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, wanting to cook the rabbit on the frying pan the next morning. 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 hyperactively bounces away on his head, laughing uncontrollably . 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[]
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 2, Side 2 Early Wabbits (without the lost ending)
Invisible Stripes (1995 dubbed version, without the lost ending)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc Two (with lost ending restored)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc Two (with lost ending restored)
Streaming[]
Lost Ending[]
Prior to 2011, there was speculation about the abrupt ending that occurs after the 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 hunter, unnamed in the actual short, is revealed to be John Sourpuss, according to the cartoon's script.[5]
- This cartoon has several similarities to "Daffy Duck & Egghead", which coincidentally was written by Ben Hardaway the previous year;
- Both cartoons involve a dimwitted hunter hunting a crazy wild animal in the wilderness.
- The scene where the rabbit hyperactively hopping around in and out of the water in this cartoon is similar to what Daffy did in Daffy Duck & Egghead. In addition, the rabbit even emits one of the early Daffy's quotes "That's correct! You're absolutely correct!" before laughing hysterically non-stop during the "Guess Who" routine with the dog.
- The rabbit's crazy song in this cartoon is similar to Daffy's rendition of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down".
- The lost ending where the rabbit hyperactively hops around laughing, followed by the hunter doing the same, is similar to the ending of Daffy Duck & Egghead.
- The rabbit has a laugh similar to that of Woody Woodpecker, a character also voiced by Mel Blanc during his first few appearances.
- The "Guess Who" gag involving the rabbit and the dog in this cartoon would later be re-used in Tex Avery's "A Wild Hare" the following year, albeit with the fully-realized Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the roles of the rabbit and dog respectively.
- 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.
- 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."
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070212114313/http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/ltcutsh.html
- ↑ http://ramapithblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/legendbreakers-hare-um-scare-um.html
- ↑ http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/McKimson/RemodelingRabbit.html
- ↑ https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/how-old-is-bugs-bunny/