Bugs Bunny that another proposed name for the character was "Happy Rabbit." In the actual cartoons and publicity, however, the name "Happy" only seems to have been used in reference to Bugs Hardaway. In "Hare-um Scare-um", a newspaper headline reads, "Happy Hardaway." Animation historian David Gerstein disputes that "Happy Rabbit" was ever used as an official name, believing that the only usage of the term was from Mel Blanc himself in humorous and fanciful tales he told about the character's development in the 1970s and 1980s; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as August 1939, in the Motion Picture Herald,
Bugs Bunny: Superstar "Bugs Bunny: Superstar", drew the ire of Chuck Jones, who responded by writing a letter (dated 11 December 1975) and enlisting Tex Avery to make annotations (dated 22 December 1975). Jones's letter, which was publicly circulated, refers to "the grossly unfair misrepresentations of BUGS BUNNY SUPER STAR," adding, "Bugs Bunny: Superstar" was first released in theaters in late 1975. At the time of the film's release, the rights to the individual cartoons themselves were controlled by United Artists as part of their acquisition of the pre-1950 Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) library Warner Bros. films. The former a.a.p. library was later