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Fresh Hare is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.

Title[]

The title is a typical Warner Bros. pun on "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.

Plot[]

Elmer Fudd is trying to catch the "wanted" Bugs Bunny. Bugs locks Elmer to the bomb that Elmer was trying to get Bugs in. It explodes while Bugs pretends to look for the keys. Elmer gets angry, but Bugs fools him as being the guard, while Elmer's clothes then are removed, even his underwear. A chase through the snow happens, including a part where Bugs' ears split around a tree, but Elmer hits it. The impact causes all the snow to fall off the tree, which reveals Christmas decorations, and Elmer emerges from underneath with snow on his face that gives him a Santa Claus appearance. The song Jingle Bells plays in the background, and Bugs says to the astonished Elmer, "Merry Christmas, Santy!" and burrows his way out of Elmer's path.

Bugs then talks to a snowman that is supposed to be Fudd, saying that Elmer can't catch Bugs, let alone catch a cold, and even threatening to punch the hunter square in the nose. When he finishes making his fist, he turns around and strikes Elmer. Bugs then pretends to be Elmer's gun, making noises. The chase continues through the snow, forth and back, until Bugs makes a painting of himself on a rock, and Elmer hits the rock.

Elmer gives up trying to catch the rabbit, but cries in tears, then says that he's a disgrace to the regiment for failing to catch Bugs. Bugs comforts Elmer and promises to give himself up and lets Elmer take him in. Just before Bugs is sentenced to death by a firing squad, Elmer tells Bugs that he can make one last wish before he dies. Bugs then stars singing "(I Wish I Was In) Dixie", which inexplicably turns into a blackface minstrel performance of "Camptown Races" (see "Censorship" below).

Caricatures[]

Transcript[]

For a complete transcript, go here.

Availability[]

Censorship[]

  • The end of this cartoon, where Bugs proclaims his last wish in a chorus of "I Wish I Were in Dixie", which segues into Bugs, Elmer Fudd and the Mounties all in blackface singing "Camptown Races" has been edited on nearly every recent American airing, including versions shown on the Ted Turner-owned networks: Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TBS, and TNT.[1]
    • The 1995 Turner "dubbed version" that has aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang American feed censors the scene using a fake fade-out to black to the altered circa 1937-1938 "That's all, Folks!" ending card.[2][3] This same edit also occurs on the Latin American Turner networks too.[4]
    • The old a.a.p. prints that used to air on TNT censored this scene with a fake iris-out. This same edited version was also used on Cartoon Network's American channel prior to the debut of its 1995 Turner "dubbed version" print on television in the late-1990s.[5][6]
    • TBS replaced the actual scene of Bugs, Elmer, and the Mounties in blackface with looped footage of Bugs dancing to "I Wish I Were in Dixie" while the audio played as normal.[7]
    • Some gray-market public domain home media releases, such as the one from the "Cartoon Explosion" video series, also cut this ending by dissolving to the original "That's All, Folks" ending card after Bugs starts singing "I Wish I Was in Dixie".
    • The "Toon Factory" series of public domain videos edits the end by digitally blurring out Bugs, Elmer, and The Mounties blackfaced faces, leaving for a strange, yet obvious edit, as the rest of the scene (audio included) isn't censored or altered (see below in Gallery).
  • Some edited versions of "Fresh Hare" even go as far as to delete the entire final scene and have the cartoon end with Bugs surrendering to Elmer to keep him from crying and saying, "Okay, Doc. Let's go" after Elmer lets Bugs handcuff him.

Goofs[]

  • The display of "Wanted" signs near the beginning are out of order, and the music cues do not seem to match the display.
  • After the scene where the bomb, which is handcuffed to Elmer, explodes off-screen when Bugs pretends to look for the keys, Elmer re-appears in the next scene stopping Bugs with his rifle completely fine, not battered and burnt, as if the explosion didn't affect him at all.
  • As Bugs rips apart elements of Elmer's uniform bit-by-bit as he fools Elmer by being the guard, in the next shot showing Elmer in full view of his girdle and underwear, his uniform shirt appears to be completely fine and intact in one piece on the ground, evident when Elmer picks up his shirt to put the uniform back on.

