PLAYERS: "Bugs Bunny", "Yosemite Sam".Director: I. FRELENG. Story: Michael Maltese. Animation: Manuel Perez, Virgil Ross, Ken Champin, Gerry Chiniquy. Lay-outs: Hawley Pratt. Backgrounds: Paul Julian. Voice characterizations: Mel Blanc. Music director: Carl Stalling. Technicolor. Producer: Edward Selzer. Copyright 29 May 1945 by the Vitaphone Corp. Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. (Bugs Bunny Specials) Merrie Melodies. U.S. release: 5 May 1945. 1 reel. 7 minutes.COMMENT: Everyone likes this one. Not only does it mark the first appearance of our favorite Bugs antagonist, Yosemite Sam, but it's a very funny film in its own right. The stage is set right from the start when a train runs right over the diminutive Sam who is then forced to wheel in a set of aeroplane steps to mount his horse. He introduces himself to Bugs (who mistakes him for Jesse James) with these immortal words: "Yosemite Sam, the meanest, roughest, rip-roaringest, Edward Everett Hortonest hombre what ever packed a six-shooter!" There follows a delightful lampoon of typical western clichés, both aural and visual, ending with a neat piece of cliff-hanging fantasy. I also love Bugs' introductory gibberish version of "A Boy's Best Friend Is His Mudder".

The gags start early in this Bugs Bunny short; the opening shot shows a train crossing the desert; its headboard proclaims that it is the 'Super Chief' and features an Indian chief in a superman costume! On board Bugs is in the mail car singing a song when pint sized bandit Yosemite Sam tries to hold up the train; what follows is a series of shootouts interspersed with gags, visual puns and even a couple of live action sequences!This short provided a new adversary for Bugs Bunny in the form of the short, red-haired gunslinger Yosemite Sam; on the strength of this outing I'm not surprised he became a regular character. The train robbery setting nicely spoofed westerns where characters fire their six-shooters constantly without needed to reload. Other funny gags include Bugs sketching a gun when Sam tells him to draw and later Bugs sitting on Sam's head while pretending to be entering the carriage from various directions and ultimately pouring red ink on Sam's head so he thinks he's been hit. Mel Blanc does a fine job providing totally different voices for both Bugs and Sam.

I love Looney Tunes, always have done, always will do, and I love the pairings of Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. With them, I am used to razor-sharp dialogue, clever sight gags and explosive character interaction. With Hare Trigger I was not disappointed at all! The animation is colourful and looks as though care has gone into it. And the music is very energetic and fits with the story and action well.The cartoon goes at a fast pace, and has a good and rarely predictable story. The chemistry between Bugs and Sam is a sheer delight, Bugs is his witty and likable self, while Sam bags the best lines and utters them with relish. Mel Blanc's stellar vocals only add to the fun, Blanc's voice work is always consistent and as I've said many times he had a knack of elevating even the weakest of material.Hare Trigger's real creme de la creme is in the humour. The dialogue is razor-sharp and very witty and with the chemistry between Bugs and Sam as explosive as it already is it has the impact of firecrackers going off. But it is actually the action and sight gags that drive it. The action is exhilarating, while the sight gags do not fall into the trap of being predictable and work on repeat viewings.All in all, a hilarious cartoon and a must for fans of Bugs or Yosemite Sam. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs Bunny is riding cross country in the mail car section of a train when it is held up by infamous train robber Yosemite Sam. Keen to continue his journey without disturbance, Bugs uses little tricks to foil Sam's attempts to rob the train.Although this cartoon has nothing that will set the world alight, it is a pretty funny little cartoon that is very well put together. The plot is full of nice little sketches, be it Bugs hiding from his scab relatives or drawing his gun ultra-fast, it's all pretty funny and well worth seeing.The animation is quality and feels like it was painstakingly drawn rather than rushed together. This is a big deal, the cartoons where care has been put in are usually better in all other regards as well and don't just look good. The characters here as also good, Bugs is very sharp and Sam is a great foil who helps carry the load of the cartoon.Overall this looks good and that quality is shown throughout. The plot is good, the jokes are funny and the characters are well scripted and delivered to be more than just animated rabbits or people but actually have characteristics of their own!