| 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 mistake Bugs as being a member of The Coy Clan with whom they are feuding 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 after, Bugs removes the dress, dons a hillbilly hat, deliberately unplugs the jukebox and seamlessly takes over fiddling and calling the square dance. He continues to follow the beat and rhythm of the song while 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.
Despite the cartoon being a product of its time in regard to broadcast violence, it is occasionally shown, wholly unedited and without any disclaimer, on MeTV's Toon in with Me and on MeTV Toons' various scheduled cartoon matinée shows.
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 opponent's gun so it will literally backfire is seen in Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958).
Months after the short's 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 a 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, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.
Looney Tunes is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside the related series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. 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, Speedy Gonzales, and the Tasmanian Devil, among other characters. He also developed Bugs Bunny's design in the 1943 short Tortoise Wins by a Hare.
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Pre-Hysterical Hare is a 1958 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on November 1, 1958, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The two are in their usual hunter-and-bunny antics, but set in the Stone Age.
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).
Stage Door Cartoon is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on December 30, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
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.
This is a list of all cartoons featuring Porky Pig. Directors are listed in parentheses.
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