''Devil May Hare'' is a 1954

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 ...

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' cartoon directed by

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

. The short was released on June 19, 1954, and stars

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 '' ...

and the

Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

making his debut.

Plot

Bugs is spring cleaning until he is interrupted by a huge variety of

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

stampeding in fear. He fails to stop one of them to ask what is going on until he places a shovel in the way of a

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

, who explains that "the

's on the loose!". Not knowing what a Tasmanian Devil is, Bugs walks down the stairs into his hole and looks in an encyclopedia. It describes the Tasmanian Devil, or Taz, as a "strong, moiderous beast", with "jaws as powerful as a steel trap" and a "ravenous appetite", who eats a long list of animals. Taz, unknown to Bugs, has spun into the area and is actually standing next to the rabbit as he is reading; the marsupial interjects by writing "and rabbits" at the end of that list. This grabs Bugs' attention and Taz grabs him, intending a meal. Plotting to escape, Bugs offers Taz

groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

s as an appetizer. Bugs directs Taz where to start digging for groundhogs, and as he is shoveling a hole, Bugs buries him in it. Realizing this is a trap, Taz springs out and attacks him, but Bugs feigns smelling chicken. He prepares a false chicken from liquid

bubble gum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

and bicarbonate of soda. Called to "luncheon", Taz immediately devours this creation and starts hiccuping. He generates a giant bubble which Bugs blows into the air. Taz begins to drift away until Bugs uses a slingshot to pop the bubble and bring him down. Bugs simplistically makes an inflatable

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrel ...

look like a

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

and lures Taz with pig noises. Taz swallows it whole, Bugs pulls the string, and the marsupial inflates into the shape of the raft. As Bugs admires a deer he has crudely fashioned from a variety of objects, Taz swirls in and chases him up a tree. While Taz methodically chomps sections of the tree, bringing Bugs closer to the ground each time, the rabbit diverts his attention to the deer. Bugs suggests Taz use the slingshot he has provided - a huge rubber band slung around a tree - to knock the prey out first. Taz does this, but as he is pulling the slingshot back in preparation to fling the pre-loaded rock, Bugs saws down the anchoring tree. Taz soars backwards and crashes. As Bugs laughs and enjoys Taz's misfortune, a real

fawn Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

appears next to him. Bugs, unaware that the marsupial is standing behind him, warns the fawn, using several insulting adjectives to describe Taz. Noticing Taz behind him, he tells the marsupial that the fawn is made out of straw, although Taz acknowledges that Bugs is not and gives chase. At a point where Bugs eludes him for a second, he stops at a tree and, from a hole in it, retrieves a phone. He calls the Tasmanian Post-Dispatch and places a singles advertisement to find a romantic partner for Taz. In a few seconds, an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

flies in, lands and a Tasmanian She-Devil spins out, dressed for a wedding ceremony. Upon seeing her, Taz falls immediately in love. Bugs poses as a minister and pronounces them "Devil and Devilish". After Bugs tosses rice at them, they board the airplane, which flies away. Bugs bids them farewell and then tells the audience, "All the world loves a lover. But in this case we'll make an exception."

Edited versions

When this cartoon aired on CBS in the 1980s, the part where Bugs uses a slingshot to bring Taz down (after he hiccups a bubblegum bubble that sends him skyward) was cut, making it seem that the bubble burst on its own.

Home media

''Devil May Hare'' has been featured on the '' Looney Tunes: Spotlight Collection'' DVD box set, as well as the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1'' DVD box set. It also appeared in the '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1'' Blu-ray box set alongside '' Bedevilled Rabbit'', ''

Ducking the Devil ''Ducking The Devil'' is a 1957 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on August 17, 1957, and stars Daffy Duck and the Tasmanian Devil. Plot At a zoo, a cage was reserved for the ...

'', ''

Bill of Hare ''Bill of Hare'' is a 1962 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on June 9, 1962, and stars Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil. Plot The cartoon opens in a seaside town where a crate is be ...

'' and ''

Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare ''Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare'' is a 1964 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' theatrical cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on March 28, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes), Tasmanian Devil. Thi ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Robert McKimson 1954 films 1954 animated films 1954 short films Looney Tunes shorts Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films Films directed by Robert McKimson Films scored by Milt Franklyn Films set in jungles Bugs Bunny films Tasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes) films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films 1950s English-language films