On this day in history, July 27, 1940, Bugs Bunny made his debut in the animated film “A Wild Hare.”

Today is Bugs Bunny's 83rd birthday. It was on this day in history, July 27, 1940, that Bugs Bunny made his debut in “A Wild Hare,” an animated short released by Warner Brothers.

The cotton-tailed friend became known in pop culture for his iconic question: “What's up, Doc?”

The main plot of “A Wild Hare” is about Elmer Fudd's unsuccessful pursuit of Bugs Bunny, who is much smarter than he is.

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Elmer Fudd looks down rabbit holes, taunts Bugs with carrots, and tries (unsuccessfully) to catch him.

“Eventually, Elmer, frustrated and distracted by the rabbit's antics, walks away sobbing… Bugs then begins playing his carrot like a fife, playing the tune “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and walks stiffly toward his rabbit hole,” according to the Looney Tunes Fandom website.

Bugs Bunny made his debut in the summer of 1940. The animated short, “A Wild Hare,” was released on July 27, 1940. (Warner Bros.)

The short film was nominated for an Oscar in the category “Best Short Subject: Animated Cartoons,” according to the official Warner Brothers website.

Bugs Bunny was conceived in Leon Schlesinger's animation unit at Warner Brothers Studios, Britannica.com noted.

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The creative unit included a variety of animation greats, including Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett and Friz Freleng, as well as famed voice artist Mel Blanc and musician Carl Stalling, the source said.

Bugs Bunny was conceived in Leon Schlesinger's animation unit at Warner Brothers Studios.

There had been earlier variations of Bug Bunny, the affable and pleasant rabbit, who was voiced by Mel Blanc.

Bugs Bunny made his first appearance in the 1938 film “Porky's Hare Hunt,” although the character's speech patterns and appearance were quite different, Variety reported.

In subsequent years, Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons featured other cartoon rabbits, several sources noted.

A poster shows Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzalez, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Daffy Duck and Sylvester, circa 1950. (Movie poster image/Getty Images)

But it was in 1940, with the short film “A Wild Hare,” that Bugs Bunny began to look and talk like himself — and, significantly, according to Variety, it was the first time he uttered the immortal words “What's up, Doc?”

Only Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse rivals Bugs Bunny as the most popular cartoon character of all time, according to Britannica.com.

Occasionally, Bugs Bunny appeared with other animated characters such as Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, and his most common enemies were Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam, the source said.

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Classic Bugs Bunny cartoons include “Hare Tonic” (1945), “The Big Snooze” (1946), “Hair-Raising Hare” (1946), “Buccaneer Bunny” (1948), “Mississippi Hare” (1949) , “Mutiny on the Bunny” (1950), “What’s Up, Doc?” ” (1950), “The Rabbit of Seville” (1950) and the Academy Award-winning “Knighty-Knight Bugs” (1958).

The hit animated film “What Is Opera, Doctor?” (1957), in which Bugs and Elmer Fudd played Brunhild and Siegfried, created a modified adaptation of Richard Wagner’s “The Ring of the Nibelung,” hailed as the first animated short to be inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1992, Britannica.com noted.

Bugs Bunny has been fooling hunter Elmer Fudd for decades. (Warner Bros.)

By 1987, decades after its debut, “The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show” was ABC's No. 1 children's television show, under the title “Wabbit Wins Watings Wace,” according to Variety.

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Bugs Bunny has had other successes over the years.

He appeared in more than 150 films, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was the first animated character to have his face on a postage stamp.

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TV Guide also ranked him No. 1 on a list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, according to Smithsonian magazine.

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The cartoon prankster also appeared in the feature films “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” (1988), “Space Jam” (1996) with Michael Jordan and “Space Jam: A New Legacy” (2021).