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Changes: The Old Grey Hare

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{{Shorts
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{{Infobox_Shorts
  
 
|name = The Old Grey Hare
  
|name = The Old Grey Hare
⚫
|image = Old Grey Hare.jpg
  
⚫
|Director = [[Bob Clampett]]
  
⚫
|producer = [[Eddie Selzer]] (uncredited)
  
⚫
|airdate = October 28, 1944
  
⚫
|series = [[Merrie Melodies]]
  
−
|Voice = [[Mel Blanc]]<br>[[Arthur Q. Bryan]] (uncredited)
  
⚫
|Starring = [[Bugs Bunny]]<br>[[Elmer Fudd]]
  
 
|previous = [[Booby Hatched]]
  
|previous = [[Booby Hatched]]
 
|next = [[The Stupid Cupid]]
  
|next = [[The Stupid Cupid]]
−
|video = [[File:The Old Grey Hare (Dubbed Version)|center|280px]]
 +
|image = [[File:Screenshot 2022-12-04 101340.png|thumb]]
  ⚫
|airdate = 28 October 1944
⚫
|Writer = [[Michael Sasanoff]]
  
  ⚫
|series = [[Merrie Melodies]]
⚫
|Animators = [[Robert McKimson]]<br>[[Jack Bradbury]] (uncredited)<br>[[Basil Davidovich]] (uncredited)<br>[[Manny Gould]] (uncredited)<br>[[Rod Scribner]] (uncredited)<br>[[A.C. Gamer]] (effects) (uncredited)
  
  +
|prodno = 11-13
⚫
|Layout-artist = [[Thomas McKimson]] (uncredited)
  
  +
|renewed = 20 July 1972<ref>https://archive.org/details/catalogofc19723261213libr/page/146/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>
⚫
|Background-artist = [[Dorcy Howard]] (uncredited)
  
  ⚫
|starring = [[Bugs Bunny]]<br>[[Elmer Fudd]]
⚫
|Sound effects = [[Treg Brown]] (uncredited)
  
−
|Musician = [[Carl W. Stalling]]<br>[[Milt Franklyn]] (orchestrator) (uncredited)}}
 +
|voice = [[Mel Blanc]]<br>[[Arthur Q. Bryan]] (uncredited)
  ⚫
|director = [[Bob Clampett|Robert Clampett]]
−
'''The Old Grey Hare''' is a 1944 [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon in the [[Merrie Melodies]] series, directed by [[Bob Clampett]], written by [[Michael Sasanoff]], music by [[Carl W. Stalling]]. Starring an older and young [[Bugs Bunny]] and [[Elmer Fudd]] (voiced by [[Mel Blanc]] and [[Arthur Q. Bryan]] respectively). It was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon to credit [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] as producer after [[Leon Schlesinger]] sold the studio to WB. Although Bob McKimson was the only credited animator, Rod Scribner, Manny Gould, and Jack Bradbury aided in the process.
  
  ⚫
|producer = [[Eddie Selzer]] (uncredited)
  ⚫
|writer = [[Michael Sasanoff]]
  ⚫
|animators = [[Robert McKimson]]<br>[[Basil Davidovich]] (uncredited)<br>[[Manny Gould]] (uncredited)<br>[[Rod Scribner]] (uncredited)
  +
|effects_anim = [[A.C. Gamer]] (uncredited)
  +
|char = [[Thomas McKimson]] (uncredited)<!--All the drawings on the model sheet have his signature-->
  ⚫
|layout = [[Thomas McKimson]] (uncredited)
  ⚫
|background = [[Dorcy Howard]] (uncredited)
  ⚫
|editor = [[Treg Brown]] (uncredited)
  +
|musician = [[Carl W. Stalling]]
  +
|orchestration = [[Milt Franklyn]] (uncredited)
  +
|video =
  +
|runtime=7 min. 38 sec.}}
  +
'''The Old Grey Hare''' is a [[1944]] ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' short directed by [[Bob Clampett|Robert Clampett]].
   
−
==Title==
 +
== Title ==
 
The title is a double play on words. One is the typical pun between "hare" and "hair", with the bunny (who was already grey-haired) rendered "old and grey" for this cartoon. The title also refers to the old song, "The Old Gray Mare". Some theater cards for this cartoon gave the alternate spelling, ''The Old '''Gray''' Hare''.
  
The title is a double play on words. One is the typical pun between "hare" and "hair", with the bunny (who was already grey-haired) rendered "old and grey" for this cartoon. The title also refers to the old song, "The Old Gray Mare". Some theater cards for this cartoon gave the alternate spelling, ''The Old '''Gray''' Hare''.
   
