Hare Force

I. Freleng. Hare Force. USA 1944

Well, this is the end of June Bugs. I admit feeling a little disappointed and a bit sad. Disappointed, in that I honestly thought I'd be churning out pages of material but I'm finding these shorts a bit harder to write about and sad as the Looney Tunes Show usually signaled the end of Saturday Morning cartoons. After that it was Soul Train and the Lone Ranger.


Bugs, lost in a snow storm, finds shelter in the home of a kindly old woman and her not so kindly mutt Sylvester (voiced by Looney Tunes writer Tedd Pierce). It's hate at first sight and the spend the entire short tricking the other in going outside. The ending is a slight twist that I honestly didn't see coming.

And that's all folks. Will I do this again next year? Maaaaybe.

Tune in tomorrow though as I've other surefire idea that'll blow your socks off. 

Hare Ribbin'

Robert Clampett. Hare Ribbin'. USA 1944

After all we've seen we're back to a chase. This time out our chaser is a Russian accented dog with a red bouffant. Lot of gags and some good back and forth, but here the most notable thing is the ending(s).

Yes, plural as the short ends differently depending on which version you're watching. The original one had the dog apparently shooting himself, while the director's cut had Bugs cutting out the middle man and shooting the dog directly.

Yeah, I can see why those got cut. A bit dark for 1944.

Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips

I. Freleng. Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips. USA 1944

...yeah this one's a hard sit through. Pretty darn racist even by '44 standards, we see Bugs in a war time cartoon.

Bugs, floating in a box somewhere in the Pacific, ends up on a small island. It is sadly occupied by some Japanese soldiers, but Bugs manages to make short work of them thanks to good 'ol American knowhow.

Also racist stereotypes

I realize this was made in 1944, but dang. I mean, even the few good gags get ruined. Bugs appears as a 'Good Rumor' ice cream vendor but tosses out some slurs to the soldiers. Plus the portrayal is sadly keeping in line with the racist propaganda at the time.

I get why this one isn't aired.

Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears

Charles M. Jones. Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears. USA 1944

Winding things down and here we see the return of Chuck Jones and the first appearance of the Three Bears. The Bears were never a huge part of the Looney Toons, but they were different from the usual boneheaded hunters.

Papa is short of height and temper. Mama is long suffering, while Junior is slow witted as his father is angry.

All three bears are starving. Deciding to lure Goldilocks, they decided to brew up some porridge. Sadly all they have in the pantry are carrots, so they make carrot soup. This doesn't get them Goldilocks but it does get them a certain rabbit.

Papa had his heart of Goldilocks, but he'll settle for rabbit stew. Naturally they have to follow the storybook, a fact Bugs uses to his advantage, at least until Mama decides to tenderize him. Turning on the charm, Bugs pitches woo at the severally love-starved ursine, but maybe he would have been better off in the stew pot...

Pretty good and Mel Blanc is clearly having a ball as the abusive pa. 

Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) dir. Vernon Sewell, Tigon British Film Productions

Also known as five other films. Tigon British films has gotten a bad rep among horror fans, often derided as 'Hammer-lite' but they did managed to get Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff.

Oh, and since this is the summer, yes, the Summer of Love(craft) lives again! Sort of, as this is kind of a version of Dreams in the Witch House, albeit uncredited.

What's Cookin' Doc?

Robert Clampett. What's Cookin' Doc?. USA 1944

I believe this might be the second meta cartoon Warner Bros. ever did. Bugs here is himself at the Academy Awards. Bugs is sure he's a shoe-in to win, but sadly he comes up short against James Cagney.

Declaring sabotage, Bugs highjacks the evening and tries to convince the stars in attendance that he deserves the Oscar. He does this mostly by showing highlights from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt.

Interesting version of Bugs here; not a trickster or villain but rather the Bugs we've seen so far has been an actor playing a role. Daffy and Porky did a similar thing in You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940), although that was more behind the scenes.

Rather surprising at the level of humor. I can't imagine them doing a 'stag reel' gag even five years later.

