Development of Bugs Bunny and of the character. A model sheet by Charlie Thorson describes this prototype character as "Bugs' Bunny" (note the apostrophe) but in most of the cartoons the character is unnamed. Virgil Ross, the animator for "A Wild Hare" describes how the character came to be named in the interview published by "Animato!" magazine #19. Mel Blanc often told the story of the creation of the character and its name. He suggested that the character be named after the character's initial director, Ben "Bugs" Hardaway. Blanc's own book, "That's Not All Folks" published by Warner Books in 1988, describes the "tough
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