''A Wild Hare'' is a 1940

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' cartoon directed by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

. The short subject features

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...

and

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance.Adamson, Joe (1990). ''Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Grey Hare''. New York: Henry Holt.

Title

The title is a play on "wild hair", the first of many puns between "hare" and "hair" that would appear in Bugs Bunny titles. The pun is carried further by a bar of "

I'm Just Wild About Harry "I'm Just Wild About Harry" is a song written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show ''Shuffle Along''. "I'm Just Wild About Harry" was the most popular number of the production, which was the first fin ...

" playing in the underscore of the opening credits. Various directors at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio had been experimenting with cartoons focused on a hunter pursuing a rabbit since 1938, with varied approaches to the characters of both rabbit and hunter.

Plot

The cartoon begins with Elmer tiptoeing around and telling the viewer his famous line, "Shh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits." Elmer then approaches one of Bugs'

warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

s, puts down a

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

, and hides behind a tree. Bugs' arm reaches out of the hole, feels around, and snatches the carrot. He reaches out again and finds Elmer's

double-barreled shotgun A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously. Construction Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost u ...

. His arm quickly pops back into the hole before returning to drop the eaten stub of Elmer's carrot and apologetically caress the end of the barrel. Elmer shoves his gun into Bugs' burrow, and thus causes a struggle in which the barrel is bent into a bow. Elmer frantically digs into the hole while Bugs emerges from a nearby opening with another carrot in his hand, lifts Fudd's hat, and taps the top of his head until Elmer notices; then chews his carrot and delivers his definitive line, "What's up, Doc?". When Elmer replies that "

e's is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in ''Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003 to Februa ...

hunting 'wabbits'", Bugs chews his carrot and asks what a rabbit is; then teases Elmer by displaying every aspect of Fudd's description until Elmer suspects that Bugs is a rabbit. Bugs confirms this, hides behind a tree, sneaks behind Elmer, covers his eyes, and asks "Guess who?". Elmer tries the names of contemporary screen beauties whose names exploited his

speech impediment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills are ...

, before he guesses the rabbit. Bugs responds "Hmm..... Could be!", kisses Elmer, and dives into his burrow. Elmer sticks his head into the hole and gets another kiss from Bugs; whereafter he wipes his mouth and decides to set a trap. When Bugs puts a skunk in the trap, Fudd blindly grabs the skunk and carries it over to the watching Bugs to brag; and when Elmer sees his mistake, Bugs gives him a kiss on the nose, where upon Fudd looks at the skunk, who winks and nudges Elmer. Fudd winces and gingerly sends the skunk on his way. Bugs then offers a free shot at himself; fakes an elaborate death; and plays dead, leaving Elmer suffering with remorse; but survives the shot and sneaks up behind the distraught Fudd, kicks him in his rear, shoves a cigar into his mouth, and tiptoes away, ballet-style. Finally, the defeated Elmer walks away sobbing about "wabbits, cawwots, guns", etc. Bugs then remarks, "Can ya imagine anybody acting like that? Ya know, I think the poor guy's screwy", and begins to play his carrot like a fife, playing the tune ''

The Girl I Left Behind Me "The Girl I Left Behind", also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources ...

'', and marches with one stiff leg towards his rabbit hole (recalling '' The Spirit of '76'').

''Wild Hare'' on the radio

In a rare promotional broadcast, ''A Wild Hare'' was loosely adapted for the radio as a sketch performed by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

and Arthur Q. Bryan on the April 11, 1941, edition of ''The

Al Pearce Albert Pearce (July 25, 1898 – June 2, 1961) was an American comedian, singer and List of banjo players, banjo player who was a popular personality on several radio networks from 1928 to 1947. Biography After selling insurance door-to-door ...

Show''. The sketch was followed by a scripted interview with

Leon Schlesinger Leon Schlesinger (May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation. He was a distant r ...

What's up, Doc?

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...

claimed that his inspiration for "creating" Bugs in the interview with Michael Barrier and '' Bugs Bunny Superstar'' that he was inspired by the film ''

It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries ...

'', with

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

's character chewing a carrot in a non-chalance stance while talking to

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

's character about hitchhiking, however Avery denied this in the Avery-Jones letter, outright questioning it. However, this was the inspiration for the prototypical version that is seen in ''

Porky's Hare Hunt ''Porky's Hare Hunt'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short film directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and an uncredited Cal Dalton, which stars Porky Pig as a hunter whose quarry is a little white rabbit. The short was released on ...

'', according to

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

. Also, Freleng also says that Gable's character wasn't the inspiration, but

Roscoe Karns Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (disambiguation) *Roscoe Township (disambiguation) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Roscoe, Illinois, a village * ...

character, Oscar Shapeley, was the partial inspiration for the version created by Avery.''It Happened One Night'' film review by Tim Dirks
Filmsite.org. * The line, "What's up, Doc?", was added by director

for this film. Avery explained later that it was a common expression in Texas where he was from, and he did not think much of the phrase. But when this short was screened in theaters, the scene of Bugs calmly chewing a carrot, followed by the nonchalant "What's Up, Doc?", went against any 1940s audience's expectation of how a rabbit might react to a hunter and caused complete pandemonium in the audience, bringing down the house in every theater. As a result of this popularity, Bugs eats a carrot and utters some version of the phrase in almost every one of his cartoons; sometimes entirely out of context.

Home media

"A Wild Hare" is available on many home video releases. *VHS - ''Bugs Bunny Collection'': Here Comes Bugs (Blue Ribbon) *Laserdisc - ''

The Golden Age of Looney Tunes ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'' is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being made up of seven cartoon ...

'', Volume 1 (Blue Ribbon title) and Volume 4, (Recreation Rings, same as Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3) *VHS - ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'', Vol. 2: Firsts (Blue Ribbon) *DVD - ''

Torrid Zone The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

'' (Blue Ribbon, USA 1995 Turner print added as a bonus) *DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, ''What's Up Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny'' documentary (unrestored, borrowed title card from " A Gander at Mother Goose" with edited production No., original titles) *DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, through '' Bugs Bunny Superstar'' (same as Torrid Zone) *DVD -

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection Warner Bros.' library of Oscar-nominated cartoons were showcased in a DVD set released by Warner Home Video on February 12, 2008 that included their own Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, as well as Tom and Jerry, Droopy, and other classic MGM car ...

(restored) *DVD - The Essential Bugs Bunny (restored) *DVD - '' Bugs Bunny Superstar'' (USA 1995 Turner print added as a bonus) *Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 (restored) *Blu-ray - '' Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection'' *Streaming -

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

Notes

*The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons but lost to "

The Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

", another

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Rudolf Ising Rudolf Carl Ising (August 7, 1903 – July 18, 1992) was an American animator best known for collaborating with Hugh Harman to establish the Warner Bros. and MGM Cartoon studios during the early years of the golden age of American animation. In ...

production. *When the film was reissued as a Blue Ribbon release, it was retitled ''The Wild Hare''. Also, during the "guess who" sequence, the name Cawole Wombard was redubbed, since Lombard died in a plane crash, and was replaced by Bawbawa Stanwyck.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Hare, A 1940 short films 1940 films 1940 animated films 1940 comedy films 1940s animated short films Films directed by Tex Avery Bugs Bunny films Films about hunters Merrie Melodies short films Films scored by Carl Stalling Animated films about rabbits and hares Films produced by Leon Schlesinger 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films 1940s English-language films