Fresh Hare
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| Fresh Hare | |
| Merrie Melodies series | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
|---|---|
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Animation by | Manuel Perez |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | August 22, 1942 |
| Format | Technicolor, 8 min. (one reel) |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
Fresh Hare is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon. It was directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng, written by Michael Maltese, and produced by Leon Schlesinger. It was released to theatres on August 22, 1942.
The title is a typical WB pun (as in "fresh air") that has little or nothing to do with the plot, other than being set in the crisp, frigid air of a Canadian winter.
[edit] Summary
In this short, the rotund early-1940s version of Elmer Fudd is portrayed as a Mountie, in pursuit of Bugs Bunny, who is wanted for being a "screwy wabbit", across the snow-packed tundra (presumably in Canada).
The short is one of many that has been subjected to censorship, because of its closing gag. After capturing the rabbit and sentencing him to execution, Elmer asks Bugs if he has one final request or wish. Bugs responds by breaking out into song: "I wish I was in Dixie; hurray, hurray..." A crossfade finds Bugs, Elmer, and the other mounties in blackface performing a minstrel show routine of "Camptown Races". The Turner Entertainment television print of this short excises the minstrel show scene (and instead ends during Bugs' "I wish I was in Dixie" routine), but the complete version is often available for sale, as the short is one of a handful of Bugs Bunny films now in the public domain. It also airs uncut when shown on the UK and European channel Boomerang.
A scene of Fresh Hare can be seen in the title sequence gag of the Futurama episode I Second That Emotion.
[edit] Cast
- Mel Blanc: Bugs Bunny
- Arthur Q. Bryan: Elmer Fudd (uncredited)
