''Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare'' is a 1964

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'' theatrical cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on March 28, 1964, and stars

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

and the Tasmanian Devil. This marks the final pairing of Bugs and Taz, as well as the final appearance of Taz in the Golden age of American animation, and Bugs' final appearance in the '' Merrie Melodies'' series. It is also the only cartoon where Bugs and Taz both lose in the end.

Plot

The Tasmanian Devil approaches the Jungle. A

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

sees the Tasmanian Devil approaching and taps a warning on a tree which we see as a subtitle on the bottom on the screen: "Warning! Tasmanian Devil approaching at 9 o'clock!" Two giraffes hear this and end up running, and two beavers use their tails to beat out the message on the log that translates as "Take Cover! Devil is Coming! Take Cover! Repeat - Take Cover!". A bear and a

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

fighting hear this and end up running as well, and as a stampede of animals leave the jungle, Bugs is bathing in a nearby pond unaware that Taz has spotted him. Disliking the taste of Bugs' soap, Taz washes it off and puts ketchup on Bugs. Bugs thinks it is blood and freaks out, telling Taz to find a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

. Taz runs to an infirmary, only to find Bugs dressed as a doctor instead. After a few checkup procedures, Bugs puts spotted glasses on Taz and asks him if he sees spots on his eyes and Taz says he does. Then Bugs gives him nitroglycerine and puts an electric belly firmer vibrating belt on Taz and Taz explodes. Then Bugs dressed as

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

makes Taz lie on a couch and talk about his childhood. Taz talks about how he was a bad boy. Bugs declares closing time and folds Taz and the couch into a suitcase and puts it in a mailbox, which gets picked up by a mail truck. It comes back by a mail truck covered with stickers from all the countries he has been to. Taz searches for Bugs and ends up in a hospital zone. Bugs rolls himself by on a gurney. Inside the hospital. Bugs is a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and congratulates Taz and gives Taz a bundle presumably a baby boy. Taz gives Bugs a cigar and unwraps the baby which is actually an exploding bomb. As Bugs walks away, the cigar that Taz gave him turns out to be an

exploding cigar An exploding cigar is a variety of cigar that explodes shortly after being lit. Such cigars are normally packed with a minute chemical explosive charge near the lighting end or with a non-chemical device that ruptures the cigar when exposed to ...

. As Taz spins in, Bugs dressed as a surgeon calls Taz as his assistant. Bugs leaves the room and Taz looks at the patient. It ends up being a robotic

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

which then grabs Taz and beats up Taz offstage. Then in a backfiring moment, the robot heads for Bugs as the monster goes out of control. It ends with Bugs being beaten up by the monster, also off stage, and both the dazed Bugs and Taz staggering back onscreen, bruised and bandaged. Bugs then asks if there is a doctor in the house: “Huh? Is there? Ohh…”

Home media

''Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare'' is available, uncensored and uncut, on the ''Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinare'' DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen. It is also shown as uncensored, fully screened and uncut, on the '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1'' Blu-ray box-set.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Devil and Mister Hare 1964 films 1964 animated films 1964 short films Merrie Melodies short films Films directed by Robert McKimson Films scored by William Lava Frankenstein films Films set in jungles Bugs Bunny films Tasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes) films 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films 1960s English-language films