A Wild Hare
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A Wild Hare (rereleased as The Wild Hare) is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies animated short film. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, directed by Tex Avery, and written by Rich Hogan. It was originally released on July 27, 1940. A Wild Hare is considered by many film historians as the first "true" Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Various directors at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio had been experimenting with cartoons focussed on a hunter pursuing a rabbit since 1938, with varied approaches to the characters of both rabbit and hunter. A Wild Hare is noteworthy as the first appearance of a rabbit that is a clearly recognizable as Bugs Bunny, as well as for settling on the classic voice and appearance of the hunter, Elmer Fudd. The design and character of Bugs Bunny would continue to be refined over the subsequent years, but the general appearance, voice, and personality of the character was established in this cartoon. The rabbit is unnamed in this film, but would be christened "'Bugs Bunny" in his very next short, Elmer's Pet Rabbit, directed by Chuck Jones. The opening lines of both characters—"Be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits" for Elmer, and "Eh, what's up Doc?" for the rabbit—would become catchphrases throughout their subsequent films.
The basic plot of A Wild Hare, which centers on Elmer Fudd's hopeless pursuit of the much smarter Bugs, would serve as a template for many subsequent cartoons. In addition, many of the specific gags and plot devices in this cartoon became part of the template for later Bugs/Elmer confrontations, with subsequent shorts repeating them or varying them for comic effect. Examples include Elmer failing to recognise Bugs as a rabbit, Bugs kissing Elmer, and Bugs feigning death.
Virgil Ross is credited with the animation, and Carl Stalling with the musical score. Uncredited talent on A Wild Hare include animator Robert McKimson, layout man Robert Givens (who redesigned Elmer and the rabbit for this film), and voice artists Mel Blanc (as the rabbit) and Arthur Q. Bryan (as Elmer Fudd).
The short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons in 1941. Another contestant was Puss Gets the Boot, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short, directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna and produced by Rudolph Ising, notable for introducing Tom and Jerry. Both nominations lost to The Milky Way, another Rudolph Ising short which featured three nameless kittens.
Trivia
- In the original version, when Bugs plays "Guess Who" with Elmer, Elmer's second answer was Carole Lombard. In the reissue prints, Carole Lombard was changed to Barbara Stanwyck because Lombard had died in a plane crash.
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