Little Red Ridding Rabbit

I. Freleng. Little Red Riding Rabbit. USA 1944

Little Red Riding Hood was a surprisingly popular subject for shorts back in the 40's. Tex Avery's take may be the best known, but Friz Freleng's version is certainly a version...to have.

We have an opening of the fable, with Red bringing her grandma a bunny rabbit (guess who?). The Big Bad Wolf is already there, as Granny is working her shift at Lockheed. He has to throw out the other wolves first though. When Red arrives, the Wolf goes through the 'big eyes, ears. etc' but that's because he doesn't want Red. No, he's got his eyes on rabbit stew.

A nice twist on the story. I rather liked Freleng's take on Red. She's a thoroughly obnoxious bobby-soxer who constantly interrupts the story. Even Bugs and the Wolf get sick of her, and that is certainly a different view on things. 

Falling Hare

Bob Clampett. Falling Hare. USA 1943

Purely a war time cartoon, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Bugs is relaxing by an air base when he runs afoul of a gremlin.

Now gremlins had been in the American popular culture during the war as a series of war time posters, warning the watcher to beware mistakes. Prior to that they were as a more English folk creature with a taste for sabotaging airplanes.

The image of the gremlin had been of a trickster fixated on wrecking planes. Roald Dahl had even written a story about them, based on his service in the RAF. Walt Disney himself even got into gremlin-mania, with the idea of a animated film being bounced around for a 1942 release.

For a variety of reasons that didn't happen, but far be it for a studio to ignore an idea, so while Disney may have passed, Warner Bros. decided to go ahead.

Overall good, although most of the jokes are tied to the war effort and that might go over the head of modern viewers, especially the final punchline. Who would get gas rationing today? 

A Corny Concerto

Robert Clampett. A Corny Concerto. USA 1943

More of a cameo here, but it's clearly Bugs so it counts. Riffing on 1940's Fantasia, we open with a musicologist (Elmer Fudd) introducing Tales from the Vienna Woods. Here we see a hunter (Porky) hunting a certain rabbit.

The second part, Blue Danube, has a young duck (Daffy) trying to join a family of swans. Hilarity ensures.

A pretty good riff on Fantasia and I've always been a sucker for classical music.

Wackiki Wabbit

Charles M. Jones. Wackiki Wabbit. USA 1943


We open with two castaways, one tall and one short. They're stuck on a raft and hungry. How hungry are they?

Their now seeing each other as large bits of a food. Spotting an island, they quickly paddle to it, where a certain grey rabbit greets them. They promptly try to eat him.

Good amount of gags and Bugs is fully in his trickster phase here, only striking when he's crossed. The ending gag especially shows Bus getting one over. 

Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk

I. Freleng. Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk. USA 1943

So here we see Bugs cast into a fairy tale. Bugs is already in the Giant's garden, having the time of his life. The Giant is rather annoyed on account that Bugs is eating him out of his victory garden. Naturally Bugs outwits the big fella.

Decent, but the Giant doesn't really do a whole lot (plus he has a point about the whole eating hi garden). The best bit would be where Bugs challenges him to a duel. In other shorts, Bugs has the other guy march endlessly off into the distance. Here the Giant is so big he walks around the globe and ends up in front of Bugs.

Super Rabbit

Charles M. Jones. Super-Rabbit. USA 1943

I do believe this was the first crossover between DC and the Looney Toons.

Bugs here is a test subject for mad scientist Dr. Cannafraz. Given a 'super carrot', Bugs finds himself with powers far beyond those of mortal rabbits.

Hearing of a nogoodnik named Cottontail Smith and his declared war on rabbits, Bugs heads to Deepinthehearta, Texas. Donning the disguise of a mild-mannered rabbit (complete with fedora and glasses), Bugs wages a one rabbit war on the villainous cowpoke.