−
==Plot==
 +
== Plot ==
−
The cartoon starts with Elmer sitting under a tree, crying over never being able to catch Bugs. The "voice of God" (also the voice of [[Mel Blanc]]) tells Elmer that he would eventually catch him, and proceeds to transport him "far into the future" past the years 1950, 1960, 1970, etc., until reaching the then-distant year of 2000 Anno Domini.
 +
Elmer sits under a tree, crying over never being able to catch Bugs. A voice tells Elmer that he would eventually catch him, and proceeds to transport him "far into the future" past the years 1950, 1960, 1970, etc., until reaching the then-distant year of 2000.
   
−
This offers the chance to use some contemporary gags with a futuristic twist, as Elmer finds a year 2000 newspaper. One headline says, Smell-O-Vision Replaces Television: [[Carl Stalling]] Sez It Will Never Work!" In sporting news, "Bing Crosby's Horse Hasn't Come In Yet!" (Crosby was known for investing in racehorses that did poorly).
 +
This offers the chance to use some contemporary gags with a futuristic twist, as Elmer finds a year 2000 newspaper. One headline says, Smellevision Replaces Television! [[Carl Stalling]] Sez It Will Never Work!" In sporting news, "Bing Crosby's Horse Hasn't Come In Yet!" (Crosby was known for investing in racehorses that did poorly).
   
 
By now, both Elmer and Bugs are very old and wrinkled ("What's up, prune-face?") - Bugs even has a large white beard and a cane - and lumbago - but their chase resumes. This time Elmer is armed with a "Buck Rogers" ray gun. After a short chase (at slow speed, due to their ages), Elmer gets the upper hand, shooting Bugs with his ultra-modern weapon.
  
By now, both Elmer and Bugs are very old and wrinkled ("What's up, prune-face?") - Bugs even has a large white beard and a cane - and lumbago - but their chase resumes. This time Elmer is armed with a "Buck Rogers" ray gun. After a short chase (at slow speed, due to their ages), Elmer gets the upper hand, shooting Bugs with his ultra-modern weapon.
   
−
At the moment when it seems Elmer has finally beaten his nemesis, the apparently dying Bugs thinks back to when he and Elmer were much younger. This leads to a flashback sequence with a baby Elmer hunting a baby Bugs (both are still in diapers; Bugs, whose "baby" voice is virtually identical to the normal voice of Blanc's [[Tweety]], is drinking carrot juice from a baby bottle; Elmer is crawling and toting a pop-gun; and they interrupt their chase to take a baby nap-time together.)
 +
At the moment when it seems Elmer has finally beaten his nemesis, the apparently dying Bugs thinks back to when he and Elmer were much younger. This leads to a flashback sequence with a baby Elmer hunting a baby Bugs (both are still in diapers; Bugs is drinking carrot juice from a baby bottle; Elmer is crawling and toting a pop-gun; and they interrupt their chase to take a baby nap-time together.)
   
−
After the flashback is over, a tearful Bugs starts to dig his own grave, with Elmer getting equally emotional. Just at the point where it seems that Bugs is going to bury himself, he switches places with the weeping and distracted Elmer, and cheerfully buries him alive instead ("So long, Methuselah!") The buried Elmer quips, "Weww [well] anyway, that pesky wabbit is out of my wife [life] fowevew [forever] and evew [ever]!" However, Bugs suddenly pops in and repeats the popular catchphrase of the "Richard Q. Peavey" character from The Great Gildersleeve, "Well, now, I wouldn't say ''that''," plants a kiss on Elmer, then hands him a large firecracker with a lit fuse, and quickly departs. While Elmer shivers and doesn't do anything, the screen immediately fades out and Robert Clampett's famous vocalized "Bay-woop!" is heard with the firecracker still hissing. The cartoon ends with the "That's all, Folks!"(which appears every single cartoon) card appears already pre-written and the firecracker explodes off-screen, rumbling and shaking the on-screen title card.
 +
After the flashback is over, a tearful Bugs starts to dig his own grave, with Elmer getting equally emotional. Just at the point where it seems that Bugs is going to bury himself, he switches places with the weeping and distracted Elmer, and cheerfully buries him alive instead ("So long, Methuselah!") The buried Elmer quips, "Weww [well] anyway, that pesky wabbit is out of my wife [life] fowevew [forever] and evew [ever]!" However, Bugs suddenly pops in and repeats the popular catchphrase of the "Richard Q. Peavey" character from The Great Gildersleeve, "Well, now, I wouldn't say ''that''," plants a kiss on Elmer, then hands him a large firecracker with a lit fuse, and quickly departs. While Elmer shivers and doesn't do anything, the screen immediately fades out and Robert Clampett's famous vocalized "Bay-woop!" is heard with the firecracker still hissing. The "That's all, Folks!" card appears already pre-written and the firecracker explodes off-screen, rumbling and shaking the on-screen title card.
   
