The title reads "Tortoise Beats Hare" even though Cecil's last name it Turtle, he is in fact a tortoise. A tortoise spends most of its time on land, where's a turtle spends most of its life in water. A tortoise shell is domed, where the turtle shell is more streamlined to create less resistance when swimming. Also their legs differ. Tortoises have thick stumpy legs made for walking. Turtles have webbing between their toes and have long claws.
First appearance of Cecil Turtle.
This short is a take off of the Aesop fable "The Tortoise and the Hare". But even more directly, it is Tex Avery's parody of the Disney Silly Symphony, The Tortoise and the Hare (1935). Interestingly, Max Hare from the earlier Disney film is often cited as one of the inspirations behind Bugs Bunny.
Mel Blanc supplies Cecil's drowsy drawl, which is like a slowed-down version of Blanc's later characterization of Barney Rubble.