Hillbilly Hare (1950)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Rod Scribner
Music by Carl Stalling

Sorry we missed you last week, but I’ve been very ill as of late.

In either case, “Hillbilly Hare” further emphasizes the wonderful marriage between Looney Tunes and classic music, or in case it’s Southern music. “HillBilly Hare” isn’t anything particularly special, but it’s a great and very funny misadventure with Bugs mainly because of the wonderful musical direction. I dare say that I learned about square dancing because of “HillBilly Hare” and loved the way the short utilized it as a means of comedy. While this certainly the first comedy to take square dancing and use it as a comedy plot point or running gag, “HillBilly Hare” is just so great about.

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8 Ball Bunny (1950)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Phil Monroe
Music by Carl Stalling

It’s the return of Playboy Penguin, the inadvertent hero we haven’t seen since 1949’s “Frigid Hare.”

This time the Playboy Penguin returns for his second and last collaboration with Bugs Bunny as his show “The Brooklyn Ice Frolics” leaves town without him. He accidentally falls in to Bugs’ rabbit hole garnering the sympathy of Bugs who agrees to take him back home. Little does he know home is the North Pole. Ooh! I’m Dy-ing! There is so much to unwrap with “8 Ball Bunny” as this is probably one of the best Chuck Jones outputs for Bugs that’s ever been made. It’s hysterical, it’s clever, it’s quotable, and it even has a three act structure.

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Big House Bunny (1950)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Virgil Ross
Music by Carl Stalling

I know that I compare a lot of the premises for Bugs Bunny shorts to Tex Avery, but there’s no doubting that a lot of his influence remained on the Looney Tunes long after he left for MGM. Not only did he have an unusual albeit genius formula, but he was funnier in MGM because he was pretty much allowed to be as insane as possible. With “Big House Bunny” it feels like a plot for one of Droopy’s shorts where Droopy ends up at the wrong place while the warden would normally be the hilarious rival of the wolf.

That doesn’t hinder the entertainment factor of “Big House Bunny” it’s just that the concept for this short feels familiar in its ingredients.

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Homeless Hare (1950)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris
Music by Carl Stalling

A lot of Looney Tunes relies on the formula of the whole industrial revolution and the trampling of the environment. While most of it just used as a means of finding a catalyst for a narrative of the short, so many times these shorts always begin with the real bad guy of the piece. Either Bugs, or Daffy are minding their business and are interrupted by some company either destroying their homes, or demolishing some kind of ecosystem. Even shorts like the Coyote and Road Runner finds them primarily battling in man made roads, and train tracks and bridges. They’re rarely hunting each other in the wild, or in bushes, which is an interesting look at how much America was changing in this era.

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Mutiny on the Bunny (1950)
Directed by Friz Freleng
Written by Tedd Pierce
Animation by Gerry Chiniquy
Music by Carl Stalling

Friz Freleng’s “Mutiny on the Bunny” is another of Bugs Bunny’s sea faring adventures and they always manage to hit differently. There’s just something more inherently funny about Bugs Bunny out at sea that allows the writers to get a bit more creative. Meanwhile, we’re given yet another appearance by Yosemite Sam who plays the sea captain, and I couldn’t have asked for a better nemesis this time around. Yosemite Sam is one of my all time favorite nemeses for Bugs. Probably even more so than Elmer Fudd, now that I come to think about it.

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