't much better than it was with the Roadrunner three years earlier.Although it's a little odd that Wile E. Coyote's sophomore cartoon was actually the first of five that paired him with Bugs Bunny (suggesting that Chuck Jones knew he had a popular character with Wile E. but wasn't quite sure of what to do with him after F&F), Bugs proves to be just as funny a foil for Wile E. as the Roadrunner was. In addition to discovering his name, we also discover Wile E.'s over-inflated ego. This, of course, is what ultimately does him in. The whole use of "modern science" to capture Bugs was a first at the time and a welcome departure from the usual "man with gun out to get Bugs" routine. Of course, the cartoon's novel presentation is put to good use with some very funny gags (my favorite being the mechanical bunny). Plus, at the end of the cartoon, we hear one of Bugs's most oft-quoted lines (which is already cited elsewhere on IMDb).Overall, this is one of the funniest and most creative Bugs Bunny shorts ever released. It's a shame the remaining four cartoons couldn't quite live up to this one because, considering the potential the cartoon's formula had, Wile E. and Bugs could've easily become just as popular a pairing as Wile E. and the Roadrunner.

Early Wile E. Coyote isn't chasing the Roadrunner, but Bugs Bunny! He's pulling these schemes we know so well from his later adventures with the miep-miep character, and obviously each time is losing out, getting blown up no less than 5 times.The schemes he pulls are pretty funny, although to me it doesn't match up to the episodes with the Roadrunner. In particular the overuse of his (annoying) voice doesn't work well. We hear him blabbing he's a genious about 10 times. Alright, we get it.Still, I had some good laughs from this decent cartoon. Interesting for those into the Coyote character I suppose. 6/10.