  +
==Caricatures==
−
==Censorship and Title alterations==
  
  +
*[[Caricatures#Bing Crosby|Bing Crosby]]
⚫
[[File:OGM_DUBBED_2.jpg|thumb|400px|The two different end cards of the cartoon used for this cartoon's Turner "dubbed version". <br>The end title card on the left is "dubbed version" 1 is the USA dubbed version, which ruins the ending gag. This version airs everywhere but the European countries. This version still airs today on the USA networks, if hardly ever shown.<br>The end title card on the right in "dubbed version" 2 which preserves the end gag is the EU dubbed version, which airs in European countries]]
  
  +
*[[Caricatures#Richard LeGrand|Richard LeGrand]]'s character Richard Q. Peavey
−
*On Cartoon Network (except for the first "June Bugs" marathon and ''[[The Bob Clampett Show]]''), the shaking ending card is replaced with the generic "Dubbed Version" end card (though the explosion can still be heard), thus ruining the ending gag.
  
−
*The European dubbed version which airs in EU countries keeps the original shaking ending card.
  
⚫
*The WB! airing of this cartoon cut the part where baby Elmer points his toy gun at baby Bugs and baby Bugs breaks his bottle of carrot juice over baby Elmer's head.
  
   
 
==Availability==
  
==Availability==
  +
<gallery>
⚫
*Laserdisc - ''[[The Golden Age of Looney Tunes]]'', Vol. 1, Side 10: The Art of Bugs
  
  +
Viddy-Oh! For Kids VHS 2.jpg|(1986) VHS <br/>''[[Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals]]: Bugs Bunny Cartoon Festival Featuring "Little Red Riding Rabbit"''
⚫
*VHS - ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'', Vol. 10: The Art of Bugs
  
  +
Viddy-Oh! For Kids VHS 4.jpg|(1986) VHS <br/>''[[Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals]]: Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd Cartoon Festival Featuring "Wabbit Twouble"''
−
*DVD - ''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4]]'', Disc 2 (''[[Bugs Bunny Superstar]]'', Part 2) (a.a.p. print)
  
  +
Lt bbss ld.jpg|(1988) LaserDisc <br/>''[[Bugs Bunny: Superstar]]''
⚫
*DVD - ''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5]]'', Disc 3
  
  +
Lt bbs.jpg|(1988) VHS <br/>''[[Bugs Bunny: Superstar]]'' (a.a.p print)
⚫
*Blu-Ray, DVD - ''[[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1]]'', Disc 1
  
  ⚫
Golden Age LT Vol 1.jpg|(1991) LaserDisc <br/>''[[The Golden Age of Looney Tunes]]'', Vol. 1, Side 10: The Art of Bugs
−
*DVD - ''Bugs Bunny Superstar''
  
  ⚫
Lt galt vhs 10.jpg|(1992) VHS <br/>''[[The Golden Age of Looney Tunes]]'', Vol. 10: The Art of Bugs
  +
Lt bumper woolworths.jpg|(1995) VHS <br/>''[[Bumper Edition (Woolworths Exclusive)]]''
  +
LTCE VOL 7 WELCOME TO WACKYLAND.jpg|(1999) VHS <br/>''[[Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition]] Volume 7: Welcome To Wackyland'' (1995 Turner dubbed version, edited)
  +
LTGC Vol.4.jpg|(2006) DVD <br/>''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4]]'', Disc 2 (''[[Bugs Bunny Superstar]]'', Part 2) (1995 Turner dubbed version, but uses opening and closing titles from the 90s scan of ''Bugs Bunny Superstar'', preserving the original end gag)
  +
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5.jpg|(2007) DVD <br/>''[[Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5]]'', Disc 3 (with optional audio commentary by Greg Ford)
  +
The Essential Bugs Bunny.jpg|(2010) DVD <br/>''[[The Essential Bugs Bunny]]'', Disc 1 (restored)
  +
Looney Tunes Showcase - Volume 1.jpg|(2012) Blu-ray <br/>''[[Looney Tunes Showcase: Volume 1]]'',
  ⚫
51LA0AzTVqL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|(2011) Blu-ray <br/>''[[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1]]'', Disc 1 (restored)
  ⚫
LTPC VOL 1 DVD.jpg|(2012) DVD <br/>''[[Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1]]'', Disc 1 (restored)
  +
BB SS DVD Warner Archive.jpg|(2012) DVD<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Bugs-Bunny-Superstar-Region-NTSC/dp/B01I06AOI8 Amazon]</ref> <br/>''[[Bugs Bunny: Superstar]]'' (restored)
  +
Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.jpg|(2020) Blu-ray <br/>''[[Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection]]'', Disc 1 (restored)
  +
</gallery>
   
−
==Trivia==
 +
===Streaming===
  +
<gallery>
⚫
*In this short, Bugs Bunny in his normal adult age is not shown, just as a baby bunny and as an old rabbit.
  
