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A Wild Hare
Merrie Melodies series
Screen title of A Wild Hare.
Directed by	Fred Avery
Story by	Rich Hogan
Animation by	Virgil Ross Robert McKimson
Voices by	Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited)
Music by	Carl Stalling
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	July 27, 1940
Format	Technicolor, 7 min (one reel)
Language	English
IMDb page

Blue Ribbon reissue

A Wild Hare (rereleased as The Wild Hare) is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies animated short film. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, directed by Tex Avery, and written by Rich Hogan. It was originally released on July 27, 1940. A Wild Hare is considered by many film historians as the first "official" Bugs Bunny cartoon. The title is a play on "wild hair", the first of many puns between "hare" and "hair" that would appear in Bugs Bunny titles. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Merrie Melodies end title Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Frederick Bean Fred/Tex Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ... Virgil Walter Ross (August 8, 1907 - May 15, 1996) was an American artist, cartoonist, and animator best known for his work on the Warner Bros. ... Robert Bob McKimson, Sr. ... Melvin Jerome Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was a prolific American voice actor. ... Arthur Q. Bryan, as seen in one of his few film roles, from the 1941 film The Devil Bat Arthur Q. Bryan (May 8, 1899 - November 18, 1959) was a United States comedian and voice actor. ... Carl W. Stalling (November 10, 1892–November 29, 1972) was a noted composer and arranger of music for animated cartoons. ... Leon Schlesinger (1884 - December 25, 1949) was a producer at the Warner Bros. ... Warner Bros. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Logo celebrating Technicolors 90th Anniversary Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a subsidiary of Technicolor, Inc. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Warner Bros. ... Merrie Melodies end title Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. ... Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. ... Short subject is an American film industry term that historically has referred to any film in the format of two reels, or approximately 20 minutes running time, or less. ... Leon Schlesinger (1884 - December 25, 1949) was a Jewish producer at the Warner Bros. ... Frederick Bean Fred/Tex Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bugs Bunny is an animated hare who appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated films produced by Warner Bros. ...

Various directors at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio had been experimenting with cartoons focused on a hunter pursuing a rabbit since 1939, with varied approaches to the characters of both rabbit and hunter. A Wild Hare is noteworthy as the first true Bugs Bunny cartoon, as well as for settling on the classic voice and appearance of the hunter, Elmer Fudd. The design and character of Bugs Bunny would continue to be refined over the subsequent years, but the general appearance, voice, and personality of the character were established in this cartoon. The rabbit is unnamed in this film, but would be christened "Bugs Bunny" in his very next short, Elmer's Pet Rabbit, directed by Chuck Jones. The opening lines of both characters—"Be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits" for Elmer, and "Eh, what's up Doc?" for the rabbit—would become catchphrases throughout their subsequent films. Elmer J. Fudd is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters. ... Elmers Pet Rabbit is a 1940 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. ... Chuck Jones in 1976 Charles Martin Chuck Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. ...

Plot

The basic plot of A Wild Hare, which centers on Elmer Fudd's hopeless pursuit of the much smarter Bugs, would serve as a template for many subsequent cartoons. In addition, many of the specific gags and plot devices in this cartoon became part of the template for later Bugs/Elmer confrontations, with subsequent shorts repeating them or varying them for comic effect. Examples include Elmer failing to recognise Bugs as a rabbit, Bugs kissing Elmer, and Bugs feigning death.

Cast

Virgil Ross is credited with the animation, and Carl Stalling with the musical score. Uncredited talent on A Wild Hare include animator Robert McKimson, layout man Robert Givens (who redesigned Elmer and the rabbit for this film), and voice artists Mel Blanc (as Bugs Bunny) and Arthur Q. Bryan (as Elmer Fudd). Virgil Walter Ross (August 8, 1907 - May 15, 1996) was an American artist, cartoonist, and animator best known for his work on the Warner Bros. ... Carl W. Stalling (November 10, 1892–November 29, 1972) was a noted composer and arranger of music for animated cartoons. ... Robert Bob McKimson, Sr. ... Melvin Jerome Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was a prolific American voice actor. ... Arthur Q. Bryan, as seen in one of his few film roles, from the 1941 film The Devil Bat Arthur Q. Bryan (May 8, 1899 - November 18, 1959) was a United States comedian and voice actor. ...

The short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons in 1941. Another contestant was Puss Gets the Boot, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short, directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna and produced by Rudolph Ising, notable for introducing Tom and Jerry. Both nominations lost to The Milky Way, another Rudolph Ising short which featured three nameless kittens. // The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present. ... Puss Gets the Boot is a one-reel animated cartoon short subject, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on February 10, 1940 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... Joseph Roland Joe Barbera (March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, producer, and co-founder, together with William Hanna, of Hanna-Barbera. ... hello i am godWilliam Denby Bill Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, director, producer, cartoon artist, and co-founder, together with Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera. ... Hugh Harman (1908–1982) and Rudolf Rudy Ising (1903–1992) were animators best known for founding the Warner Bros. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Milky Way is a one-reel animated cartoon short subject, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres in 1940 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. ... Kitten at six weeks. ...

