Herr Meets Hare
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| Herr Meets Hare | |
| Merrie Melodies series | |
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| Directed by | Friz Freleng |
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| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Animation by | Gerry Chiniquy |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | January 13, 1945 (USA) |
| Format | Technicolor, 7 min (one reel) |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
Herr Meets Hare is a 1945 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. This short, coming a few months before the collapse of the Third Reich, was one of the last major wartime cartoons from Warner Brothers. Herr Meets Hare also set up for two important facets of Bugs Bunny: It was the first time that Bugs would realize he had "made a wrong toin at Alberqoirque", and the extended dance sequence in the middle of the film would later be retooled by Chuck Jones into his Bugs Bunny cartoon What's Opera, Doc?.
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[edit] Synopsis
The cartoon opens with a faux Walter Winchell voice discussing the end of Germany, and musing about where the high leadership, and Hermann Goering in particular has gone. The scene soon cuts to the Black Forest, where Goering, in bemedalled lederhosen, is marching while on a hunt. Nearby, a familiar furrow in the ground appears, with a hole at the end.
Bugs pops out of the hole, and bemused, asks Goering about the directions to Las Vegas, apparently oblivious to his location. Goering replies "Las Veegas? There is no Las Veegas in Germany!" Soon, realizing where he is, and that he did indeed turn wrong somewhere in New Mexico, Bugs high-tails it, with Goering chasing after him shooting at him with his musket.
After a few chase gags, including one point in which Bugs masquerades as Hitler, and berates Goering, stripping him of his medals (causing Hermann to exclaim "Oh, I'm a bad flooten-boy-glooten!"), Bugs dresses up as Brunnhilde, from Wagnerian opera. Goering, entranced, responds by dressing up as Sigfried. The two dance, before Bugs once again makes a fool of Goering and escapes.
Eventually, Goering captures Bugs, and brings him back to Adolf Hitler, where he identifies him as "Bugsenheimer Bunny" to Der Fuehrer. As Hitler talks of the great rewards he's going to pile upon Goering for this act of heroism, he opens the bag to reveal Bugs dressed as Joseph Stalin — complete with pipe — staring back at him. Goering and Hitler flee the room, apparently fooled by the disguise. As the cartoon ends, Bugs glances back at the camera and asks, in a Russian accent: "Does your tobacco taste different lately?"
[edit] Controversy
As with many of the World War II-themed cartoons put out by the major studios, Herr meets Hare was placed under an unofficial ban from broadcast or video distribution by Warner Brothers and other rights-holders (including Turner Broadcasting and AOL Time-Warner). In 2001, Cartoon Network had planned on showing each and every Bugs Bunny cartoon made as part of its yearly "June Bugs" festival. AOL Time-Warner refused to allow the broadcast of Herr meets Hare, on the grounds that the cartoon was offensive (by today's standards) as it dealt with the Nazis in a joking manner. The cartoon did see limited broadcast (unlike more objectionable cartoons as Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips) on a special one-hour episode of ToonHeads July 1, 2001 dealing with wartime cartoons. It has also appeared on Turner Classic Movies' Cartoon Alley as recently as January 20, 2007. As of this writing, there are no plans to bring it to DVD.
It can currently be found on the home video "Bugs & Daffy: Wartime Cartoons".
[edit] Trivia
Realistic hand prints are visible on a wall map. These prints represent a signature of background artist Robert Gribbroek, who is not credited in this film.
[edit] External links
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