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.



Short version: Porky is trying to hunt a white rabbit. Wackiness ensures.

The rabbit (tentatively called Happy here) is a manic foil to Porky's straight man. Everything out of his mouth is a Groucho-ish line (even the "Of course you know this means war!"), plus his casual disregard of physics for a gag paints a different picture of the usual everyman portrayal. As far as characters go he seems far more like Woody Woodpecker when you consider his laugh and general attitude, even though Woody wouldn't show up for another 2 years. 

Cartoons back in the late 30's were still stuck in the pipe arms style, although 1937's Porky's Duck Hunt would be a serious shift in a different direction what with madcap leads.

The short actually has an ending too. Porky gets blown up but we see him in a hospital bed when the white rabbit pays him a visit. "I'll be out in a few days"

"Oh no you won't!"

A sadistic streak seemed to be the norm in the madcap characters of the 30's, but that is one change I'm glad they removed. A character can have an edge but too much and you're asking us to root for a jerk. Happy here comes across as a jerky Daffy more than anything.