  +
lt hbo max.jpg|[[HBO Max]] (2020 - 2023)
⚫
*This is the first cartoon where something or something referring to the beginning happens at the end where the usual ''That's All Folks!'' ending card is shown.
  
  +
lt max.jpg|[[Max]] (2023 - )
⚫
*When an old Elmer is reading the newspaper, Bing Crosby's and Carl Stalling's names can be seen.
  
  +
</gallery>
−
**Also, instead of saying ''says'' it says ''sez''.
  
  +
⚫
*While Baby Bugs is babbling to Elmer as a baby, the words of his catchphrase, What's Up Doc, appears and Elmer reads it.
  
  +
==Censorship==
⚫
**A similar gag would show up in the later Popeye the Sailor cartoon ''Popeye the Ace Of Space''. when Popeye is captured by aliens, they babble the words',''... on this typical Earthman specimen'', appears and Popeye reads it.
  
  ⚫
*When this cartoon aired on [[The WB]], the part where baby Elmer points his toy gun at baby Bugs' face and baby Bugs cracks his bottle of carrot juice over baby Elmer's head was cut.<ref>http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-n-o.aspx</ref>
−
*Final cartoon to have WARNER BROS. Present. All cartoons after this will have WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC. Present
  
  +
* See "Notes" section below for edits done to the end gag where the cartoon ends with elderly Bugs giving elderly Elmer a stick of dynamite after burying him in his own grave and the title card shakes in response to the off-screen explosion.
⚫
*Final cartoon to use produced by WARNER BROS. CARTOONS on opening titles.
  
  +
⚫
*This is one of the several Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts to have ending gags involving the closing titles; others include ''[[Porky's Duck Hunt]]'', ''[[Stop, Look and Hasten]]'', and ''[[Box Office Bunny]]''.
  
  +
==Notes==
  +
*This cartoon's title card is virtually identical to that of "[[Buckaroo Bugs]]", which was released two months earlier. Co-incidentally, both cartoons are directed by Bob Clampett.
  +
*This cartoon lacks a visible MPPDA number on the credit card.
  +
*This is the first cartoon animated by [[Basil Davidovich]]. He was given no on-screen credit until "[[A Gruesome Twosome]]" (1945).
  ⚫
*In this short, [[Bugs Bunny]] in his normal adult age is not shown, just as a baby bunny and as an elderly rabbit.
  +
*Bugs' voice as a baby is virtually identical to that of [[Tweety]], while Elmer's voice as a baby is basically a sped-up version of his normal voice.
  ⚫
*This is the first cartoon where something referring to the beginning happens at the end, where the usual "[[That's all Folks!]]" ending card is shown.
  ⚫
*When an old [[Elmer Fudd|Elmer]] is reading the newspaper, the names of Bing Crosby and [[Carl Stalling]] are shown.
  +
*The caption under Baby Elmer's picture reads "Only 3½ Years Old," a reference to [[Caricatures#Billy Gray|Billy Gray]]'s catchphrase.
  ⚫
*While Baby Bugs is babbling to Elmer as a baby, the words of his catchphrase, "What's up, doc?" appear, and Elmer reads them.
  ⚫
**A similar gag would show up in the later Popeye the Sailor cartoon "Popeye, the Ace of Space". When Popeye is captured by aliens, they babble the words "......on this typical Earthman specimen", and Popeye reads them.
  +
*This is the final cartoon to bear the byline "WARNER BROS." on the opening title. All cartoons after this include "PICTURES INC." under the byline.
  ⚫
**It is also the final cartoon to bear the byline "Produced by WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, Inc." on the opening title.
  +
*This cartoon would be used as the final cartoon for the documentary ''[[Bugs Bunny: Superstar]]''.
  ⚫
*This is one of the several ''[[Looney Tunes]]''/''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' shorts to have ending gags involving the closing titles. Others include "[[Porky's Duck Hunt]]" (1937), "[[Stop! Look! And Hasten!]]" (1954), and "[[Box Office Bunny]]" (1991) (all of which have been edited on television in one form or another, due to some channels not allowing the cartoons to have their original ending cards).
  ⚫
[[File:OGM_DUBBED_2.jpg|thumb|400px|The two different end cards of the cartoon used for this cartoon's Turner "[[Dubbed Versions|dubbed version]]".<br>The end title card on the left is "dubbed version" #1, the USA dubbed version, which alters the ending gag. This version airs in NTSC countries and still airs today on the USA and Latin American networks.<br>The end title card on the right (blue) is "dubbed version" #2, the EU dubbed version, which preserves the end gag and airs in PAL countries. This card is also used in the Blu-ray and DVD versions.]]
  +
*The USA Turner dubbed version, which used to air on [[Cartoon Network]] and currently airs on the Latin American, Canadian, and American [[Boomerang]] (excluding an appearance in ''[[The Bob Clampett Show]]'' and the first "June Bugs" marathon) channels, has the original shaking end card replaced by the 1947–48 ''Merrie Melodies'' card, which does not shake (though the explosion sound is still heard). This edit also occurs on ''[[Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition]] Volume 7: Welcome To Wackyland'' VHS release from Columbia House which also uses this exact same print. <ref name="dubbed">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR_V-bf-ZVE</ref><ref>https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNhyKv4xIFWgqCyzsrXNR5lpYZb3Fc1oO6D2hjHnJA3ScMq1_04QeR0Hf46rFQmew/photo/AF1QipMvWQpi1n4vRDUZr-lGkxZ3DCJ7VMIIOi2Kvgqx?key=eVBhWUdfQVlUR1RZR21BXzR5SXlEd05paEU4OEhR</ref>
  +
**While the USA Turner dubbed version replaces the ending title card with the 1947–48 ''Merrie Melodies'' dubbed card seen on most USA dubbed versions, the European Turner dubbed version, which airs on the Cartoon Network/Boomerang channels in European countries, has blue borders and preserves the original ending card and the explosion gag. In this version, the original end card shakes, and the "DUBBED VERSION (C) 1995 TURNER ENTERTAINMENT, CO." disclaimer fades up at the end.<ref>http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29k578_the-old-grey-hare-dubbed-version_shortfilms</ref>{{Dead link}}<ref name="dubbed" />
   
