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Hare Brush
Harebrsh
Directed By: Friz Freleng
Produced By: Eddie Selzer (uncredited)
Released: May 7, 1955
Series: Merrie Melodies
Story: Warren Foster
Animation: Gerry Chiniquy
Ted Bonnicksen
Arthur Davis
Layouts: Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds: Irv Wyner
Film Editor: Treg Brown (uncredited)
Voiced By: Mel Blanc
Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited)
Music: Milt Franklyn
Starring: Bugs Bunny
Elmer Fudd
Preceded By: Ready.. Set.. Zoom!
Succeeded By: Past Perfumance

Hare Brush is a 1955 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.

Plot

Millionaire Elmer Fudd enters the boardroom of his multi-million-dollar company, but he isn't himself. He is hopping around on all fours and acting like a rabbit. Fudd snaps into a moment of paranoid delusion, expressing worry and fright over hunters who are out to get him. The board of directors agrees that Fudd needs help.

Soon, Elmer, now wearing a rabbit suit, is committed to the Fruit Cake Sanitarium ("It's Full of Nuts") for treatment of his apparent mental illness. A few moments later, Elmer sees Bugs Bunny walk by—in this cartoon, as in a few others, the two do not seem to be pre-acquainted—and lures him to the window with a carrot. Bugs naively says "You mean I can have that carrot if I just open the window?" Bugs goes inside, takes the bribe, and Elmer hops out the window. Bugs lies in Elmer's bed to "keep it warm for him." Bugs then notices the medicine beside him and reads the instructions (Take one teaspoon every hour, with water), but he misinterprets the instructions and ingests the spoon instead!

The Austrian hospital psychiatrist (whose name is Dr. Oro Myicin, a more obscure pun than usual for Warner Brothers) comes for Elmer, but notices Bugs in his place; Myicin, having already diagnosed Elmer with "a clear case of rabbitschenia" (a pun on both rabbit skin and schizophrenia), declares the apparent transformation of Elmer into Bugs as the "vurst case I've evah zeen!" When Myicin tries to convince Bugs he is Elmer Fudd, Bugs at first believes Myicin is identifying himself as Fudd, and politely shakes hands saying "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Fudd!" Myicin then says "No, I em naut Elmer J. Fudd, you ah Elmer J. Fudd!" Realizing the doctor's intent, Bugs presumes it is Myicin who is insane. Bugs momentary shows the audience a card with a screw and ball, then attempts to psychoanalyze the doctor instead. Irked, Myicin gives Bugs a hypnotizing "kapzule." Once it takes effect, Bugs is made to repeat, over and over, "I am Elmer J. Fudd, millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht," gradually acquiring Elmer's speech pattern.

Hare Brush

Reversed roles!

Myicin's programming works: Bugs Bunny leaves the sanitarium convinced he's Elmer Fudd and adopts his speech impediment, pronouncing R's and L's as W's. Myicin telephones Elmer's chauffeur ordering him not to be put off by the rabbit appearance and to get Elmer back into the lifestyle he knew before the delusion. The chauffeur tells Bugs that since it is Wednesday, he brought the hunting clothes. Bugs decides to relax by going hunting, where Elmer, still in his rabbit suit, is waiting.

It's the usual chase from there, only in reverse. Notable gags include Elmer siccing a bear on Bugs and telling him to play dead; the bear, concluding from Bugs' body odor that he is indeed dead, buries Bugs, who then falls from the underside of a cliff ledge.

In the climax, Bugs is about to capture Elmer ("No wabbit's gonna outsmawt Emmuh J. Fudd!") when a government agent (dressed in film noir G-man attire) taps Bugs on the shoulder, asking, "Pardon me, did you say you were Elmer J. Fudd?" Bugs replies with the phrase that turned him into Elmer. "Yes, I am Emmuh J. Fudd, miwwionaiwe. I own a mansion and a yacht." Bugs is then arrested for Elmer's non-payment of $300,000 (equal to $300,000 today) in back taxes, and tries in vain to explain himself, protesting, "I'm hunting a scwewy wabbit!" This time, the last line of the episode belongs to Elmer: "I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Owcatwaz!", as he jauntily does the bunny hop into the distance, implying that Elmer has been faking his insanity throughout the entire cartoon precisely to avoid being sentenced to prison for tax evasion.

Censorship

The following scenes were edited when this cartoon was shown on ABC's The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show:

  • The establishing shot of the mental hospital Elmer is committed to ("The Fruitcake Sanitarium: It's Full of Nuts") was cut, as per ABC's Standard and Practices rule at the time that forbid the mention and mocking of mental illness (which also explains why "The Duxorcist" was edited to remove Daffy calling the possessed Melissa Duck a schizophrenic and asking her if she had any other girls like her in the family and to conjure up her older sister personality).
  • Elmer (as Bugs) plugging his finger on Bugs' (as Elmer's) gun.
  • Bugs (as Elmer) diving headfirst into a lake, only to hit his head on an underwater rock.

[1]

Notes

  • The first Merrie Melodies short to bear the "1955-64" opening and ending theme.
  • As of 2015, Boomerang USA airs the NTSC print of this cartoon.[2]

Gallery

References


  • Beck, Jerry and Will Friedwald, "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons," Henry Holt and Co., New York, 1989. (ISBN 0-8050-0894-2).

External Links

Hare Brush at SuperCartoons.net

Preceded by
Sahara Hare
Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1940-1964
Succeeded by
Rabbit Rampage
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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