Looney Tunes Wiki
Advertisement

Upswept Hare is a 1953 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.

Plot[]

At night, Bugs prepares to go to sleep. A highway is in the background, and immediately after Bugs retires, Elmer Fudd drives up because he has seen a rare desert flower next to Bugs' hole that he wants to put in his tropical garden. Elmer does not notice the rabbit hole and is unaware of Bugs' presence, but he is careful when digging up the flower to include lots of room so that the flower can "prosper in its native soil". Elmer does not realize is that he has unknowingly taken Bugs as well as the flower back to his penthouse apartment.

Bugs emerges from the hole still half-asleep. He obliviously goes into Elmer's penthouse thinking he is headed to his "bathing stream", which instead is a large Roman-styled bathroom with an indoor pool in the middle. Bugs gets into the pool and realizes that he is not in his stream but thinks his surroundings are a mirage so he plays along by splashing around and singing "There's no place like home" but instead substituting Rome for home. Bugs then sings the word "yearn" but, sensing that he might be signing out of tune, gets out of the pool and goes into the next room, where he plays and note on a piano and sings "yearn, fa la yearn" until he is in tune. Elmer sees Bugs go back into the "bathroom" and wonders why Bugs is there. Elmer then gets his shotgun and fires several shots into the pool. Bugs submerges under the water as if he has been killed but then hops out and sneaks behind Elmer, whispering into his ear: "You better plug him again, Mac, just to be sure." Elmer then inserts the barrel of the shotgun into the water and shoots, which results in him blowing a hole in the floor which causes the water to spill into the apartment underneath him. There is a knock on Elmer's door, and it is his downstairs neighbor, who is twice Elmer's size and soaking wet. The neighbor grabs the shotgun and ties the barrels around Elmer's head, then pulls the trigger before leaving.

Bugs is in the patio area of the penthouse when Elmer tries to shoot him, but constantly misses. Bugs asks if Elmer is trying to get rid of him and, when Elmer says that "rabbits don't belong in penthouses" accuses Elmer of thinking he is "better" than a rabbit and if Elmer can prove that he is better, Bugs will leave. Elmer accepts the challenge and Bugs fashions several contests around the penthouse that Elmer wins, but not before suffering large consequences. The first two events are a strength test and then a shooting test, both of which Bugs loses. He says that there is one more event, the "jump test". Bugs fails his test, which involves jumping over an outdoor bench, and sets up the bench for Elmer. However, Bugs positions the bench vertically and near the overlook of the penthouse so that when Elmer jumps over it, he is actually jumping off the edge of the building. Elmer flies over the edge and lands on the ground in a popcorn machine, and Bugs admits that Elmer is "a better man than I am, but only because I'm a rabbit" and then departs down the sidewalk with the flower that Elmer originally collected.

Availability[]

Streaming[]

Censorship[]

  • On the ABC airing of this short, the following scenes were cut:[2]
    • Most of the part where Elmer is shooting his rifle at Bugs in the swimming pool.
    • Some of the bullets shot by Elmer during the part where Bugs dances ballet.
    • Starting in 1998, the entire scene where Elmer lifts a barbell, crashes through the floor of his apartment onto his downstairs neighbor's head, and staggers out with the barbell wrapped around his head.

Notes[]

  • This short was the latest Bugs Bunny short to be reissued to have its original opening and closing color rings replaced.
  • This cartoon was originally slated to be included on the Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire DVD, but was replaced early in development due to executive backlash from Warner Home Video.[3]
  • On 8 November 2019, it was revealed that this short was being restored along with eleven other shorts for a future release.[4] The restored version was released 27 May 2020, with the launch of HBO Max, where it was presented with its original opening and closing rings.

Gallery[]

References[]


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
Advertisement