Honey Bunny the Nips" (1944), a shapely robotic female rabbit used as a bait for Bugs by Gossamer's creator in the cartoon "Hair-Raising Hare" (1946), Daisy Lou (who bears a strong resemblance to Honey Bunny's eventual character design from the 1970s-1990s) in the above-mentioned cartoon "Hare Splitter" (1948), Witch Hazel (who is transformed into an attractive female rabbit) in the cartoon "Bewitched Bunny" (1954), and Millicent (an overweight rabbit) in the cartoon "Rabbit Romeo" (1957). Mama Bear, in "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears" (1944); Penelope Pussycat, in "Carrotblanca" (1995); and Elmer Fudd, in "Bugs' Bonnets" (1956) and "Rabbit of Seville" (1950),
Bugs Bunny star billing in his cartoons by 1943. By that time, Warner Bros. had become the most profitable cartoon studio in the United States. In company with cartoon studios such as Disney and Famous Studios, Warners pitted its characters against Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, and the Japanese. "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips" (1944) features Bugs at odds with a group of Japanese soldiers. This cartoon has since been pulled from distribution due to its depiction of Japanese people. One US Navy propaganda film saved from destruction features the voice of Mel Blanc in "Tokyo Woes" (1945) about the propaganda