Trivia

• The "insulting kiss", which Bugs plants on Elmer in this cartoon and many others, and which may seem strange to 21st Century viewers, back-references a schtick sometimes done by early film comedians, including Charlie Chaplin.
• This is also the first time Bugs eats a carrot (not counting the time in Porky's Hare Hunt when Happy Rabbit was seen eating a carrot). It was at the time considered a satirical nod to It Happened One Night (see below).

Charles Chaplin redirects here. ... Porkys Hare Hunt is a 1938 animated short movie directed by Ben Bugs Hardaway and Cal Dalton, which starred Porky Pig as a hunter whose prey is an unnamed rabbit - later to become famous in his own right as Bugs Bunny (named after Bugs Hardaway). ... Happy Rabbit in Prest-O Change-O Happy Rabbit is a character from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series who later evolved into Bugs Bunny. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ...

Censorship

• In the original version, when Bugs plays "Guess Who" with Elmer, Elmer's second answer was Carole Lombard. In the reissue prints that were released following Lombard's death in a plane crash, Elmer's second answer was redubbed with Barbara Stanwyck. Both names involve letters (L and R) that Elmer has difficulty enunciating. Also, both actresses were signed to Paramount Pictures at one point.

Carole Lombard (October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress. ... Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress of film, stage, and screen . ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ...

What's up, Doc?

• Bugsy's nonchalant carrot-chewing stance, as explained many years later by Chuck Jones, and again by Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett, comes from the movie, It Happened One Night, from a scene where the Clark Gable character is leaning against a fence eating carrots more quickly than he is swallowing (as Bugs would later often do), giving instructions with his mouth full to the Claudette Colbert character, during the hitch-hiking sequence. This scene was so famous at the time that most people immediately got the connection, that Bugs was doing a spoof on Clark Gable.
• The line, "What's up, Doc?", was added by director Tex Avery for this short. Avery explained later that it was a common expression in Texas where he was from, and he didn't think much of the phrase. But when this short was screened in theaters, the scene of Bugs calmly chewing a carrot, followed by the nonchalant "What's Up, Doc?", went against any 1940s audience's expectation of how a rabbit might react to a hunter and caused complete pandemonium in the audience, bringing down the house in every theater. Because of the overwhelming reaction, Bugs eats a carrot and utters some version of the phrase in almost every one of his cartoons after that, sometimes entirely out of context as compared to this original use.
  • Cartoon Network once ran an all-day Bugs Bunny marathon. In each cartoon, when he said, "What's up, Doc?" a bell would ring and a banner would pop up for a couple of seconds.
  • Working the phrase or its variants into some cartoons could require some invention. In Rhapsody Rabbit, Bugs was onstage alone, playing the piano a mostly-mime sketch. He used the phrase when he had to answer the phone at one point. In Hair-Raising Hare, he used it as a gag, speaking to a supposed audience member who was a doctor. In The Old Grey Hare, the octogenarian Bugs asked the octogenarian Elmer, "What's up, Prune-Face?"
  • In one cartoon, the phrase was expanded into a song.
  • He usually uses the phrase (or a variant) only once per cartoon. There are few exceptions to this.
  • Variants of the phrase appear in many cartoons. They range from things as simple as "What's up dogs?" when facing down a canine street gang, to "What's cooking, Lolly?" to his press agent when he was a movie star, and "What's all the hubub (gulps), bub?" In Ali-Baba Bunny, when Daffy Duck buries him in his rabbit hole to keep the treasure for himself, Bugs Bunny says, "What's up, duck?" In "Knight-mare Hare," after being introduced to "Sir O of K, Earl of Watercress, Sir Osis of Thiliver, Knight of the Garter, and Baron of Whoostishistashiestashistasheestashostasha-sher," he says, "What's up, duke?"

Chuck Jones in 1976 Charles Martin Chuck Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. ... Isadore Friz Freleng (August 21, 1906[1]–May 26, 1995) was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... Robert Emerson Bob Clampett (May 8, 1913–May 4, 1984) was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her fathers thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). ... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning French-born American actress. ... Frederick Bean Fred/Tex Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ... For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see Cartoon Network around the world. ... Rhapsody Rabbit is a Bugs Bunny animated short film from Warner Bros. ... Hair-Raising Hare is a 1945 Warner Bros. ... The Old Gery Hare is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon that starts off with Elmer Fudd asleep and going into the future. ... Ali Baba Bunny is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes short featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, directed by Chuck Jones and released in 1957. ...

Availability

The short occurs (unrestored) in its entirety in two documentaries available as bonus material in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series. One documentary is What's Up, Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny Part 1, which is available as a special feature on Discs 3 and 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, with the original title cards. The other documentary is Bugs Bunny: Superstar Part 1, which is available as a special feature on Discs 1 and 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 with the Blue Ribbon reissue titles and 'dubbed version' end title, although it has not been refurbished or released independently in that series yet. The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is a yearly series of four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros. ...

See also

• Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography
• List of Bugs Bunny cartoons

This is a listing of the shorts, feature films, television programs, and television specials in Warner Bros. ... This is a list of the various animated cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny. ...

Links