Pretty darn good, and more than enough to wipe Cecil's smug expression away. The ending is a bit odd. Smith and his horse get ahold of Bugs' stash of super carrots. They, now clad in the blue and caped super costumes, wait outside the phone booth Bugs ran into...but he emerges in a Marines uniform, saying he has 'important work to do'.

The Marines loved this short, so much that Bugs was officially declared a member of the USMC. Retired as a Master Sergeant at the end of the war I think. Good parody of the Man of Steel though.

Tortoise Wins by a Hare

Robert Clampett. Tortoise Wins by a Hare. USA 1943

Well we finally had a glimpse of what Bugs Bunny could be...and they decided the best follow up was the return of Cecil Turtle.

Done as a proper sequel to Tortoise Beats Hare, Bugs swears revenge.

Better, but Cecil just comes across as too smug. Bugs steals what is supposed to be a fake turtle shell/engine yet he makes it work. Bugs still loses but this time it's due to the Rabbit Mob interfering (they think Bugs is Cecil).

Just unsatisfactory, plus if Cecil hadn't told Bugs about the rocket shell/Rabbit Mob interfering he would have lost cleanly, so it seems like a poorly thought out plan. 

Case of the Missing Hare

Charles M. Jones. Case of the Missing Hare. USA 1942

The last Bugs Bunny short of 1942 and here is when old Chuck finally gets Bugs down.

Bugs is just minding his own business when magician Ala Bahma decides to smack him in the face with a blackberry pie; "what a dumb bunny!"

Of course, you realize this means war.

Yup, first time Bugs declares war on someone. From Bugs torments the magician with heckling and tricks of all shorts, Bugs finally becomes the karmic trickster we know.

The Hare-Brained Hypnotist

I. Freleng. The Hare-Brained Hypnotist. USA 1942

I guess working for the Mounties paid off as Elmer lost the weight.

Now this was a good one. Elmer finds a talent for hypnotism while in the woods one day and decides to go after Bugs. Shockingly not a one sided fight.

Good back and forth, with Bugs and Elmer easily swapping roles and a good barrage of jokes throughout the short.

Fresh Hare

I. Freleng. Fresh Hare. USA 1942

This was a short that I never cared for, mostly due to the ending.

Elmer, still fat and now a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is hunting that dangerous prey-WABBITS!

Standard chase between Bugs and Elmer, but the ending was also short. I wasn't aware until a few years ago that the ending sequence was usually cut from broadcasts. Understandable, given the whole blackface/minstrel show bit.

Yeah, at the end Bugs is facing a firing squad and has a last request. "I wish...I wish...I wish I was in Dixie!"

I can honestly say I did not see that ending coming. 

Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid

Robert Clampett. Bugs Bunny Get the Boid. USA 1942

Now here's a Bugs that's more inline with what I remember. The foil this time out is Beaky Buzzard (although not named here). A goofy, Mortimer Snerd-inspired bird of prey. Goofy (and his mother is the bigger threat) but he wouldn't show up again for a while.

The best bit is when Bugs falls into the ground and mistakes some animal bones for his own. Shades of Harold Lloyd there. So far I'd say the best short yet. Bugs is a prankster, but not malicious and only messes with Beaky when Beaky starts the whole thing. 

Hold the Lion, Please

Charles M. Jones. Hold the Lion, Please. USA 1942

We see Leo the Lion roaming the jungle. Seems he wants to prove that he wears the pants in his relationship, so he's going prove this by hunting and killing whatever animal he can find.

Pity the only animal he runs into Bugs Bunny.

Leo didn't have the biggest run, and I can see why. He's a bit one note, but I've seen his design pop up in a few other shorts.

The Wacky Wabbit

Robert Clampett. The Wacky Wabbit. USA 1942

Any Bonds Today? technically came out before this, but that's more of a bumper than a short.

Elmer is hunting for gold here. Specifically for the US of A to help with the war effort. Bugs sees this and decides to mess with him.

Great amount of slapstick although my biggest problem is Elmer. He's not a jerk nor is he bothering Bugs, so Bugs tormenting him doesn't come across too well. Plus he's messing with the war effort too, so there's that.

