The Grey Hounded Hare
| The Grey Hounded Hare | |
|---|---|
 Title card for The Grey Hounded Hare | |
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Animation by | John Carey Charles McKimson Phil DeLara Manny Gould |
| Layouts by | Cornett Wood |
| Backgrounds by | Richard H. Thomas |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Running time | 6:40 |
The Grey Hounded Hare is a 1949 Looney Tunes short film made by Warner Bros. Pictures and starring the voice talent of Mel Blanc. It was directed by Robert McKimson, and animated by John Carey, Phil DeLara, Manny Gould and Charles McKimson, with music scored by Carl Stalling. The title refers to the greyhounds of the plot as well as "hounded" meaning pestered or pursued relentlessly.
Along with Tugboat Granny and Guided Muscle, The Grey Hounded Hare was featured on the final episode of The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, which aired on ABC on September 2, 2000.
Plot
Bugs Bunny pops out of a hole, wondering what all the 'racket' is. He quickly finds out that he is at a greyhound track. Bugs decides to check out the dogs, commenting positively on dog #7, a large grey greyhound named Gnawbone, then angering him.
After this, Bugs goes outside to see the race from the sides. Before the race begins, the announcer announces some of the dogs that are racing, including "Bill's Bunion", "Pneumatic Tire", "Father's Moustache", "Motorman's Glove", "Bride's Biscuit" and "Grandpa's Folly", (the latter of which has been "scratched" from the race, as in uncontrolable itching) in an homage to Spike Jones' "William Tell Overture."
Bugs watches as a rabbit lure is led out. Not realizing the rabbit is a mechanical fake, Bugs instantly falls in love with it ("Wow! What a hunk of feminine pulchritoodee!"). Upon seeing the dogs being released from their starting boxes, declaring that "chivalry is not dead", Bugs decides to "rescue" the lure and jumps into the track, taking down some of the dogs one at a time. During this sequence, the announcer, shocked at what he sees, kills himself off-screen. Bugs eventually teases the dogs enough that they start chasing him out of the track and into a taxi, which speeds off towards the Dog Pound. However, dog #7 was not fooled and is waiting for Bugs.
Bugs then faces off with dog #7 through trickery, first using a balloon decoy, then using a dynamite stick. Finally, dog #7 has had it and starts to charge at Bugs "like a bull" in attempt to kill the rabbit once and for all, but Bugs plays matador and causes dog #7 to charge into a fire hydrant, putting the dog out of commission, with a white flag of surrender on his tail.
After defeating dog #7, now free to pursue "Dreamboat" unhindered, Bugs gives the lure a kiss, getting a large shock, just before the lure goes back into its starting box. He goes for another kiss and gets electrocuted again.
Edited versions
On ABC's "The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show" and on Cartoon Network's Japanese channel, this entire part was cut: after the dog falls from the sky after chasing the balloon rabbit, the greyhound goes to punch Bugs but gets distracted by the electric rabbit on the track. Bugs sidetracks the dog by using a dynamite stick to play fetch with him, resulting in the dog getting blown up. The edited version makes it seem as if the dog blew up when he fell from the sky.[1]
Availability
This cartoon is available, uncensored and uncut, on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 DVD set.