Fresh Hare (1942) *** (out of 4)Elmer Fudd is a Mountie who comes across Bugs Bunny who is breaking several laws. Elmer goes to arrest the rabbit but you just know Bugs isn't going to be easy to take in.Here's another extremely fast and fun short from the fine folks at Warner. Once again you've got two great characters doing some funny work and of course the animation is wonderful throughout. There are a lot of great fun to be had here as poor Elmer gets abused in countless ways. This includes him being disgraced by his "higher officer" and it eventually leads to tears. This film has become best remembered for its ending, which is one reason why the cartoon was pulled by the studio. It's certainly not very PC-friendly but instead of being offended it should just lead to an open discussion on how things were back in this era.

"Dixie" was a film released around the same time as this cartoon; it starred Bing Crosby, one of the biggest stars at the time. (Look up "Dixie (1943)" on IMDb for more info about the movie.) Most people in the audience of the cartoon would have been familiar with the movie, and the movie has the cast doing minstrel shows in black face. So at the end of the cartoon, when Bugs says "I wish I was in Dixie" and they cut to the cartoon characters doing a minstrel show in black face, the joke is that Bugs is wishing he were in the movie "Dixie".Many of the Looney Tune and Merrie Melodie cartoons contain jokes that would have been relevant to the audience at the time. Unfortunately, when the cartoons are viewed 60-70 years later, same jokes no longer make sense. So when something seems completely random (like the ending to this cartoon), have faith that it meant something at the time the cartoon was released.

This is a Bugs Bunny cartoon with an old version of Elmer Fudd.I was asking my family about the black and white minstrels, after reading reviews for this episode I wanted to know more about them. My family came to a decision that the black and white minstrels were more of a tribute to black people than an insult and it was only really in this day and age that they have been portrayed as politically incorrect. So why are so many people on here (including adults) saying that the black and white minstrels point at the end is racist?! It does not make any sense. Either my family has the wrong idea, or they have the wrong idea - and frankly, my familys' opinion is MY familys', so I will stick with theirs. :)Anyhow, now that I've heaved that off my shoulders, this is one fun Bugs Bunny cartoon! There is nothing insulting in it at all (as far as I know) and it has a great deal of good jokes packed in! This episode is particularly funny. I also like Bugs Bunny and Elmer here, I wish they kept Elmer's animation like that (he is also smarter here than in his more well-known appearances). I recommend this fun cartoon to anyone who likes old Bugs Bunny cartoons and does not mind anything too badly that is portrayed as politically incorrect nowadays. Enjoy "Fresh Hare"! :-)

You know the quality is going to be above average when a cartoon starts with an big orchestral intro and a still picture to complement the titles. Bugs Bunny, looking slightly less cute than he would in later years (and still having to be content with his name under the titles) evades and tricks Elmer the Mountie at every turn. Back in these days Elmer was so overweight he had to wear a girdle. But if you look closely you can actually see him sweating off those pounds during the wild chase scenes.In the forties the Warner Studios were still competing with Disney to produce the best looking animation around. It is obvious a lot of thought and care went into the backgrounds and character animation. Yet they still could not compare to the competition. However when it came to gags the Merry Melodies were unbeatable. There are probably more jokes crammed into these 7 minutes than in any 7 Disney cartoons of the same era. Only the final scene involving a black and white minstrel show feels a bit awkward nowadays, for we like to forget that these totally incorrect programmes ever existed. In fact it was not until the late Sixties that this type of shows was banned, about the same time the Merry Melodies ended their run. 7 out of 10