Notes[]

  • A scene of "Fresh Hare" can be seen in the title sequence gag of the Futurama episode "I Second That Emotion".
  • This short fell into the public domain in 1970 when United Artists, the copyright owner to the Associated Artists Productions package at the time, failed to renew the copyright in time.
  • This cartoon marks the fifth and final appearance of the fat Elmer Fudd which previously appeared in "Wabbit Twouble" (1941), "The Wabbit Who Came to Supper" (1942), "The Wacky Wabbit" (1942) and the propaganda film "Any Bonds Today" (1942). Beginning with "The Hare-Brained Hypnotist" (1942), the original "slim Elmer" design first seen in "Good Night Elmer" (1940) had returned permanently, presumably due to theater audiences at the time disliking the "fat Elmer" design.
  • Bugs is wanted for a series of crimes he had committed in this cartoon (as corrected here for Elmer's rounded-l-and-r speech):
    • Resisting an officer
    • Assault and battery
    • Trespassing
    • Disturbing the peace
    • Miscellaneous misdemeanors
    • Public nuisance
    • Traffic violations
    • Going through a boulevard stop
    • Jaywalking
    • Triple parking
    • Conduct unbecoming to a rabbit
    • Violating traffic regulations (repeat mention of crime #7)
  • Clips from the fully restored version of this cartoon (as pictured in the gallery below) appear in the documentary King Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution as part of Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 Blu-ray release's bonus features and in the documentary as part of Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection, but the complete version of it has yet to be released on any home media format outside of public domain videos and video sites online.[8][9]

Gallery[]

External Links[]

Preceded by
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid
Fresh Hare
1942
Succeeded by
The Hare-Brained Hypnotist

References[]

