Hare Ribbin'

Hare Ribbin'
Merrie Melodies (Bugs Bunny) series
Lobby card
Directed by	Robert Clampett
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger
Story by	Lou Lilly
Voices by	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Bob McKimson
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	June 24, 1944 (1944-06-24) (USA premiere)
Color process	Technicolor

Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".

Plot

The short open with a dog with Russian accent hunting for a rabbit by sniffing a trail. He happens upon Bugs who begins to torment the dog. This prompts a chase, which leads to a nearby lake where the rest of the story continues. Eventually, after a few gags, the dog corners Bugs and demands he give him a rabbit sandwich. Bugs obliges, and the rabbit places himself between two giant slices of loaf bread with his legs curled next to his body. The dog takes a bite and Bugs screams and fake his death. The dog becomes instantly grief stricken and sobs, declaring that he should be the one to die. With this statement, Bugs springs back to life asking, "do you really mean it", and obliges the dog's death wish. As the cartoon is about to "iris out" the dog gets up (revealing that he is still alive), holds the iris before it closes, and declares "This shouldn't happen to a dog!". He then lets the iris go, but it closes on his nose in the process.

Censorship

The two alternate endings to Hare Ribbin'. Each depicts the dog's death via gun violence, which is today consider too harsh for its target audience.

This cartoon short holds the distinction of having two endings, both of which are too violent by today's standards to be shown on children/family-friendly television in America:

The original ending—where the Russian Dog, distraught over Bugs' "death", wishes he were dead too, and Bugs obliges by giving the dog a gun so he can shoot himself in the head—once played in theaters to a general audience, is now commonly cut from television versions (on network TV and cable TV, excluding an episode of Cartoon Network's The Bob Clampett Show and two appearances on Cartoon Network's New Year's Day Looney Tunes marathons in 2009 and 2010).

The "director's cut" ending—where the Russian Dog, distraught over Bugs' "death", wishes he were dead too, and Bugs obliges by pulling out a gun and shooting the dog through the mouth—was never shown in theaters or on television (despite that the episode of Cartoon Network's The Bob Clampett Show that aired "Hare Ribbin" with its general release ending mentioned that Hare Ribbin had an alternate ending (which was this one) that was never shown—and due to its violence, never will be), but was discovered on the fifth volume of the "The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 5" laserdisc set and is now on the fifth volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set as a special feature.

Availability

The fifth volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set has the original cut of Hare Ribbin, and the director's cut as a special feature.

Sources

• Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons, by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald (1989), Henry Holt, ISBN 0-8050-0894-2
• Looney Tunes Golden Collection, DVD set.

References

http://www.spiritofsinatra.com/pages/Lyrics/i/It_Cant_Be_Wrong.htm

See also

• Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)

Preceded by Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips

Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1944

Succeeded by Buckaroo Bugs