Fresh Hare (1942)

Strong and Moving!

As Good As It Gets

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Bugs and Elmer always work well together and are enough to brighten up a hard day. And Fresh Hare, a very early effort(one of their first I believe), is no exception. Bugs is as crafty yet likable as he ever was, and while somewhat smarter than usual Elmer contrasts and works to great effect with him. Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan voice them impeccably. Several other great things work in Fresh Hare's favour. The animation is detailed and luscious, of course Elmer is fatter than we usually see him and Bugs more elongated but they are still well drawn within this stage in Looney Tunes animation. The music is full of energy and character, and is always pleasant on the ears. The dialogue is as witty and funny as ever, and the gags are clever and imaginative. The story is simple but with never a dull spot, it is fun all the way through. I do agree though that the ending is random and rather awkward(some may also find it tasteless). Overall with this in mind, Fresh Hare is great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is a Bugs Bunny cartoon with an old version of Elmer Fudd.I was asking my family about the black and white minstrels, after reading reviews for this episode I wanted to know more about them. My family came to a decision that the black and white minstrels were more of a tribute to black people than an insult and it was only really in this day and age that they have been portrayed as politically incorrect. So why are so many people on here (including adults) saying that the black and white minstrels point at the end is racist?! It does not make any sense. Either my family has the wrong idea, or they have the wrong idea - and frankly, my familys' opinion is MY familys', so I will stick with theirs. :)Anyhow, now that I've heaved that off my shoulders, this is one fun Bugs Bunny cartoon! There is nothing insulting in it at all (as far as I know) and it has a great deal of good jokes packed in! This episode is particularly funny. I also like Bugs Bunny and Elmer here, I wish they kept Elmer's animation like that (he is also smarter here than in his more well-known appearances). I recommend this fun cartoon to anyone who likes old Bugs Bunny cartoons and does not mind anything too badly that is portrayed as politically incorrect nowadays. Enjoy "Fresh Hare"! :-)

This is really a funny cartoon, but it suffers for the last few seconds which, in our age of political correctness, have been removed so as not to offend African-Americans.Elmer is a Mountie, who is trying to capture Bugs. At the start he is viewing several trees with posters of Bugs, wanted dead or alive (but preferably dead). As he passes each tree, Elmer sees someone has been marking up the posters with comments and putting a mustache on Bugs' face (one of the posters, interestingly enough, puts a "Hitler" mustache on Bugs). Not every tree has these posters - one has an advertisement for the Mountie Police Gazette, with a voluptuous lady on the poster.Eventually Elmer finds Bugs' rabbit hole, and handcuffs himself to Bugs, only to find 1) the wascally wabbit has substituted a lit bomb to the handcuffs, and 2) has purloined Elmer's hand-key key. Helpfully Bugs tries to find the right key (there are five), but reaches it as the bomb goes off.Elmer chases Bugs all over the Canadian wilds, frequently he and Bugs crashing into the snow banks and leaving their images in the banks to show they were there. But Bugs is always faster - managing to end up chasing Elmer once, and also managing to get his two ears to go around a tree that he has to pass (Elmer crashes into the tree, and ends up looking like Santa Clause).At one point Bugs insists on knowing what he is wanted for - Elmer reads a list of charges, including jay walking and being a pest, and (as mentioned in the "Summary Line" above, conduct unbecoming a rabbit. Although Elmer does not catch Bugs, he is so miserable he cries for his failure, and Bugs feels sorry enough for him to give himself up. Elmer is in charge of the firing squad, and asks if Bugs has any last wishes. Here is the point where the cartoon is tampered with today. Bugs says, "I wish...I wish...I wish I was in the land of Cotton, old times there are not forgotten." At this point Elmer and the firing squad look amazed at this unexpected wasting of a wish. But as the cartoon originally ended, Elmer, Bugs, and the members of the firing squad reappear as minstrels singing "Dixie". Curiously, when I saw the original ending, it did not strike me as being worth saving. It made absolutely no sense - but then so would the current ending of Bugs bursting into song in front of a surprised firing squad. If you think of the anarchistic humor of the Warner's cartoons either is acceptable, but not particularly clever. As pointed too, Elmer was drawn as a fat person here - for the last time, complete with corset. In fact the fat headed, bald Fudd of the later cartoons is quite an improvement too.

In "Fresh Hare", an obese Elmer Fudd is a Mountie and out to get Bugs Bunny. Needless to say, Bugs isn't going to get trapped so easily. This is just one of many cartoons showing why the Looney Tunes outdid the Disney stuff easily. The scene where Bugs "drops" Elmer out of the service is enough to make anyone die laughing, as is the scene where they run through the ice. There is, however, one scene likely to make us nervous - and possibly doubt the whole cartoon - in the 21st century: at the end, they do a minstrel show, complete with black-face. But other than that, the whole thing's a hoot. Truly classic.Like Michael Moore reminds us: Canada is the greatest place on Earth.