With footage taken from CAVEMAN INKI, it is basically the same old Bugs Bunny versus Elmer Fudd story, only this time it is set in prehistoric times. While Elmer Fudd has hair and a unibrow, Bugs Bunny has a long buck tooth. Here is a fact, there is such thing as a prehistoric rabbit. It is called a Palaeolagus, which looks like a rabbit, but smaller on the years. It is pretty fun to watch and it is directed by Robert McKimson. In one scene there is a narrator that sounds like Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Captain Caveman. All in all, give it a watch, it is highly enjoyable. Not rated, but a G-rating will work.

. . . with "inspiring" the later plagiarized rip-off by a rival film studio, THE FLINTSTONES. About two minutes into PRE-HYSTERICAL HARE, the narrator introduces viewers to a character named "Elmer Fuddstone." The remainder of PRE-HYSTERICAL HARE documents the fact that Mr. Fuddstone's I.Q. is in the 80s range, which would be exactly where "Fred Flintstone" later tested when he was reassessed during his application process to get his old job back at the gravel pit (Episode #129). Though the copycats may have added a few lame frills to the basic outline of PRE-HYSTERICAL HARE (such as spouses, kids, pets, and foot-powered cars), this "padding" was more the result of Umpteen Hours of Boob Tube screen time to fill than any true sparks of genius. When push came to shove, it's a crying shame that the SCOTUS copyright case of FUDDSTONE vs. FLINTSTONE came down more to which corporation had the best lawyers rather than "For which side are Our Better Angels pulling?" However, the Truth will always out, so some year a Day of Reckoning is coming in regard to PRE-HYSTERICAL HARE being shafted.

Even if this 7-minute short film from over 55 years ago includes cartoon legends Robert McKimson, Tedd Pierce and Mel Blanc, I thought this wasn't really too funny sadly. The prehistoric versions of Elmer and Bugs were only interesting for a couple seconds and the way they go against each other with Bugs always winning of course. It's basically a film within a film. After roughly 90 seconds in we switch to the prehistoric past and follow the two heroes' adventures back then. I must say I have seen many better and superior Warner Bros Looney Toons and I cannot really recommend this one. Still it's not a complete disaster either, it's just that the expectations were maybe too high, but then again, by 1958, these cartoons were already becoming a bit worse I think. Not recommended.

I know that sounds harsh, but considering Bugs and Elmer were here I expected better than this. Granted, this is not the worst Looney Tunes have done, and it is not their only bad cartoon, there are about five or six others that range from mediocre to crud-worthy(Devil's Feud Cake and See Ya Later Gladiator are two of those). But, that is little consolation. For me, the only redeeming qualities were Mel Blanc and Bugs mocking Elmer's laugh, that's it. The animation is dull in the colours, lacking finesse in the backgrounds and the characters especially Bugs look really odd. The music is tepid and annoying, and I hated how it sounded too, canned music can work but I have heard too many cases when it doesn't and this is one of them, while the pace has no energy, the writing is unoriginal and tired with gags that suffer from poor timing and the story is too thin a premise, takes far too long to start and finishes abruptly. Another big disappointment was the voice of Elmer, which to be honest was really quite poor and felt too imitative. Overall, a huge disappointment. 2/10 Bethany Cox