{"id":41102,"date":"2023-09-19T05:42:19","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T09:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=41102"},"modified":"2023-09-19T05:42:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T09:42:19","slug":"every-bugs-bunny-ever-hare-conditioned-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/19\/every-bugs-bunny-ever-hare-conditioned-1945\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Hare Conditioned (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>Hare Conditioned (1945)
\n<\/strong>Directed by Chuck Jones
\nWritten by Tedd Pierce
\nMusic by Carl W. Stalling
\nAnimation by Ken Harris<\/p>\n

One of the things I love about Bugs Bunny shorts is that though he has a lot of one and done villains, his one and done villains are usually quite good. In the gallery of Bugs Bunny foes, Bugs has a surprisingly small amount of bad guys that have stayed the course and lived on in the legacy of Looney Tunes. Meanwhile there are so many one and done villains that are there for their intended purpose and never quite appear for a second go. It\u2019s a shame because the bad guy for \u201cHare Conditioned\u201d is a fun foil, even if he\u2019s a bit one note when all is said and done.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t even really have an official name.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The set up for \u201cHare Conditioned\u201d is a fun and clever bit that allows for Bugs to actually kind of spend the majority of his screen time basically fighting for his life. After spending his time working for the \u201cStacey\u2019s Department store\u201d (a spoof of \u201cMacy\u2019s Department Store\u201d) camping display, the sale is over and he\u2019s given a new \u201cjob\u201d by the store manager. He escorts Bugs to the \u201cTaxidermy\u201d department and once Bugs realizes what his role in the new \u201cRabbit\u201d display will be, he decides to flee. But the store manager gives chase, allowing for a pretty raucous and funny string of gags that are just top notch all around.<\/p>\n

Along with the great animation and excellent direction from Chuck Jones, \u201cHare Conditioned\u201d is another of those Bugs Bunny shorts where the gags are rapid fire, and you have to see it twice to catch everything. The centerpiece of the jokes, and arguably the most quotable, is the store manager cornering Bugs declaring \u201cKind of Outsmarted you, eh, little chum?\u201d Bugs then asks him to repeat the declaration, and in surprise explains that he sounds like the radio personality \u201cThe Great Gildersneeze.\u201d The Great Gildersleeve was a famed radio personality during this period, and the actor playing the store manager gives a pretty bang up impersonation with his inflection and everything.<\/p>\n

There is a lot of contention apparently about who plays the store manager with the popular opinion being actor Dave Barry. Nevertheless Barry does a great job here playing someone who isn\u2019t as low brow as Elmer, and much more of a smug individual who kind of gets off on stalking Bugs. I always imitated his line \u201cKind of Outsmarted you, eh, little chum?\u201d a lot when I was a kid, and loved to repeat it as a referential joke to my uncle who is also a hardcore Looney Tunes geek. In either case, the jokes don\u2019t stop there as there\u2019s a great gag where Bugs appears dressed as a female customer.<\/p>\n

The manager begins to flirtatiously tickle his feet and Bugs gets so in character laughing hysterically to where the reveal of his leg is actually a mannequin part. The delivery is just genius. There\u2019s also a great chase involving switching of clothing through different departments that I just loved. They go through a Boys department dressed as young boys, a Turkish department dressed in hair caps and towels, a sports department in sports fatigues and the manager chasing him on skis. The final department is the lingerie department, a great raunchy end to the running joke where the manager comes out dressed in a negligee running in horror as Bugs chases him whistling like a wolf.<\/p>\n

The way the animators introduce the manager as this smug over confident villain and then just destroy his persona in mere seconds is just genius. Along with a great gag involving handy uses of an elevator (I love the subtle humor of the manager adjusting Bugs\u2019 uniform, and Bugs casually reciprocating with the manager), Bugs manages to outwit his villain once and for all with a pretty familiar gag. Bugs\u2019 method here is similar to how he would later ward off his horrifying monster villain Gossamer. It\u2019s recycled later to a similarly hilarious effect, in either case, so I don\u2019t mind that the jokes are re-used.<\/p>\n

To add icing on the cake Bugs even falls prey to his own scare gag, which just seals the lunacy in to a nice bow. It\u2019s too bad we didn\u2019t see the store manager in future shorts, but \u201cHare Conditioned\u201d is a sharp, very funny Bugs Bunny exploit with just a string of memorable comedy and gags from beginning to end.<\/p>\n

If you love what we do, please consider <\/em><\/strong>Donating to Cinema Crazed<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n