 
==Gallery==
  
==Gallery==
 
<gallery>
  
<gallery>
  +
Screenshot 2022-12-04 100748.png
−
The Old Grey Hare1 restored.jpg|"What's up, Prune Face?"
  
  +
Screenshot 2022-12-04 100810.png|Credits
⚫
189045 10150123679353926 223597233925 6375129 1648472 n.jpg|lobby card
  
  ⚫
The Old Grey Hare (1).jpg
−
Babybugsbunnyandelmerfudd.jpg|Baby Bugs Bunny and Baby Elmer Fudd
  
  +
Screenshot 2022-12-04 101142.png
⚫
Bugs Bunny The Old Grey Hare
  
  +
Screenshot 2022-12-04 101224.png
  ⚫
The Old Grey Hare (11).jpg
  +
The Old Grey Hare (38).jpg|"Well now, I wouldn't say that..."
  +
The Old Grey Hare (40).jpg
  +
U-g-PJY25W0.jpg|[[Lobby Cards|Lobby card]]
  +
22606ps.jpg|Lobby card
  ⚫
189045 10150123679353926 223597233925 6375129 1648472 n.jpg|Lobby card
  +
Oldgrayhare-sm.jpg|Production model sheet
  +
The Old Grey Hare (1944) - Family Signs.jpg
 
</gallery>
  
</gallery>
  +
  +
==References==
  +
{{reflist}}
   
 
==External Links==
  
==External Links==
−
[http://www.supercartoons.net/cartoon/1177/bugs-bunny-the-old-grey-hare.html The Old Grey Hare] at SuperCartoons.net<br />
 +
*"[https://www.supercartoons.net/cartoon/the-old-grey-hare/ The Old Grey Hare]" at SuperCartoons.net
−
[http://www.b99.tv/video/old-grey-hare/ The Old Grey Hare] at B99.TV
 +
*"[https://www.b98.tv/video/old-grey-hare/ The Old Grey Hare]" at B98.TV
   
 
{{BugsBunnyShorts}}
  
{{BugsBunnyShorts}}
 
{{ElmerFuddShorts}}
  
{{ElmerFuddShorts}}
  +
[[fr:Adieu, monde cruel]]
  +
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Grey Hare, The}}
  
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Grey Hare, The}}
 
[[Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons]]
  
[[Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons]]
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[[Category:Bugs Bunny: Superstar Cartoons]]
  
[[Category:Bugs Bunny: Superstar Cartoons]]
 
[[Category:Cartoons directed by Bob Clampett]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons directed by Bob Clampett]]
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[[Category:Cartoons written by Michael Sasanoff]]
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[[Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc]]
−
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Robert McKimson]]
 +
[[Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan]]
−
[[Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling]]
 +
[[Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer]]
⚫
[[Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster]]
  
−
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Jack Bradbury]]
  
 
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Basil Davidovich]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Basil Davidovich]]
−
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Manny Gould]]
  
−
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Rod Scribner]]
  
 
[[Category:Cartoons with layouts by Thomas McKimson]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons with layouts by Thomas McKimson]]
−
[[Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Lou Lilly]]
  
⚫
[[Category:Cartoons with effects animated by A.C. Gamer]]
  
 
[[Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown]]
 
[[Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown]]
  ⚫
[[Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling]]
 
[[Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn]]
−
[[Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer]]
  
−
[[Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc]]
  
−
[[Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan]]
  
 
[[Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package]]
  
[[Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package]]
  ⚫
[[Category:Cartoons that contain excerpts from "Powerhouse"]]

Latest revision as of 00:29, 3 April 2024

The Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert Clampett.