The Wabbit Who Came to Supper

I. Freleng The Wabbit Who Came to Supper. USA 1942

First Bugs Bunny short of 1942 and still continuing with the fat Elmer design.

Elmer is hunting rabbits, as usual, but when he finally corners Bugs he gets a telegram. Seems his uncle as passed away and left him three million bucks but only on the condition that he harms no rabbit.

Pity Bugs hears this and decides to test Elmer has hard as he can.

Bugs is still a jerk here and even more so to Elmer. Elmer's a bit greedy, but at this point he's a poor foil and Bugs is too antagonistic to care about.

Wabbit Twouble

Bob Clampett. Wabbit Twouble. USA 1941

Bit of a step up from the last short, this was the first appearance of the 'fat' Elmer. For some reason they decided to remodel Mr. Fudd after his voice actor Arthur Q. Bryan, but would only last for 3 more shorts.

Similar to a Wild Hare, this has Elmer heading out into the Great Wide Open (Jellostone Park, years before Yogi arrived), except this time he's packing a tent instead of a camera or gun. Shame he decided set up his campsite directly over the rabbit hole of one Mr. B. Bunny...

Bugs is more tormenter and Elmer's more of a sap. He's trespassing, but it does seem a bit excessive.

They did a pretty neat bit where the credits are written like Elmer's speech impediment. 

All This and Rabbit Stew

(see comments). All This and Rabbit Stew. USA 1941

Technically a Tex Avery short, his name was left off due to the dust up caused by the Heckling Hare, although after watching this one would think it would be due to embarrassment.

Yeah, this is one of the 'Censored Eleven', basically 11 shorts that will never be aired, and after watching this one, yeah.

TLDR-a hunter goes looking for a rabbit and he runs into Bugs.

Aside from the one good gag (the hunter runs into a hollowed out log and gets tricked into walking out over a cliff; a gag so good they would reuse it later with Elmer, this is pretty darn racist even for 1941. Not hard to see why this one gets skipped over.

The Heckling Hare

Fred Avery. The Heckling Hare. USA 1941

This and the next short would be the final two Bugs Bunny shorts done by Avery. More on the next one later, but here?

Willoughby the Dog is the one hunting Bugs this time out. Guess Elmer decided to take the day off. Bugs unleashes his full gags and tricks against the poor mutt.

Pretty good and Avery's sense of madcap is in full force. The ending is one of the factors that prompted Avery to cross town to MGM. Basically Bugs and Willoughby end up falling off not one, not two, but THREE cliffs. Leon Schlesinger himself had the short edited, allegedly. He either thought the gag was repetitive (Avery had done it before back in '38) or too morbid. It would be years before we could see the unedited footage.

Willoughby is an interesting foil. He's seems more like a canine Yosemite Sam. 

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt

I. Freleng. Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt. USA 1941

Another couple of firsts here. First Bugs Bunny short directed by Friz Freleng, plus the second Bunny short to be nominated for an Academy Award.

As for the short itself...well it's not quite as racist as some of the other shorts released around this time?

Bugs Bunny is reading "the Song of Hiawatha" when the titular hunter shows up and is hankering for some rabbit stew.

One the one hand, the gags are good (the stew pot's been reused a few times) and Freleng shows us his skills at shooting a scene.

On the other the hunter (Elmer in red face as a few critics call him) does the short no favors.

Tortoise Beats Hare

Fred Avery. Tortoise Beats Hare. USA 1941

Here we have the first appearance of Cecil Turtle, a character I've never cared for. Always found him too smug.

Bugs begins, after reading the credits, to read from the old fable "the Tortoise and the Hare", which he likes pretty well, except for the ending. Taking personal offense at that, he goes and challenges Cecil to a race for 10 bucks.

Cecil then cheats and wins. Interesting moral, but I suppose that was point. Good amount of anarchy, although given the involvement of Tex Avery I'm not surprised. Bugs is still a jerk but now he's facing down a bigger jerk.

