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Hare-um Scare-um is a 1939 Merrie Melodies short directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton.

Title[]

The title is a pun on the expression "harum-scarum".

Plot[]

A man named John Sourpuss is beside himself with anger after reading a newspaper article stating that meat prices have soared. He declares that he'll hunt his own meat to get back at the government for the price inflation. He takes his dog with him, revealing he is going hunting for rabbits.

In the woods, a rabbit leads the dog into a hollow log and pushes the log down a hill, where it smashes into a tree. Meanwhile, John sees several rabbits hopping over a hill. He fires his gun several times and runs to where the rabbits are. When he gets there, he finds two spinning wheels with pictures of rabbits on them, giving the perception of moving rabbits.

John sees the rabbit sleeping. He starts pouring salt on the rabbit, who quickly gets up and holds a stick of celery under the stream of salt. The rabbit runs into a cave, and John runs after him. Before he reaches the cave, a pair of elevator doors close, which he runs into.

The bunny dresses up as a female dog, successfully seducing the dog. When the dog finally realizes he's with the rabbit rather than another dog, he resumes his chase. The rabbit then pretends he's a policeman and fines the dog for numerous crimes, including speeding, running on the wrong side of the street, intoxicated "driving", and not having a license.

After confusing the dog and running away, the rabbit begins singing a song about how crazy he is. When he finishes his song, he turns to find John with his gun aimed at him. The rabbit, trying to gain sympathy, begs for his life, explaining how poor and sick he is. John begins crying, feeling sorry for the rabbit and guilty that he let a little thing like inflation get to him. Despite this, the rabbit shocks him with a joy buzzer. John pronounces that he can whip the rabbit and his whole family. Suddenly, a large group of rabbits surround him, looking for a fight.

The rabbits attack him, leaving him dazed. The wacky rabbit returns with John's gun. He throws it on the ground and bounces away on his head. John, frustrated, does the exact same thing.

Transcript[]

Main article: Hare-um Scare-um/Transcript

Songs[]

The goofy song the Bugs Bunny prototype sings:

All the world was gay.
Swinging on its way.
Things were looking brighter day by day. (laugh)
Nothing ever wrong;
Life was just a song,
'Till that Looney Tune came along. (laugh)
Ohhh. I'm going cuckoo, woo-woo! (laugh)
Here comes the choo-choo, woo-woo! (laugh)
I'm so gooney, looney tuney, te'ched in the head...
Please pass the ketchup,
I think I'll go to bed! Hoo!
Am I the screwball, woo woo! (laugh)
Throw me the 8-ball woo woo! (laugh)
Once I knew a thing or two, but now I'm a buffer-roo.
Hinky dinky parley woo woo! (laugh)

Eight years later, the song would be varied somewhat and reprised by the now fully-realized character Bugs Bunny, in "Easter Yeggs":

Here's the Easter Rabbit, hooray!
Makin' life funny, hooray!
I am gettin' Looney Tuney, touched in the head
This whole thing is gooney, I should have stood in bed.
Here's the Easter Rabbit, hooray!
The happy Easter Rabbit, hooray!
Hens would hide the eggs they'd lay, then I give them all away
Crazy Easter Rabbit, hooray!

Daffy Duck would sing a similar song at the beginning of "Boobs in the Woods".

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Lost Ending[]

Prior to 2011, there was speculation about the abrupt ending that occurs after the Egghead-esque hunter threatens to beat up the rabbit and his entire family and finds himself confronted by everyone in the rabbit's family (which is the version seen on television and most home media). Two endings of this cartoon were said to exist: one ending featured the rabbits beating up the hunter as the cartoon closed out, and another, featuring the same ending, only with a rather darkly hilarious punchline of the hunter's and his dog's head being the only thing left from the fight and rolling off into the sunset.[2]

According to David Gerstein's blog, neither of these endings are true. The actual ending showed the hunter disheveled after getting beaten by the family of rabbits. The rabbit who's been harassing him throughout the short returns to give the hunter his busted rifle, saying, "You oughta get that fixed. Somebody's liable to get hurt," then returns to his loony self, bouncing on his head like a pogo stick down the road. The hunter then snaps and does the same thing. Gerstein theorizes that the ending was cut before release because it was too similar to the one used in the Tex Avery cartoon, "Daffy Duck and Egghead".[3] This ending is reinstated on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 release.

Goofs[]

  • Before the rabbit puts the foot stamp all over the stone, its color changes from a very bright white-gray to a slightly darker tone.
  • As the rabbit shows the hunter his celery and begins discussing it, the white parts of his feet turn gray like his fur.

Notes[]

  • This cartoon marks the third appearance of the prototype Bugs Bunny, sometimes retroactively called Happy Rabbit (even if the design sheet already calls him "Bugs' Bunny"; though only in reference to his creator Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, who also co-directed this short alongside his first appearance in "Porky's Hare Hunt"), and the first time he appears as a grey rabbit instead of a white one, thanks to a redesign by Charlie Thorson.[4]
  • The rabbit has a laugh similar to that of Woody Woodpecker, a character also voiced by Mel Blanc during his first few appearances.
  • All of the rabbit family members look identical to each other.
  • This is the final cartoon where WARNER BROS. was on a banner.
  • Porky Pig makes a cameo appearance on a billboard during the "Hare-Um Scare-Um" song sequence.
  • This is the first cartoon where the will-be Bugs dresses in drag.
  • Minus the restored lost scenes, the audio featured on the restored print is derived from the Turner "dubbed" version.
  • The newspaper contains a photo of a man identified as Happy Hardaway, a reference to co-director Ben Hardaway.
    • A story from the same paper with the headline HUNDREDS HURT IN RIOTING states: "Hollywood, Cal. Rioting broke out today at the Looney Tune cartoon studio when Tex Avery was caught dealing from the bottom of the deck."
  • Vitaphone release number: 8923[5]

Gallery[]

References[]

Preceded by
Prest-O Change-O
Prototype Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1939
Succeeded by
Elmer's Candid Camera
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
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