Porky's Hare Hunt
Porky's Hare Hunt | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ben Hardaway Cal Dalton (uncredited) |
Story by | Howard Baldwin |
Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
Starring | Mel Blanc Ben Hardaway[1] |
Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
Animation by | Volney White Rod Scribner (uncredited) |
Color process | Black-and-white |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 8:00 |
Language | English |
Porky's Hare Hunt is a 1938 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short movie directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and an uncredited Cal Dalton,[2] which stars Porky Pig as a hunter whose quarry is a rabbit named Happy.[3] The short was released on April 30, 1938.[4]
This cartoon marked the first appearance of the rabbit that would evolve into Bugs Bunny, who is barely recognizable compared to his more familiar later form. Bugs' first official appearance would come two years later in A Wild Hare.
Plot
Several rabbits are eating carrots and ruining crops. Another rabbit warns them to evacuate by saying "Jiggers, fellers!". Soon, Porky and his dog meet this rabbit and try to outwit him in the forest. Porky and the rabbit get in a long, long fight and soon the hare thinks he has won the battle. However Porky finds the rabbit and he doesn't have any brainstorms to protect him. The rabbit shows Porky a photo of himself and of how many children he has with his wife. However, when Porky's about to shoot him, the gun fails.
After Porky attempts to shoot down and procure the rabbit, he asks Porky: "Do you have a hunting license?" As Porky reaches for his pocket to obtain the document, the hyper-hare suddenly snatches it out of Porky's grasp, rips it in two, remarks, "Well you haven't got one now!" and makes a getaway by twisting his ears as though they were a helicopter propeller, flying away. But Porky suddenly throws a rock at the hovering hare which sends him crashing into a haystack. He emerges from the stack, appearing injured, but fakes it and then goes marching like one of the spirits of '76. Ultimately the rabbit wins when Porky throws dynamite into the cave in which the rabbit is hiding and he throws the dynamite back at him. Later, Porky is in the hospital and the rabbit comes to him with some flowers. Porky tells the rabbit that he'll be out in a few days. "That's what YOU think!", the rabbit declares, then pulls on the anvil in Porky's bed, adding to his injuries and runs off into the forest laughing.
Production
The rabbit's hyperactive personality and laugh provided by Mel Blanc predated the 1940 Walter Lantz/Universal Pictures release Knock Knock which starred Andy Panda and introduced cartoon audiences to Woody Woodpecker, who was created for the Lantz studio by Hardaway after his departure from the Leon Schlesinger/Warner Bros. studio.
Music
The incidental music heard throughout the piece are scored arrangements of "Bei Mir Bistu Shein", a popular song which was a hit for The Andrews Sisters around this time, and "Hooray for Hollywood," from the contemporary motion picture Hollywood Hotel.
Availability
- Blu-Ray: Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2, Disc 2
- DVD: Porky Pig 101, Disc 2
References
- ^ "Point of View: Moose and Squirrel". Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ Jones, Chuck (1989). Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 195. ISBN 0-374-52620-6.
The directorial team of Bugs Hardaway and Cal Dalton tried in this film to adopt the existing and unfinished character of Daffy Duck, including "Woo-hoos!" into a rabbit skin.
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 70. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 124–126. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
- 1938 films
- 1938 short films
- 1938 animated films
- 1930s American animated films
- 1930s animated short films
- American films
- Looney Tunes shorts
- Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films
- American black-and-white films
- Films about hunters
- Films featuring Bugs Bunny
- Films featuring Porky Pig
- Films directed by Ben Hardaway
- Films directed by Cal Dalton
- Films scored by Carl Stalling
- Films produced by Leon Schlesinger
- Warner Bros. animated short films, 1930s