The Unruly Hare
The Unruly Hare | |
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Directed by | The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 7 minutes |
Language | English |
The Unruly Hare is a 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series directed by Frank Tashlin and written by Melvin Millar.[2] The cartoon was released on February 10, 1945 and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.[3] The film was one of only two Bugs Bunny cartoons directed by Frank Tashlin at Warner Bros., the other being 1946's Hare Remover.[4]
Plot
The cartoon opens up on some
Bugs lights a match, making him see a
Bugs jumps into his tree stump. Elmer shoots down the tree stump. Bugs, unscathed, pops up out of a hole, walks up to him, and asks him, "Eh, what's up, Doc?", to which Elmer replies, "I just put a cwazy wabbit out of his misewy." Bugs tells the audience, "It's murder, he says! How gruesome." As he peeks down the tree stump with Elmer, he whispers, "Don't look now, Doc, but you missed me." Elmer realizes his mistake, becomes enraged, literally turning red, and Bugs honks his nose, and runs back to the hole, and shouts "Geronimo!" before jumping down the hole. Bugs sticks a dummy head of himself up out of the hole to see if Elmer is still there. The dummy head gets bonked, literally shaking Bugs. Elmer celebrates, thinking he finally got him, and gets back to work. However, this time, Bugs appears on his surveying telescope. Elmer gets riled, saying, "Thewe's something scwewy awound hewe!", to which Bugs replies, "Eh, could be you, Doc."
Bugs kisses him, and Elmer sticks the gun into Bugs' mouth, then lifts him off his surveying telescope, and Bugs, doing a
Bugs undermines his own efforts, since the explosion instantly lays the tracks and rails in their intended location.[5] The creation of the railroad is followed immediately by the passing of an engine in full steam, Bugs riding in the back and waving goodbye to the cowering Elmer. The film ends with a reference to travel conditions in the United States home front during World War II. Bugs jumps off the train, and while "My Country, 'Tis of Thee"[5] plays softly on the underscore, he closes the cartoon telling the audience, "Eh, I almost forgot. None of us civilians should be doing any unnecessary traveling these days." He decides to walk the tracks instead, to the tune of "Kingdom Coming" and seen in silhouette to iris-out.
Censorship
- On The WB, the part where Elmer has his rifle pointed at Bugs and Bugs tricks him into shooting him with, "Only a rat should shoot a guy in the back" was cut.[6][7]
- Some local stations (and televised prints from the early 1960s) edit out the part where Elmer is looking through his telescope and Bugs puts a pin-up magazine in front of the telescope.[8]
Home media
- (1986) VHS - Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd Cartoon Festival Featuring "Wabbit Twouble"
- (1988) VHS - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs Vs. Elmer
- (1990) VHS - Bugs Bunny Collection: Here Comes Bugs
- (1992) LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 1, Side 7: Bugs Bunny by Each Director
- (1992) VHS - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes: Vol. 7: Bugs Bunny by Each Director
- (2019) Boomerang Streaming Service - 1995 "NTSC" Dubbed Version print.
- (2020) HBO Max - Streaming (restored)[9]
- (2023) Blu-Ray - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 (restored)[10]
Notes
- This was the only Bugs Bunny short in which Frank Tashlin is credited, and one of two Bugs Bunny shorts directed by Frank Tashlin.
- Although Bugs did appear in one previous cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin, Porky Pig's Feat, he wasn't in a starring role in that short.
- This is the final Bugs Bunny cartoon to use the 1941-45 rendition of "Merrily We Roll Along".
- This is also the final Bugs Bunny cartoon not to have expanded credits, simply only crediting Supervision, Musical Direction, Story, and Voice Characterizations.
- While this short has appeared on at least one public domain DVD release, the copyright was renewed on October 25, 1972.[11]
See also
Sources
- Shull, Michael S.; Wilt, David E. (2004), "Private Snafu Cartoons", Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939-1945, ISBN 978-0786481699
References
- ^ BCDB[dead link]
- ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Sigall (2005), p. 73
- ^ a b c Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 185-186
- ^ "The Censored Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide: U-Z".
- ^ "The Unruly Hare - WB cut". YouTube.
- ^ "The Unruly Hare".
- ^ @dee_bax (November 4, 2020). "It is about ding-dang flippin' TIME!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Miller III, Randy. "Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 1 Blu-ray". Blu-Ray.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ R538954
External links
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