Mad as a Mars Hare (1963)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Directors:

Chuck Jones
Maurice Noble (co-director)

Writer:

John W. Dunn (story)

Release Date:

19 October 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Marvin Martian is monitoring through his telescope a rocket launch on Earth. The rocket heads straight for him and lands on Mars...

Plot Keywords:

Bugs Bunny | Space Travel | Merrie Melodies | Marvin The Martian | Surrealism

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Bugs Bunny / Marvin the Martian / Cape Canaveral Controller (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Marvin Martian: Oh, dear, I've got the silly thing in reverse. He's a Neanderthal rabbit!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bugs Bunny in Space (1977) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Yankee Doodle

Marvin has some hilarious and terribly pithy lines in this very talky short.

Most of the gags in this are verbal in nature, rather than sight gags (though it has a fair number of those as well) and Marvin may have more of the best lines than Bugs, particularly in the beginning. As is often the case, the title is a play on words-in this case, "mad as a March hare", which I believe was derived from Alice in Wonderland. Marvin's comments on "the flora and fauna of Earth likely would have delighted H. L. Mencken and Ambrose Bierce! The ending scene is beautiful, particularly the closing line. Great fun is had by all (well, not by Marvin, not at the end, anyway). Well worth watching. Most highly recommended.