Title

The title is a double play on words. One is the typical pun between "hare" and "hair", with the bunny (who was already grey-haired) rendered "old and grey" for this cartoon. The title also refers to the old song, "The Old Gray Mare". Some theater cards for this cartoon gave the alternate spelling, The Old Gray Hare.

Plot

Elmer sits under a tree, crying over never being able to catch Bugs. A voice tells Elmer that he would eventually catch him, and proceeds to transport him "far into the future" past the years 1950, 1960, 1970, etc., until reaching the then-distant year of 2000.

This offers the chance to use some contemporary gags with a futuristic twist, as Elmer finds a year 2000 newspaper. One headline says, Smellevision Replaces Television! Carl Stalling Sez It Will Never Work!" In sporting news, "Bing Crosby's Horse Hasn't Come In Yet!" (Crosby was known for investing in racehorses that did poorly).

By now, both Elmer and Bugs are very old and wrinkled ("What's up, prune-face?") - Bugs even has a large white beard and a cane - and lumbago - but their chase resumes. This time Elmer is armed with a "Buck Rogers" ray gun. After a short chase (at slow speed, due to their ages), Elmer gets the upper hand, shooting Bugs with his ultra-modern weapon.

At the moment when it seems Elmer has finally beaten his nemesis, the apparently dying Bugs thinks back to when he and Elmer were much younger. This leads to a flashback sequence with a baby Elmer hunting a baby Bugs (both are still in diapers; Bugs is drinking carrot juice from a baby bottle; Elmer is crawling and toting a pop-gun; and they interrupt their chase to take a baby nap-time together.)

After the flashback is over, a tearful Bugs starts to dig his own grave, with Elmer getting equally emotional. Just at the point where it seems that Bugs is going to bury himself, he switches places with the weeping and distracted Elmer, and cheerfully buries him alive instead ("So long, Methuselah!") The buried Elmer quips, "Weww [well] anyway, that pesky wabbit is out of my wife [life] fowevew [forever] and evew [ever]!" However, Bugs suddenly pops in and repeats the popular catchphrase of the "Richard Q. Peavey" character from The Great Gildersleeve, "Well, now, I wouldn't say that," plants a kiss on Elmer, then hands him a large firecracker with a lit fuse, and quickly departs. While Elmer shivers and doesn't do anything, the screen immediately fades out and Robert Clampett's famous vocalized "Bay-woop!" is heard with the firecracker still hissing. The "That's all, Folks!" card appears already pre-written and the firecracker explodes off-screen, rumbling and shaking the on-screen title card.

Caricatures

Availability

Streaming

Censorship

  • When this cartoon aired on The WB, the part where baby Elmer points his toy gun at baby Bugs' face and baby Bugs cracks his bottle of carrot juice over baby Elmer's head was cut.[3]
  • See "Notes" section below for edits done to the end gag where the cartoon ends with elderly Bugs giving elderly Elmer a stick of dynamite after burying him in his own grave and the title card shakes in response to the off-screen explosion.

Notes

  • This cartoon's title card is virtually identical to that of "Buckaroo Bugs", which was released two months earlier. Co-incidentally, both cartoons are directed by Bob Clampett.
  • This cartoon lacks a visible MPPDA number on the credit card.
  • This is the first cartoon animated by Basil Davidovich. He was given no on-screen credit until "A Gruesome Twosome" (1945).
  • In this short, Bugs Bunny in his normal adult age is not shown, just as a baby bunny and as an elderly rabbit.
  • Bugs' voice as a baby is virtually identical to that of Tweety, while Elmer's voice as a baby is basically a sped-up version of his normal voice.
  • This is the first cartoon where something referring to the beginning happens at the end, where the usual "That's all Folks!" ending card is shown.
  • When an old Elmer is reading the newspaper, the names of Bing Crosby and Carl Stalling are shown.
  • The caption under Baby Elmer's picture reads "Only 3½ Years Old," a reference to Billy Gray's catchphrase.
  • While Baby Bugs is babbling to Elmer as a baby, the words of his catchphrase, "What's up, doc?" appear, and Elmer reads them.
    • A similar gag would show up in the later Popeye the Sailor cartoon "Popeye, the Ace of Space". When Popeye is captured by aliens, they babble the words "......on this typical Earthman specimen", and Popeye reads them.
  • This is the final cartoon to bear the byline "WARNER BROS." on the opening title. All cartoons after this include "PICTURES INC." under the byline.
    • It is also the final cartoon to bear the byline "Produced by WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, Inc." on the opening title.
  • This cartoon would be used as the final cartoon for the documentary Bugs Bunny: Superstar.
  • This is one of the several Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts to have ending gags involving the closing titles. Others include "Porky's Duck Hunt" (1937), "Stop! Look! And Hasten!" (1954), and "Box Office Bunny" (1991) (all of which have been edited on television in one form or another, due to some channels not allowing the cartoons to have their original ending cards).
OGM DUBBED 2

