Falling Hare (1943)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

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

. . . titled FALLING HARE STORYBOARD REEL, which can be found on Disc 4 of Volume 3 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection. The extremely crude binary-colored artwork is on static display here for maybe two-thirds of a nine-minute running time, meaning viewers see about one-third of the final cartoon (though they hear all of it). This narrow focus makes one realize how arcane Great Granddaddy's World War Two Era has become. For instance, when Bugs crawls back into the plane the second time, his heartbeat is labeled "4F." This was NOT some Fascist version of the 4H Club. WWII was fought mostly by draftees, led by the physically fit "1A" Class. Those with one foot in The Grave were classified as "4F," along with John Wayne. At the end, Bugs Bunny refers to his "A Card." This was part of the War-Time civilian gas rationing program (though if John Wayne HAD accepted his movie stunt man-deserving "1A" draft board rating, he'd have smuggled a Civilian Ration Card overseas to keep his jeep 200 miles from the Front Lines). And, of course, the German Gremlin supports Wayne's Pachyderm Party choice for U.S. President, "Vendell Villke," a.k.a. that Dead Man Walking, Wendell Willke.

Bob Clampett's 'Falling Hare' is one of the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoons ever made. Part of the fascinating sub-genre of "Bugs as loser" cartoons, 'Falling Hare' sees Bugs being terrorised by a little gremlin for seven minutes. Far from a gentle needling, the gremlin puts Bugs in genuine fear of his life as he is imprisoned on a plummeting aircraft. Deceptively cute, the gremlin's nonchalance makes his psychopathic intentions all the more disturbing. He chuckles to the tune of 'Yankee Doodle' as he sets about destroying a plane in mid-flight and attempting to dispense of Bugs by having him plummet to his death. Though the gremlin is a fascinating character, 'Falling Hare' is really Bugs's show as he is driven to complete hysteria as he battles for his life. He goes through fits of screaming desperation, Technicolor nausea and complete collapse. It's one of the great cartoon breakdowns of all time (for another great animated mental collapse, see Friz Freleng's 'Canned Feud') and the fact that it is the usually cocky and self-assured Bugs going through it makes 'Falling Hare' even more remarkable. The sight of Bugs screaming at the window of a plane as it goes down has stuck with me ever since the first time I saw 'Falling Hare'. For anyone who makes the claim that Bugs must always be the winner, 'Falling Hare' is a must-see. In fact, it's a must see for absolutely everyone.

Bugs Bunny is relaxing on an A-Bomb reading a magazine and laughing at stories of gremlins interfering in the workings of aircraft. However when one such gremlin starts to mess around with the aircraft and equipment on the base, Bugs overcomes his disbelief to try and stop it.Taking a good idea this film pitches Bugs against a gremlin to reasonable good effect to create an enjoyable, if far from great, cartoon. The gags are pretty good but parts of it do drag on a little too long without being funny – the final punch-line is weak but yet seems to be built up to for at least a minute! Despite this it still worked quite well, although many of the topical (at the time) references went over my head – made me think what watching Shrek will be like in about 50 years time! The other big weakness it did have was in it's lead character – which was a surprising thing to me. I love Bugs and enjoy seeing him twist things on those who would get him! I like to se the many ways he gets the upper hand. However here he was very much the lesser character in terms of scoring points. He is shown to be easily tricked and fooled and, at times, out of his depth – in fact in the plane he is portrayed as terrified for the majority of the time. This didn't ruin the cartoon for me as it was still funny, but this was not the usual character I expect to see when I watch Bugs Bunny.Overall this was an enjoyable cartoon despite it's weaknesses. Fans of Bugs (as I am) may struggle to enjoy it simply because our hero is painted as some sort of coward and weakling – a far cry from his usual wise-ass self!

Falling Hare is my favorite cartoon short ever. What I like the most about it is that Bugs Bunny "gets it good"! It seems like Bugs gets his way in every one of his cartoons (except for when he races with Cecil the Turtle)! Watching Falling Hare, however, is way better than watching Bugs lose to Cecil in the races. In Falling Hare the Gremlin really (and I mean really) lets Bugs have it. Another reason why I think this animated short is so cool is because it is "fast paced!" Almost all of it takes place in an Airplane! I could watch this over and over and never get bored of it. If you are tired of watching Bugs win all of his battles (which I am) I highly recommend that you record Falling Hare.