{"id":40909,"date":"2023-09-05T00:01:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T04:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40909"},"modified":"2023-09-04T23:00:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T03:00:35","slug":"every-bugs-bunny-ever-the-unruly-hare-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/05\/every-bugs-bunny-ever-the-unruly-hare-1945\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Unruly Hare (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 marks the 85th<\/sup> Anniversary of Bug Bunny\u2019s first animated appearance in 1938’s \u201cPorky\u2019s Hare Hunt.\u201d Debuting originally as Happy Rabbit, Bugs eventually became one of the most iconic animated characters of all time. In honor of the landmark anniversary, we\u2019re discussing every animated appearance by Bugs Bunny. We\u2019re big fans of Bugsy and we hope that you are, too. <\/em><\/p>\n

Follow us on this massive journey where we discover and re-discover Every Bugs Bunny Ever.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Unruly Hare (1945)
\n<\/strong>Directed by Frank Tashlin
\nWritten by Melvin Miller
\nMusic by Carl W. Stalling
\nAnimation by Cal Dalton<\/p>\n

Frank Tashlin is a director who just gets comedy. He understands the silliness, the ebbs and flows, the timing, the motion. That\u2019s why \u201cThe Unruly Hare\u201d is so good, I presume. At the end of the day, it\u2019s another average Bugs vs. Elmer adventure, but Tashlin\u2019s direction is very good, probably as good as Chuck Jones or Bob Clampett. It\u2019s too bad I\u2019ve barely heard about him at all whenever reading about Termite Terrace and great animation directors. This is Tashlin\u2019s only real time being credited as director, sadly, which is a shame because he\u2019s a damn good director. Tashlin has delivered on some great poppy fifties and sixties comedies like \u201cThe Girl Can\u2019t Help It<\/a>,\u201d \u201cWho\u2019s Minding the Store?\u201d, and \u201cThe Disorderly Orderly.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Along with his animation credits, he also directed some golden age Warner Bros. shorts featuring Porky Pig and Daffy, including \u201cThe Stupid Cupid.\u201d Again, there\u2019s nothing particularly unique or new when it comes to \u201cThe Unruly Hare\u201d and as long as you go in expecting just some good old fashioned gags and go arounds with Bugs and Elmer, you\u2019ll leave generally pleased. I think it\u2019s one of the funnier Bugs and Elmer shorts in a massive library of them, as Elmer is about as rotten as ever despite just being a character who is doing his job and nothing else. This short is centered on the building of the railroads as Tashlin takes us through a sequence of scenes involving railroad workers (cleverly shrouded in shadows, wink wink) building and laying down the rails.<\/p>\n

We then meet Elmer Fudd, played once again by Arthur Q. Bryan. Fudd is a surveyor for a railroad company and as the company is building the rails, the construction just so happens to be intruding on Bugs\u2019 home. Things are made worse by Elmer\u2019s insistence on singing \u201cI\u2019ve Been Working on the Railroad\u201d so loud it grates on Bugs, who so happens to be singing \u201cYou Must Remember This.\u201d From there the short takes off as when Elmer is using his theodolite scope to survey the land giving Bugs the opportunity to prank him. Often cut from syndicated airings, Bugs beings throwing up cheese cake pictures in front of the lens prompting Elmer to whistle like a wolf. After giving chase Bugs tricks Elmer once again holding a match up making the woods look like they\u2019re on fire.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s how that works, but Elmer nearly kisses Bugs only seconds earlier, so he isn\u2019t exactly a mental giant. One of my favorite gags of any interaction from Bugs and Elmer involves the mid-way point where Elmer has Bugs at gun point. Bugs turns declaring: \u201cOnly a big fat rat would shoot a guy in the back.\u201d Elmer, of course, shoots him in a cloud of smoke, turning to the audience proclaiming \u201cSo I\u2019m a Big Fat Wat!\u201d To re-iterate, \u201cThe Unruly Hare\u201d is really just another Bugs and Elmer romp, it\u2019s nothing too spectacular. But it\u2019s gets from point A to point B very well with some great comedy and some classic voice work from Arthur Q. Bryan and Mel Blanc.<\/p>\n

It even injects some classic war time commentary as Bugs encourages civilians to reduce any unnecessary travelling, all while walking off in to the sunset with a bindle sack.<\/p>\n

Even when he\u2019s fighting for his life, ol\u2019 Bugs cares about his country.<\/p>\n

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