Fresh Hare
- Studio
- Leon Schlesinger Studios
- Distributor
- Warner Bros.
Synopsis
Elmer is a Mountie in the North Woods, out to arrest Bugs for being a "scwewy wabbit." Things go badly for Elmer from the start as Bugs, who is "Wanted, Dead or Alive," handcuffs him to a bomb. Bugs then takes advantage of Elmer's superhuman gullibility by swiping his hat and pretending to be his commanding officer- Bugs "drums Elmer out of the regiment" and tears off his uniform (including his boxers). Elmer cries, "I am a diswace to the wegiment!" After a long chase through caves and snowbanks, Bugs finally takes pity on Elmer and gives himself up. Bugs is brought before a firing squad, but when asked for his last wish, he wishes he was in Dixie, hooray, hooray. This causes the firing squad, Elmer and Bugs to immediately transform themselves into a minstrel show.
Characters
Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Mounties
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Isadore Freleng (as I. Freleng)
Producing
- Producer
- Leon Schlesinger
Writing
- Writer
- Michael Maltese
Animation
- Animator
- Manuel Perez
- Additional Animation, Uncredited
- Richard Bickenbach, Gerry Chiniquy, Phil Monroe
Voices
- Voice
- Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny), Arthur Q. Bryan (Elmer Fudd), Sportsmen Quartet (Dixie Singers)
Music
- Music
- Carl W. Stalling
Crew
- Backgrounds
- Maurice Noble
Production notes
A scene in which Bugs, Elmer and the firing squad all sing "Camptown Ladies" in blackface has been deleted from the end of the short in recent prints.
Songs include: "I Wish I Was in Dixie," performed by Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and the Mounties.
Songs include: "I Wish I Was in Dixie," performed by Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and the Mounties.
Pictures
Reviews
Fat Elmer does it again
My least favorite Fat Elmer cartoon, but this one is still a classic like the rest of Fat Elmer cartoons. I don't like Boomerang censoring the ending gag, but I caught the ending on the Internet. I wish this cartoon will appear on LTV4 uncut, so I can see the hilarious ending.
Fresh Hare
Even though Elmer was still fat, this cartoon did advance the Bugs & Elmer situation. For one thing, Friz took a cue from Tex (who was now at MGM by now) in that the gags were carried out even faster than usual. Friz used the same technique of starting a new gag just as another one is finishing and thereby was able to pack in more action than before. This would help the Warner toons dominate the box office moreso than before and keep dominating for the next several years.
However, something else was different here. In A Wild Hare, Elmer was simply given a gun. In this cartoon, he's a Mountie. Therefore, Bugs is not just out-smarting Elmer, he's out-smarting the entire Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well. This setup gives Bugs' heckling a greater sense of rebellion as well as giving us a easier time at laughing at Elmer's expense. Just like the saying goes, "The bigger they are, the louder the dynamite explosion has to be."
Fresh Hare
Looms very large among the Freleng-Maltese efforts (they really got on each other's case). Sure-footed pacing all the way. Gorgeously rendered backgrounds from Hawley Pratt and.......Paul Julian, perhaps?
Fresh Hare
Looms very large among the Freleng-Maltese efforts (they really got on each other's case). Sure-footed pacing all the way. Gorgeously rendered backgrounds from Hawley Pratt and......Paul Julian, perhaps??
Fresh Hare
Fresh Hare can't be shown on tv anymore. You can only find it on tape. That's because of the ending in which Bugs Bunny, Elmer, and some Canadian Mounties sing "Camp Town Racers" in black face. This was a common joke back then, but now is seen as offensive. Personally, it doesn't bother me. Anyway, notable gags include Bugs' finger snow shoes, Elmer's naming of Bugs' offenses, and Elmer crashing into a block of ice when he thought he was going through a snow drift. Also there are multiple "hot woman model" refrences including a snow hole shaped like a woman and a poster of a model on a tree at the begining of the show. Overall, this cartoon is funny at times, but we've seen most of the jokes here. Still it needs to be seen by all fans.