. . . of his "Wabbit" hole to smooch Elmer Fudd three times on the mouth in A WILD HARE. The plot of this eight-minute animated short establishes that: 1)Rabbits love carrots, 2)Birds sing in trees, and 3)You can pick up a skunk by its tail WITHOUT getting sprayed. But the rules are constantly changing for Hollywood. They may have done a scene-for-scene remake of PSYCHO, but just try doing the same with such classics as BIRTH OF A NATION or GONE WITH THE WIND nowadays. By the same token, Bugs' Pretzeling of Mr. Fudd's rifle here puts A WILD HARE on the NRA boycott list, along with BAMBI and THE YEARLING. The only way that a major Tinsel Town studio could conclude A WILD HARE today would be with product placement for "Wabbit" jerky!

This is hands down the best bugs bunny cartoon ever. This film was directed by Tex Avery, who will later be known for his work at MGM studios, but Avery was simply the king of funny cartoons! While Disney wanted his cartoons to be taken seriously, with only some light humor, it was Avery who showed everyone how to make a funny cartoon. The man just knows what's funny and what's not, and this cartoon is proof of that. It took Avery to really find Bugs. Bugs was first created by animator Ben "Bugs" Hardaway (who later created woody woodpecker & is the namesake of bugs) in 1938. While Ben's bugs cartoons were great in their own right,("porky's hare hunt" and "har'em, scare'em) they were really just a precursor to his iconic woody woodpecker character then anything. Ben's bugs was hyper and manic, Ben admitted his bugs was a knock off of daffy duck, who was also created by Tex Avery. But after Hardaway left the studio, Tex decided to change bugs and he knew what he was doing. He already created daffy duck, who was crazy, heckling the hunter, Tex went in the opposite direction when he created this cartoon. Instead of bugs outwitting the hunter with crazy behavior, he would be a calm lay back rabbit who was simply smarter then the hunter. Now I don't want to over analyze this, because it's just a cartoon, but there is a really perfect psychological humor that's in here. It's truly a battle of wits, or more over bugs is having fun at the slow elmer. It's the perfect bugs & elmer cartoon, all the gags, everything is here and would be repeated in other future cartoons. The best thing about this is how Tex plays to the audience, the film begins with Elmer letting the audience in on his hunting trail, and how bugs alway's seems to kind of let the audience in on the joke, like when he faked his death and you felt like you were kind of in on the joke. The animation is also great, I love the back ground, it looks like a real forest. Starling's music blends well the comedy. Tex found the right balance, bug's not too mean, but still a little bit of a stinker, he really comes off as cool, calm and completely in control and elmer is the perfect kind of dumb, where he is really naive and gullible but he never comes off as bad. I love Mel's voice as bugs and Arthur as Elmer. One of the funniest part is when Elmer is describing what a rabbit looks like to bugs not realizing bugs is a rabbit!, and bug's hilarious fake death scene. Tex is known for fast, broad humor but here's it's understated and the pace is slow, once again Avery just knows what works. This is one of the greatest cartoons of all time.

And what a hoot of a cartoon A Wild Hare is. The animation has been better, but it is still very nice and colourful. The music is as pretty much always a delight with the opening theme bringing back so many memories. Bugs is still endearing, and Elmer is still the dim-witted and naive hunter we know and love today, and Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan's voices are note perfect. Even better though is the dialogue, I can't count the amount of times I laughed at a piece of dialogue alone in this cartoon..."Shhh be vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits", "oh boy wabbit twacks", "confidentially... I AM A WABBIT!" and "Hedy Wamarr.(Nope) Barbwa Stanwyk(Nope). Rosemawy Wayne(Nope guess again). Owivia DeHaviwand(Nope but you're getting warmer). Say, you wouldn't be that screwy wabbit, would you?(Ehhh...could be)" are just a few of the best bits of dialogue in the cartoon. In fact the cartoon is full of great dialogue.The sight gags are very good too the best being Bugs's fake death scene, but I think this was a case of the dialogue stealing the show. Overall, this is a truly terrific Bugs Bunny cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox

It's a classic set-up. A round-headed, bulbous-nosed hunter creeps through the woods brandishing his gun, briefly turning to the audience to inform them "Be vewwy, vewwy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits". Coming across a rabbit hole, the hunter begins to dig while from an adjacent hole a grey bunny emerges, casually moseys up to the hunter and, with a breathtaking confidence that suggests he sees the hunter as no threat whatsoever, asks "What's up, Doc?" And cinema history is changed forever.Tex Avery's 'A Wild Hare' not only created a universal superstar in Bugs Bunny but also remains the quintessential Bugs cartoon to this day. Mention the name Bugs Bunny to anyone and 90% of them will immediately picture a rabbit hole in a forest and Elmer Fudd stalking towards it. Not only does 'A Wild Hare' open exactly this way, the first line is Elmer's most famous catchphrase. When Bugs puts in an appearance, his opening line is perhaps the most famous catchphrase of all time. So the scene is set, the template established for a rivalry that will continue for decades. There's enough history in the opening couple of minutes of 'A Wild Hare' to make any serious cartoon fan's heart swell with joy but there's plenty more to recommend it. While it may seem like a comparatively no-frills cartoon for those who grew up watching the many, many variations on this set-up that followed, keep in mind that this was Bugs's debut and these now familiar routines are being tried out for the first time. Bugs has rarely been cooler or looked more handsome than he does in 'A Wild Hare', his nonchalance really striking a chord with audiences and ensuring his place in cartoon history.While there were a handful of cartoons that predate 'A Wild Hare' starring prototype Bugs Bunnys, Avery's cartoon is undoubtedly the first time he was the character we all know and love and, therefore, clearly his official debut. Avery's expert timing, Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan's instant chemistry as Bugs and Elmer and a solid script by Rich Hogan all contribute to creating an Academy Award nominated classic and the smell of history that now lingers around 'A Wild Hare' makes it positively electric. 'A Wild Hare' is an experience to treasure which, for me, will never lose its heart-stopping air of excitement.