The two different end cards of the cartoon used for this cartoon's Turner "dubbed version".
The end title card on the left is "dubbed version" #1, the USA dubbed version, which alters the ending gag. This version airs in NTSC countries and still airs today on the USA and Latin American networks.
The end title card on the right (blue) is "dubbed version" #2, the EU dubbed version, which preserves the end gag and airs in PAL countries. This card is also used in the Blu-ray and DVD versions.

  • The USA Turner dubbed version, which used to air on Cartoon Network and currently airs on the Latin American, Canadian, and American Boomerang (excluding an appearance in The Bob Clampett Show and the first "June Bugs" marathon) channels, has the original shaking end card replaced by the 1947–48 Merrie Melodies card, which does not shake (though the explosion sound is still heard). This edit also occurs on Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 7: Welcome To Wackyland VHS release from Columbia House which also uses this exact same print. [4][5]
    • While the USA Turner dubbed version replaces the ending title card with the 1947–48 Merrie Melodies dubbed card seen on most USA dubbed versions, the European Turner dubbed version, which airs on the Cartoon Network/Boomerang channels in European countries, has blue borders and preserves the original ending card and the explosion gag. In this version, the original end card shakes, and the "DUBBED VERSION (C) 1995 TURNER ENTERTAINMENT, CO." disclaimer fades up at the end.[6][dead link][4]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ https://archive.org/details/catalogofc19723261213libr/page/146/mode/1up?view=theater
  2. ↑ Amazon
  3. ↑ http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-n-o.aspx
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR_V-bf-ZVE
  5. ↑ https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNhyKv4xIFWgqCyzsrXNR5lpYZb3Fc1oO6D2hjHnJA3ScMq1_04QeR0Hf46rFQmew/photo/AF1QipMvWQpi1n4vRDUZr-lGkxZ3DCJ7VMIIOi2Kvgqx?key=eVBhWUdfQVlUR1RZR21BXzR5SXlEd05paEU4OEhR
  6. ↑ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29k578_the-old-grey-hare-dubbed-version_shortfilms

