No Parking Hare (1954)
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Sid Marcus
Animation by Charles McKimson, Phil DeLara, Rod Scribner, Herman Cohen
Music by Carl Stalling
Robert McKimson’s “No Parking Hare” is a reworking of Chuck Jones’ 1950 “Homeless Hare,” with Bugs Bunny pitted against a burly and surly construction worker trying to evict the rabbit from his subterranean residence so he can complete a major construction project. Jones’ film takes place in a urban setting, with Bugs being removed from a high-rise development site, while McKimson’s film takes place in an open environment where a freeway is being built.
“Homeless Hare” had a surplus number of inventive gags, as well as a genuinely worthwhile adversary who managed to one-up Bugs a couple of times. Unfortunately, the foe in “No Parking Hare” is a dimwit who is constantly outwitted by Bugs in a series of predictable gags.
Sid Marcus’ script did include one inspired moment featuring a banjo-strumming Bugs singing the novelty tune “There Ain’t No Place Like a Hole in the Ground” while the construction worker tries to drop a bomb from a helicopter into Bugs’ underground residence. The timing and sound effects of this brief moment, coupled with Mel Blanc’s engaging vocals to the bouncy song, compensates for the cartoon’s flat patches.