Elmer's Pet Rabbit

Charles M. Jones. Elmer's Pet Rabbit. USA 1941

Here we officially see the rabbit get a name. Technically an Elmer Fudd short, we see Elmer getting a new pet, a rabbit specially.

Turns out owning a pet is a great deal more hassle than it appears. Bugs here is more in line with his early portrayals, i.e. a raging jackass. He subjects Elmer to so much abuse I found myself cheering Elmer on to knock the stuffing out of the wasically wabbit.

A Wild Hare

Tex Avery. A Wild Hare. USA 1940

Now here's the short that more than a few historians argue is the proper debut of Bugs Bunny. Much like Elmer's Candid Camera, Elmer ventures out in the Great Outdoors, save this time he's sporting a shotgun instead of a camera.

As he's "hunting wabbits", he'll need our silence. He then finds a certain gray and white rabbit.

Much better than Elmer's Candid Camera. There Bugs was a straight up jerk, but at least here he's defending himself, thus the abuse he subjects Elmer to is warranted.

Also the first time Bugs says "Eh, What's Up, Doc?" Which is surprising; not so much a rabbit talking (talking toon animals being around almost as long as talking toons in general) but being so casual about talking to someone who presumably is looking to do him in.

And as an added bit of trivia, this was the first Bugs Bunny short to be nominated for an Oscar.

Elmer's Candid Camera

Charles Jones. Elmer's Candid Camera. USA 1940

Here we have what many consider the first proper Bugs Bunny short, also the first appearance of  Elmer Fudd.

Elmer, having recently bought a camera, decides to that a certain gray 'wabbit' would be the perfect first photo. The rabbit has other ideas.

Personality wise, Bugs here is still the jerkish screwball (vocally he sounds more like a slowed down Daffy Duck) who torments Elmer.

We also see Bugs tricking Elmer into thinking he's dying, prompting Elmer to feel sympathy...at least until he lets him out of the net. Then he goes nuts.

Somewhat regard as an old shame, at least by Jones. 

Hare-um Scare-um

Ben Hardaway and Carl Dalton. Hare-um Scare-um. USA 1939


So here we have the last official appearance of 'Happy' but now colored gray. A hunter; who's named Sourpuss as best as I can tell, declares he'll hunt his own meat after prices go up.

He and his dog encounter a gray furred rabbit wearing yellow gloves. Wackiness ensures.

Plot wise pretty similar to Porky's Hare Hunt except Bugs is going after someone who actually deserves it. Personality wise the rabbit is closer to Daffy Duck (even getting a brief musical interlude) even if he still has the Woody Woodpecker laugh. The short even ends with the rabbit bouncing away laughing.

Presto-Change-o

Chuck Jones. Prest-o Change-o. USA 1939

Here's a first, the first Chuck Jones directed Bugs Bunny short. Although again the bunny in question is still considered Happy and not Bugs proper, even though the 1950 recolor would give the rabbit a similar gray and white color scheme.

The rabbit, mostly silent save for a laughter still bringing to mind Woody Woodpecker, serves as the antagonist. Two curious dogs, on the run from the dog catcher, find refuge in the house of Sham-Fu the Magician. The rabbit was left over from an act, presumably. He torments the larger dog with tricks (the smaller one is targeted by Sham-Fu's magic wand wielding Indian Rope Trick).

The rabbit here uses magic, even the same scarf trick he used in Porky's Hare Hunt, as opposed to the usual slight of hand. I supposed the biggest change here is the rabbit's defeat.

Yes, the taller dog finally gets tired of the rabbit and beats him stupid. So we see the first time Bugs lost a fight.

Not bad, but the manic borderline bully as a character was wearing thin by this point.

Porky's Hare Hunt

Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton. Porky's Hare Hunt. USA 1938.

Kicking off a new feature this year. I've always been a fan of the old Warner Bros. shorts, so why not take a look back at one of their biggest stars? So all this June we'll be focusing on none other than Bugs Bunny.