Mississippi Hare (1949)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ben Washam
Music by Carl W. Stalling

“Mississippi Hare” is so problematic in the first twenty seconds that you have to constantly remind yourself of the context upon which this short was produced. There’s so much cringe inducing material that sets up the general premise for “Mississippi Hare” that it actively destroys any momentum it tries to pick up. And it’s not that the whole set up is extreme, it’s just that it’s so of its time, that I can imagine this short only ever appearing on Beta and VHS compilations in the eighties and nineties. Those VHS compilations often included shorts like this without editing anything out.

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Hare Do (1949)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy
Music by Carl W. Stalling

In my head canon, since Bugs, the Coyote and Road Runner are in the same universe, and they all shop from ACME. Their prices depend on whether their devices will work, so while Coyote is buying junk, Elmer Fudd ends up buying high priced machinery to hunt for potential prey. Hence the machine that he’s seen carrying in the opening of the short which can best be explained as some kind of radar for prey that also includes a screen for them. The machine does work, but Bugs ends up catching on way too early for Elmer’s liking. I know, I know, Elmer points to it as “Awmy Surpwuss!” but who’s to say ACME doesn’t have that kind of department for hunters and predators?

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My Bunny Lies Over the Sea (1948)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris
Music by Carl W. Stalling

The only thing more annoying than recycling the same gags is essentially recycling the same old villains. That is especially when they were so good in the previous shorts. And I don’t mean just featuring dogs over and over, as they’re a common predator, so it makes considerable sense. But more in the unnecessary recycling of one of Bugs’ banner villains is what kind of grinds my gears. “My Bunny Lies Over the Sea” is a pretty good Bugs Bunny short, and one that has a good time lampooning the Scottish culture. But once we meet his nemesis, it becomes apparent that the writers are basically just giving it the bare minimum.

So, Bugs meets a red haired, short, angry man with a hot temper, a funny accent, and who is prone to lashing out at Bugs quite often. You might think I’m discussing Yosemite Sam, but no. I’m talking about Angus MacRory.

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A-Lad-In His Lamp (1948)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Animation by Charles McKimson
Music by Carl W. Stalling

This short from Bob McKimson holds significance on two levels.

The one being that it is apparently quite controversial for its depiction of middle Easterners. While I am not middle Eastern, I could understand why this short strikes a nerve today, as the middle East is depicted as nothing more than a lot of men that wield swords and solve everything with violence. Meanwhile the women are all mainly just harems and sex objects. It was apparently protested by late DJ Casey Kasem who hated the depiction of middle Easterners, and I can understand why that’d be troublesome. It’s a trope that Bugs Bunny’s shorts would continue with a lot of shorts set in the middle East or Asian communities.

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Hare Splitter (1948)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ken Champin

The premise for “Hare Splitter” feels like someone took an old script for “Tom and Jerry” and retooled it for Bugs Bunny. One of my main problems that completely hinders “Hare Splitter” for me is that the whole short feels too much like it’s cribbing from the MGM formula. All that’s missing is the rambunctious mouse or angry yard dog. It too often feels like Tom and Butch should be the ones taking center stage instead of Bugs and his one and done rival Casbah. Too much of the short here feels like the animators were borrowing from Fred Quimby or Tex Avery (before his move to MGM), creating a premise that feels so far removed from what we’re used to seeing with Bugs Bunny.

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Hot Cross Bunny (1948)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Manny Gould

Robert McKimson is one of my all time favorite directors for the Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny, if only because his shorts always end up being so off the cuff and bizarre. But not bizarre in the Bob Clampett sense, but bizarre in original and outside the box. There’s just something so out of bounds about “Hot Cross Bunny” that even when I was a kid, I couldn’t get over the unusual energy of the short. When I was a kid, “Hot Cross Bunny” was one of the many shorts on constant rotation every Saturday morning on “The Bugs and Daffy Show” and I always got a kick out of it whenever it came on.

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Haredevil Hare (1948)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Ben Washam

I freely admit that I have never been a fan of Marvin the Martian.

Yes, Yes, I know He’s one of the few ancillary characters from the Looney Tunes stable who’s managed to carve out his own niche. Back in the nineties he had his merchandise, and kitschy clothes and managed to set himself apart from Bugs to become his own character and he’s only appeared in five shorts, total! Just five. The thing I remember most about Marvin was that my cousin had this obnoxious alarm clock that he played over and over, first for our amusement and then just to get on our nerves. All in good fun, though. In either case, Marvin had his own corner of the universe with others like Michigan J. Frog and Tazmanian Devil, even appearing in many of the movies.

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