Bugs Bunny Shorts
1938 Porky's Hare Hunt
1939 Prest-O Change-OHare-um Scare-um
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraA Wild Hare
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitTortoise Beats HareHiawatha's Rabbit HuntThe Heckling HareAll This and Rabbit StewWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitHold the Lion, PleaseBugs Bunny Gets the BoidFresh HareThe Hare-Brained HypnotistCase of the Missing Hare
1943 Tortoise Wins by a HareSuper-RabbitJack-Wabbit and the BeanstalkWackiki WabbitFalling Hare
1944 Little Red Riding RabbitWhat's Cookin' Doc?Bugs Bunny and the Three BearsBugs Bunny Nips the NipsHare Ribbin'Hare ForceBuckaroo BugsThe Old Grey HareStage Door Cartoon
1945 Herr Meets HareThe Unruly HareHare TriggerHare ConditionedHare Tonic
1946 Baseball BugsHare RemoverHair-Raising HareAcrobatty BunnyRacketeer RabbitThe Big SnoozeRhapsody Rabbit
1947 Rabbit TransitA Hare Grows in ManhattanEaster YeggsSlick Hare
1948 Gorilla My DreamsA Feather in His HareRabbit PunchBuccaneer BunnyBugs Bunny Rides AgainHaredevil HareHot Cross BunnyHare SplitterA-Lad-In His LampMy Bunny Lies over the Sea
1949 Hare DoMississippi HareRebel RabbitHigh Diving HareBowery BugsLong-Haired HareKnights Must FallThe Grey Hounded HareThe Windblown HareFrigid HareWhich Is WitchRabbit Hood
1950 Hurdy-Gurdy HareMutiny on the BunnyHomeless HareBig House BunnyWhat's Up Doc?8 Ball BunnyHillbilly HareBunker Hill BunnyBushy HareRabbit of Seville
1951 Hare We GoRabbit Every MondayBunny HuggedThe Fair Haired HareRabbit FireFrench RarebitHis Hare Raising TaleBallot Box BunnyBig Top Bunny
1952 Operation: RabbitFoxy by Proxy14 Carrot RabbitWater, Water Every HareThe Hasty HareOily HareRabbit SeasoningRabbit's KinHare Lift
1953 Forward March HareUpswept HareSouthern Fried RabbitHare TrimmedBully for BugsLumber Jack-RabbitDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Captain HareblowerBugs and ThugsNo Parking HareDevil May HareBewitched BunnyYankee Doodle BugsBaby Buggy Bunny
1955 Beanstalk BunnySahara HareHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Hyde and HareKnight-Mare HareRoman Legion-Hare
1956 Bugs' BonnetsBroom-Stick BunnyRabbitson CrusoeNapoleon Bunny-PartBarbary-Coast BunnyHalf-Fare HareA Star Is BoredWideo WabbitTo Hare Is Human
1957 Ali Baba BunnyBedevilled RabbitPiker's PeakWhat's Opera, Doc?Bugsy and MugsyShow Biz BugsRabbit Romeo
1958 Hare-Less WolfHare-Way to the StarsNow, Hare ThisKnighty Knight BugsPre-Hysterical Hare
1959 Baton BunnyHare-abian NightsApes of WrathBackwoods BunnyWild and Woolly HareBonanza BunnyA Witch's Tangled HarePeople Are Bunny
1960 Horse HarePerson to BunnyRabbit's FeatFrom Hare to HeirLighter Than Hare
1961 The Abominable Snow RabbitCompressed HarePrince Violent
1962 Wet HareBill of HareShishkabugs
1963 Devil's Feud CakeThe Million HareHare-Breadth HurryThe UnmentionablesMad as a Mars HareTransylvania 6-5000
1964 Dumb PatrolDr. Devil and Mr. HareThe Iceman DuckethFalse Hare
1979 Bugs Bunny's Christmas CarolFright Before Christmas
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young BunnySpaced Out Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
1995 Carrotblanca
1997 From Hare to Eternity
2004 Hare and Loathing in Las VegasDaffy Duck for President
Elmer Fudd Cartoons
1937 Little Red Walking Hood
1938 The Isle of Pingo PongoCinderella Meets FellaA Feud There WasJohnny Smith and Poker-Huntas
1939 Hamateur NightA Day at the ZooBelieve It or Else
1940 Elmer's Candid CameraConfederate HoneyThe Hardship of Miles StandishA Wild HareGood Night Elmer
1941 Elmer's Pet RabbitWabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to SupperAny Bonds Today?The Wacky WabbitNutty NewsFresh HareThe Hare-Brained Hypnotist
1943 To Duck .... or Not to DuckA Corny ConcertoAn Itch in Time
1944 The Old Grey HareThe Stupid CupidStage Door Cartoon
1945 The Unruly HareHare Tonic
1946 Hare RemoverThe Big Snooze
1947 Easter YeggsA Pest in the HouseSlick Hare
1948 What Makes Daffy DuckBack Alley Op-RoarKit for Cat
1949 Wise QuackersHare DoEach Dawn I Crow
1950 What's Up Doc?The Scarlet PumpernickelRabbit of Seville
1951 Rabbit Fire
1952 Rabbit Seasoning
1953 Upswept HareAnt PastedDuck! Rabbit, Duck!Robot Rabbit
1954 Design for LeavingQuack Shot
1955 Pests for GuestsBeanstalk BunnyHare BrushRabbit RampageThis Is a Life?Heir-Conditioned
1956 Bugs' BonnetsA Star Is BoredYankee Dood ItWideo Wabbit
1957 What's Opera, Doc?Rabbit Romeo
1958 Don't Axe MePre-Hysterical Hare
1959 A Mutt in a Rut
1960 Person to BunnyDog Gone People
1961 What's My Lion?
1962 Crows' Feat
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny
1990 Box Office Bunny
1991 (Blooper) Bunny
1992 Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
2012 Daffy's Rhapsody


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