Case of the Missing Hare is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones.
Contents
Title
The title is a typical play on "heir," and although it suggests a mystery story, it bears no apparent relationship to the plotline.
Plot
A magician named Ala Bahma is nailing self-promoting posters on every conceivable surface including, as it turns out, a tree in which Bugs is living. He protests having his home encroached, proclaiming that "there's still such a thing as private property, you know." He continues the protest until the magician apologizes and asks Bugs if he likes blackberry pie. The bunny's expression changes to joy for the moment, as Ala Bahma produces a pie from under a "magic" cloth... until he splatters it in his face, walking away and ridiculing the rabbit. Bugs, with pie-filling and bits of crust dripping down his face, calmly says, "Of course, you realize this means war!"
The rabbit spends the rest of the movie at the theater where Ala Bahma is performing, wreaking havoc during his prestidigitations. He thinks he has blown Bugs away with a shotgun. Instead, Bugs pops out of the magic hat and awards him a lit cigar... which promptly explodes in his face and stuns him. In a delicious bit of revenge, Bugs produces a pie from under a magic cloth. He says to the audience, quoting Red Skelton's "Mean Widdle Kid", "If I dood it, I dit a whippin'... I DOOD IT!" and splatters the pie in Ala Bahma's face. Bugs then sings "Aloha `Oe" while playing a ukulele as he descends into the hat.
Caricatures
- Groucho Marx - "Of course you realize, this means war!"
- Red Skelton's "Mean Widdle Kid"
Availability
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 4, Side 1
Cartoon Craze - Volume 14 - Bugs Bunny: Falling Hare
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc One (with optional commentary by Greg Ford)
Add a photo to this gallery
Streaming
Censorship
When this cartoon aired on TBS (back when TBS and TNT aired classic cartoons, mostly from the pre-1948 package, as other channels had rights to the post-1948 package), the beginning establishing shot showing posters for Ala Bama's show plastered all over walls, fences, and trees was cut[2] (most likely a time cut, as there is nothing objectionable about the scene).
Notes
- Unlike other cartoons, Bugs lives in a hole in a tree instead of a hole in the ground.
- This is the first cartoon Bugs quoted the famous Groucho Marx line, "Of course you realize this means war!".
- It is one of the few cartoons where Bugs doesn't say "Eh, what's up, Doc?"
- This cartoon entered the Public Domain in 1970.
Gallery
Add a photo to this gallery
References
External Links
- Case of the Missing Hare at SuperCartoons.net
- Case of the Missing Hare at B99.TV
