| Hillbilly Hare | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
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| Layouts by | Cornett Wood |
| Backgrounds by | Richard H. Thomas |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 7:22 |
| Language | English |
Hillbilly Hare is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. [2] The short was released on August 12, 1950 and stars Bugs Bunny. [3]
Bugs Bunny is vacationing in the Ozarks and stumbles into the territory of two hillbilly brothers, Curt and Punkinhead Martin. The brothers figure Bugs as being a member of The Coy Clan they are feuding with and make several attempts to shoot him. Bugs foils them each time. Curt and Punkinhead are determined to get revenge on Bugs for their humiliation. Bugs easily outsmarts them and eventually, dressed as an attractive hillbilly girl, tricks them into doing a square dance. The dance tune starts as a straightforward version of "Skip to My Lou" played and called by the jukebox band, "The Sow Belly Trio". Shortly into it, Bugs deliberately unplugs the jukebox, removes the dress and takes over fiddling and square dance calling, still to the beat and rhythm of the song, but manipulating the Martins through a series of slapstick comedy gags. Bugs proceeds to assign the Martins increasingly bizarre and violent directives, which the brothers unquestioningly follow with hilarious results. Finally, with the Martins having promenaded off a cliff, Bugs finishes the dance by having the Martins groggily bow to each other (before collapsing due to exhaustion from the whole "dance") and saying, "And THAT is all!" and playing six final notes on the fiddle, before the cartoon ends.
The hillbillies in Hillbilly Hare have appeared in the DC Looney Tunes comic book series, and had a cameo along with Bugs in the Histeria! episode "Great Heroes of France". They also make a brief cameo in Space Jam (they are briefly seen with the other Looney Tunes characters watching the basketball game between the Tune Squad and the Monstars). They are also part of the characters in the television series New Looney Tunes .
Animation historian Mike Mallory writes, "With Hillbilly Hare, director Robert McKimson, story man Tedd Pierce, and composer Carl Stalling combined to create a comedic perfect storm: the picture without the soundtrack is funny; the soundtrack without the picture is funny; and the music by itself is funny... What elevates Hillbilly Hare to the top rank of Looney Tunes cartoons is its second half, a relentless, hilariously insane square dance called by Bugs (channeling the Western swing musician Bob Wills). The rabbit's instructions are religiously carried out by the hillbillies, who bludgeon each other senseless in the process. This three-minute crescendo of slapstick is one of the greatest sustained pieces of comedy ever drawn." [5] The gag of Bugs Bunny refixing his opponents gun so it will literally backfire is seen in 1957 Pre-Hysterical Hare.
Months after the films release, a letter from Warren, Pennsylvania was sent to the studio, requesting for Bugs' square dancing calls that were used during the film's climax. McKimson also considered putting the short up for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, however producer Edward Selzer refused to submit it for consideration. [6]
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.
Looney Tunes is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. The two series introduced a large cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves.
Robert Porter McKimson Sr. 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 DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. He wrote and directed many animated cartoon shorts starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Hippety Hopper, and The Tasmanian Devil, among other characters. He was also well known for defining Bugs Bunny's design in the 1943 short Tortoise Wins by a Hare.
Merrie Melodies is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. New Merrie Melodies cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, as well as other made productions beginning in 1972. As with its sister series, Looney Tunes, it featured cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd. Between 1934 and 1943, the Merrie Melodies series were distinguished from the black-and-white, Buddy or Porky Pig–starring Looney Tunes shorts by an emphasis on one-shot stories in color featuring Warner Bros.–owned musical selections. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout recurring star of Merrie Melodies, and Looney Tunes went to color in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series more randomly.
Hippety Hopper is a young kangaroo character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons. Robert McKimson introduced Hippety Hopper in Hop, Look and Listen (1948), which established the pattern for future Hippety Hopper cartoons. The character appeared in 14 theatrical cartoons between 1948 and 1964.
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is a series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts. The series began on October 28, 2003, and ended on October 21, 2008.
Tortoise Beats Hare is a 1941 Merrie Melodies animated short supervised and laid out by Tex Avery. It was released on March 15, 1941. The short, loosely based on Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare, stars Bugs Bunny and, in his first appearance, Cecil Turtle. Bugs "tears up" the title card.
Tortoise Wins by a Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon released on February 20, 1943, and directed by Bob Clampett. It stars Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle. It is a sequel to 1941's Tortoise Beats Hare, with footage from said cartoon briefly shown at the beginning. It is also the first short to feature Robert McKimson's design of Bugs Bunny.
The Heckling Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon, released on July 5, 1941, and featuring Bugs Bunny and a dopey dog named Willoughby. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery, written by Michael Maltese, animated by soon-to-be director Robert McKimson, and with musical direction by Carl W. Stalling. In a style that was becoming typical of the Bugs character, he easily outwitted and tormented his antagonist through the short, his only concern being what to do next to the dog.
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. The first release of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series, it contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements. The set won the Classic Award at the Parents' Choice Awards.
Hare Remover is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, released in 1946. The film was the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to be directed by Frank Tashlin, the first being The Unruly Hare (1945). It was also the last short Tashlin directed before leaving Warner Bros. in 1944 to direct live-action films. His animation unit was handed over to Robert McKimson upon his departure.
Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".
Roderick Henry Scribner was an American animator best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons. He worked during the Golden age of American animation.
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 30, 2007.
No Parking Hare is a 1954 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical animated short, directed by Robert McKimson and written by Sid Marcus. The short was released on May 1, 1954, and stars Bugs Bunny. Similar in plot to Homeless Hare, Bugs finds himself squaring off against a construction worker who wants to build over his hole in the ground.
Upswept Hare is a 1953 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon was released on March 14, 1953, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
Half-Fare Hare is a 1956 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on August 18, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny.
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 is a Blu-ray and DVD release by Warner Home Video. It contains 50 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements. It was released on Blu-ray on August 12, 2014, and was released on DVD on November 4, 2014.
