Mad as a Mars Hare is a 1963 Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble.
Title[]
The title is a play on the phrase "mad as a March hare."
Plot[]
Marvin the Martian observes the planet Earth from Mars through a telescope. He is examining a rocket launch that is taking place. As he watches, the rocket takes off from Earth and soon appears to be heading straight towards him. Soon enough, the rocket lands on Mars, and a reluctant Bugs Bunny exits it. It is quickly apparent that he is the only occupant, and he has been lured onto the rocket by a carrot and then sent to Mars as what Earth considered an expendable "astro-rabbit."
Bugs immediately claims Mars, using a metal carrot with a flag inside in the name of Earth. However, Marvin does not agree with this and decides he will not allow Bugs to take his planet away from him. After failing to disintegrate him with his disintegrating pistol, which resulted in Marvin getting disintegrated himself and going off to be re-integrated, "Being disintegrated makes me very angry! [huff, puff] Very angry indeed!", Marvin gets his time-projector gun and sets it to advance Bugs forward into time so that he can use him as a lifelong slave. However, when Marvin zaps Bugs, though Bugs tries to beg for mercy, which of course makes Marvin angry, he realizes too late that he had the gun in reverse, so Bugs is reverted into a Neanderthal Rabbit, who immediately grabs Marvin and crushes him with just one hand; Marvin goes off to be regenerated again, while saying, "Well, back to the old electronic brain!" Bugs then eats the metal carrot and says Elmer Fudd and all the hunters back on Earth are going to be in for a big surprise when Bugs gets back to Earth.
Availability[]
Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 7)
Bugs and Marvin: Martian Mayhem (1997 dubbed version) (only in PAL regions and Japan)
Looney Tunes Presents: Marvin the Martian & K-9: 50 Years on Earth! (1997 dubbed version)
![(1999) VHS Looney Tunes Presents Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes [reissued version]](/wiki/File:Space_Tunes.jpg "Space Tunes.jpg (47 KB)")
Looney Tunes Presents Marvin the Martian: Space Tunes [reissued version]
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition, Vol. 11: Wabbit Tales (1997 dubbed version, without notice)
Bugs Bunny (2003)
Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire (cropped to widescreen)
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two
Looney Tunes Super Stars 3-Pack, Disc 1 (cropped to widescreen)
Looney Tunes Super Stars Family Multi-Feature, Disc 1 (cropped to widescreen)
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- "Mad as a Mars Hare" marks several milestones in the golden age Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series:
- It marks the final cartoon completed by Chuck Jones prior to his firing in 1962.
- Production order-wise, it was the last cartoon to use the classic bullet-shot Merrie Melodies rings used in every cartoon of the series since "I Wanna Play House" in 1936.
- It marks the last classic-era cartoon (also in production order) to use "Merrily We Roll Along" for its theme song, which had been used since '"Boulevardier from the Bronx" back in 1936.
- It marks the final appearance of Marvin the Martian in a classic cartoon.
- Though Elmer Fudd does not appear, he is mentioned by Bugs Bunny at the end of this cartoon when he speaks to the audience about how he and all the hunters back on Earth are going to be in for a big surprise due to his Neanderthal form when Bugs gets back to Earth.
- Marvin's outfit is the same brown/green (as opposed to green/red) color scheme as in "Hare-Way to the Stars".
Gallery[]
