The Heckling Hare (1941)

Director:

Tex Avery

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

5 July 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

Plot:

This time Bugs is chased by hunting dog Willoughby.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Fall From Height | Cliff | Baseball Bat | Bugs Bunny

Cast

Mel Blanc	...	Bugs Bunny (voice)
Tex Avery	...	Willoughby (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #6974)

Company:

Leon Schlesinger Studios

Trivia:

This is the cartoon that led to Tex Avery leaving Warner Bros. The final gag of this cartoon originally had Bugs and Willoughby falling off another cliff, with Bugs telling the audience, "Hold on to your hats, folks. Here we go again!" Producer Leon Schlesinger didn't like the ending and cut it. According to Avery, Schlesinger thought the gag was too risqué to have a punch line, and that the audience would believe there was a connection between the fall and the punch line. Avery was enraged and walked out of the studio. He was promptly suspended, and when MGM heard about it they quickly hired him.

Quotes:

Bugs Bunny: Let's see...what can I do to this guy next?

Movie Connections:

References Of Mice and Men (1939)

Soundtrack:

Frühlingslied (Spring Song)

preceding "Hare Ribbin'"

For years, the only Bugs-Bunny-razzes-hunting-dog cartoon that I knew was "Hare Ribbin'", which I had seen on MGM's video release "Cartoon Moviestars: BUGS!"*. So when I saw "The Heckling Hare", I was just a little surprised that Bugs Bunny had done all this once before. Then again, maybe it shouldn't surprise me that Bugs had done this more than once. After all, Bugs knows exactly what to do in these sorts of situations.

Anyway, this one has a hunting dog named Willoughby looking for rabbits and finding Bugs. So, Bugs spends the next couple of minutes playing every possible trick on Willoughby (even wondering what else to do to the poor canine). And no one - not even the audience - is safe from his jeers.

All in all, I would say that it was a good end for Tex Avery's Warner Bros. career. One has to wonder what else he would have done had he stayed with WB. I recommend it.

*For many years, MGM owned the rights to the pre-1948 Warner Bros. color cartoons. For this reason, the documentary "Bugs Bunny Superstar" was an MGM release. When MGM released it on video in 1988, they also released Cartoon Moviestars collections "BUGS!" (showing Bugs Bunny holding an Oscar), "DAFFY!" (showing Daffy Duck wearing spiffy sunglasses), "PORKY!" (showing Porky Pig driving a fancy car) and "ELMER!" (showing Elmer Fudd sitting in a director's chair). Among the other cartoons on these videos were "The Up-Standing Sitter", "Brother Brat" and "A Pest in the House".