Slick Hare (1947) **** (out of 4) Elmer Fudd plays a waiter at the Mocrumbo, a restaurant with Hollywood's A-list stars. Humphrey Bogart orders rabbit but when Elmer tells him they're out the legendary tough guy demands he get one. Back in the kitchen lies Bugs Bunny but will Elmer be able to serve him up? This is a great cartoon from start to finish because of all the celebs we get to see. Not only do we have a great impression of Bogart but we also see the Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra and a funny bit of Ray Milland in his THE LOST WEEKEND role. Bugs and Elmer are also at the top of their game as the action between the two is great as are all the jokes. One of the highlights deal with pies being thrown and Bogart taking one in the face.

While most cartoons had Bugs Bunny doing his own stuff to irk Elmer Fudd - and sometimes Daffy Duck - here he has the unexpected help of Hollywood's top stars. When Humphrey Bogart (sorry, it's not really him doing the voice) attends a fancy restaurant and orders rabbit, Elmer has to serve him within twenty minutes, or else. Sure enough, the only rabbit in the vicinity is that carrot-chomping rascal who isn't going down so easy.All in all, "Slick Hare" makes one nostalgic for old Hollywood* in many ways: it's the era of Bogie, Ray Milland, etc., but also the era when the people behind the Looney Tunes cartoons were producing some of the greatest cartoons of all time. You just gotta see it. Because remember: what baby wants, baby gets.*I know, Hollywood is the emptiest place on Earth, but this cartoon still makes one nostalgic for it.

Directed by Friz Freleng, "Slick Hare" is an excellent Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd cartoon. Freleng didn't like to use Elmer Fudd in these cartoons, but his handling of Elmer is well done here; Elmer doesn't seem as big of an idiot as he usually does.The main thrust of the plot involves Humphrey Bogart (in a fine caricature, I might add) demanding Elmer, a waiter at the Mocrumbo, to bring him an order of fried rabbit or else! And as Elmer tries to catch Bugs Bunny, the gags are plentiful! Bugs' Groucho Marx disguise (as well as his walk, cigar, and one-liner joke) is simply hilarious. He also engages in quite a lively conga dance. At the opening of this short, Leopold Stokowski (another excellent caricature) conducts a jukebox playing an ultra-quick rendition of "We're in the Money" while all the patrons briefly crowd the dance floor, applaud, and dash back to their tables. Bugs disguises himself as a waiter and orders a few pies from Elmer, who gets them splatted in his face; Elmer catches on to Bugs' tricks and throws the next pie, missing Bugs and hitting the perturbed Bogart, who calmly asks Elmer, "Why did you hit me in the face with a coconut custard pie with whipped cream?" "Slick Hare" is a winning cartoon with plenty of laughs. Also, watch for a few cameo caricatures of Sydney Greenstreet, Frank Sinatra, and Lauren Bacall!

In a slick New York club for the rich and famous, Mr Humphrey Bogart orders rabbit. Waiter Elmer Fudd is at a loss where he'll get fresh rabbit at that time of night until he finds Bugs Bunny feasting on carrots. With running out, Fudd tries to get Bugs into the pot.Starting out with a range of topical cameos from entertainers and film stars of the period, this film risks being hit and miss in the today but happily many of them will still be recognisable to modern audiences. After these jokes we move into what is the usual Bugs/Elmer fare of chases and trickery. Most of this is pretty funny and it all moves quite slickly, some of it is a little lesser than it should be but none of it really misses.Bugs is a god character, even if it feels like he isn't the star here. Elmer does good work as a waiter but Bogart's voice work lets him down and doesn't totally sound realistic or natural. The celebrities were pretty well caricatured and quite funny (or at least those I recognised).Overall this was an enjoyable short apart from the unavoidable failing that I wasn't totally sure who all the celebrities were at the start.