External Links

Bugs Bunny Shorts
1938 Porky's Hare Hunt
1939 Prest-O Change-O • Hare-um Scare-um
1940 Elmer's Candid Camera • A Wild Hare
1941 Elmer's Pet Rabbit • Tortoise Beats Hare • Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt • The Heckling Hare • All This and Rabbit Stew • Wabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to Supper • Any Bonds Today? • The Wacky Wabbit • Hold the Lion, Please • Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid • Fresh Hare • The Hare-Brained Hypnotist • Case of the Missing Hare
1943 Tortoise Wins by a Hare • Super-Rabbit • Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk • Wackiki Wabbit • Falling Hare
1944 Little Red Riding Rabbit • What's Cookin' Doc? • Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears • Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips • Hare Ribbin' • Hare Force • Buckaroo Bugs • The Old Grey Hare • Stage Door Cartoon
1945 Herr Meets Hare • The Unruly Hare • Hare Trigger • Hare Conditioned • Hare Tonic
1946 Baseball Bugs • Hare Remover • Hair-Raising Hare • Acrobatty Bunny • Racketeer Rabbit • The Big Snooze • Rhapsody Rabbit
1947 Rabbit Transit • A Hare Grows in Manhattan • Easter Yeggs • Slick Hare
1948 Gorilla My Dreams • A Feather in His Hare • Rabbit Punch • Buccaneer Bunny • Bugs Bunny Rides Again • Haredevil Hare • Hot Cross Bunny • Hare Splitter • A-Lad-In His Lamp • My Bunny Lies over the Sea
1949 Hare Do • Mississippi Hare • Rebel Rabbit • High Diving Hare • Bowery Bugs • Long-Haired Hare • Knights Must Fall • The Grey Hounded Hare • The Windblown Hare • Frigid Hare • Which Is Witch • Rabbit Hood
1950 Hurdy-Gurdy Hare • Mutiny on the Bunny • Homeless Hare • Big House Bunny • What's Up Doc? • 8 Ball Bunny • Hillbilly Hare • Bunker Hill Bunny • Bushy Hare • Rabbit of Seville
1951 Hare We Go • Rabbit Every Monday • Bunny Hugged • The Fair Haired Hare • Rabbit Fire • French Rarebit • His Hare Raising Tale • Ballot Box Bunny • Big Top Bunny
1952 Operation: Rabbit • Foxy by Proxy • 14 Carrot Rabbit • Water, Water Every Hare • The Hasty Hare • Oily Hare • Rabbit Seasoning • Rabbit's Kin • Hare Lift
1953 Forward March Hare • Upswept Hare • Southern Fried Rabbit • Hare Trimmed • Bully for Bugs • Lumber Jack-Rabbit • Duck! Rabbit, Duck! • Robot Rabbit
1954 Captain Hareblower • Bugs and Thugs • No Parking Hare • Devil May Hare • Bewitched Bunny • Yankee Doodle Bugs • Baby Buggy Bunny
1955 Beanstalk Bunny • Sahara Hare • Hare Brush • Rabbit Rampage • This Is a Life? • Hyde and Hare • Knight-Mare Hare • Roman Legion-Hare
1956 Bugs' Bonnets • Broom-Stick Bunny • Rabbitson Crusoe • Napoleon Bunny-Part • Barbary-Coast Bunny • Half-Fare Hare • A Star Is Bored • Wideo Wabbit • To Hare Is Human
1957 Ali Baba Bunny • Bedevilled Rabbit • Piker's Peak • What's Opera, Doc? • Bugsy and Mugsy • Show Biz Bugs • Rabbit Romeo
1958 Hare-Less Wolf • Hare-Way to the Stars • Now, Hare This • Knighty Knight Bugs • Pre-Hysterical Hare
1959 Baton Bunny • Hare-abian Nights • Apes of Wrath • Backwoods Bunny • Wild and Woolly Hare • Bonanza Bunny • A Witch's Tangled Hare • People Are Bunny
1960 Horse Hare • Person to Bunny • Rabbit's Feat • From Hare to Heir • Lighter Than Hare
1961 The Abominable Snow Rabbit • Compressed Hare • Prince Violent
1962 Wet Hare • Bill of Hare • Shishkabugs
1963 Devil's Feud Cake • The Million Hare • Hare-Breadth Hurry • The Unmentionables • Mad as a Mars Hare • Transylvania 6-5000
1964 Dumb Patrol • Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare • The Iceman Ducketh • False Hare
1979 Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol • Fright Before Christmas
1980 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny • Spaced 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 Vegas • Daffy Duck for President
Elmer Fudd Cartoons
1937 Little Red Walking Hood
1938 The Isle of Pingo Pongo • Cinderella Meets Fella • A Feud There Was • Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas
1939 Hamateur Night • A Day at the Zoo • Believe It or Else
1940 Elmer's Candid Camera • Confederate Honey • The Hardship of Miles Standish • A Wild Hare • Good Night Elmer
1941 Elmer's Pet Rabbit • Wabbit Twouble
1942 The Wabbit Who Came to Supper • Any Bonds Today? • The Wacky Wabbit • Nutty News • Fresh Hare • The Hare-Brained Hypnotist
1943 To Duck .... or Not to Duck • A Corny Concerto • An Itch in Time
1944 The Old Grey Hare • The Stupid Cupid • Stage Door Cartoon
1945 The Unruly Hare • Hare Tonic
1946 Hare Remover • The Big Snooze
1947 Easter Yeggs • A Pest in the House • Slick Hare
1948 What Makes Daffy Duck • Back Alley Op-Roar • Kit for Cat
1949 Wise Quackers • Hare Do • Each Dawn I Crow
1950 What's Up Doc? • The Scarlet Pumpernickel • Rabbit of Seville
1951 Rabbit Fire
1952 Rabbit Seasoning
1953 Upswept Hare • Ant Pasted • Duck! Rabbit, Duck! • Robot Rabbit
1954 Design for Leaving • Quack Shot
1955 Pests for Guests • Beanstalk Bunny • Hare Brush • Rabbit Rampage • This Is a Life? • Heir-Conditioned
1956 Bugs' Bonnets • A Star Is Bored • Yankee Dood It • Wideo Wabbit
1957 What's Opera, Doc? • Rabbit Romeo
1958 Don't Axe Me • Pre-Hysterical Hare
1959 A Mutt in a Rut
1960 Person to Bunny • Dog 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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