''The Hasty Hare'' is a 1952 Warner Bros. ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' cartoon directed by

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, pro ...

. The short was released on June 7, 1952, and features

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

and

Marvin the Martian Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from Warner Bros.' '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a helmet and skirt. The character has been voic ...

. The title is a pun on the film title ''

The Hasty Heart ''The Hasty Heart'' is a 1949 war drama film, an Anglo-American co-production starring Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, and Richard Todd and directed by Vincent Sherman. The film is based on the 1945 play of the same name by John Patrick. ''Th ...

''.

Plot

Marvin the Martian (here referred to as Commander of the X2 vessel) is traveling to Earth. Upon landing, he opens his assignment envelope - return one Earth creature back to Mars (signed by General E=mc²). With the help of his dog, K-9 (who "talks" to Marvin by handing him notes), he finds Bugs' rabbit hole. As the two observe the hole, they are pushed back when Bugs cleans out a bucket of carrot stems. Seeing their getup, Bugs assumes it must be

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

, so he hands them each a bag of treats. Marvin then decides that he shall "have" to use force. He pulls out his disintegrating gun, and atomizes a large hole where the small rabbit hole used to be. Bugs shrieks "How Halloween-y can you get?" before seeing the

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has ...

. Marvin then tells Bugs that he is to come back to Mars with him. Bugs tries to act defiant, but goes slightly insane when Marvin uses his pistol against a nearby rock (which also disintegrates part of the ground under the rock). He quickly gets some bags and runs into the ship, then runs back out as a train conductor (a play on Mel Blanc's train conductor character on the

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

show), telling Marvin and K-9 "Flying saucer, for

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

the Dog Star ''The Dog Star'' is a novel by American writer Donald Windham, first published in 1950. It tells the story of a young Southern man who is haunted by the suicide of his best friend from reform school. Set in 1930s post- Depression Atlanta, the ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

now leaving on track five! All aboard!" Marvin and K-9 rush on the ship and fly off, then realize their mistake in midflight and fly back ("Oh! That wasn't a bit nice! uff, puffYou have made me very angry, uff, puffvery angry indeed!"). Bugs convinces Marvin that he wants to go to Mars, then insinuates that K-9 is plotting mutiny. Marvin calls K-9 over and nearly atomizes him, but K-9 pulls himself out of his helmet, asking what he did wrong (signed, "Anxious"). Bugs starts walking off, but Marvin and K-9 shoot him with an

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...

straitjacket-ejecting

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...

. On the ship, Marvin is piloting while K-9 watches over Bugs (labeled as "One over-confident Earth creature"). Bugs convinces K-9 to let him "try on something more sporty". Now out of the straitjacket, Bugs quickly ties K-9 up, then grabs another jacket and yells "Everybody desert ship! We've struck an iceberg and we're sinking fast! Here, get into this life preserver, quick!" as he wraps Marvin in the spare straitjacket. Now with both of them tied up (labeled as "Two disgruntled Martians"), Bugs tries turning the ship back home. After a brief out-of-control spin, he starts to fly back, but has great difficulty steering the ship properly and desperately throws out an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek � ...

to steady it. The anchor then pulls on a crescent moon, which in turn pulls on Saturn's rings, a large planet (presumably Jupiter) and other assorted stars. Back on Earth, a small man in an observatory looks into his telescope, only to see the spaceship and the planets directly in front of him. The man pauses in confusion, then proceeds to write a note ("I resign! When I begin to see things like this, it's time to take up turkey farming." Signed, I. Frisby (a reference to

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ...

, whose caricature was indeed used for the character) and leaves. Outside, Bugs asks Frisby if he knows where he can sell a "slightly used flying saucer — it's only got 3 billion miles on it." Frisby then starts to have a mental breakdown in a goofy matter as he walks off ("ICK! OOF! GICK, GACK! GEEK... GOBBUT!") causing Bugs with an annoyed look to ask the audience,: "Huh, what's biting him?"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasty Hare 1952 films 1952 animated films 1952 short films 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films 1950s science fiction films Animated films about extraterrestrial life Mars in film Short films directed by Chuck Jones Looney Tunes shorts Bugs Bunny films Marvin the Martian films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese Films scored by Carl Stalling 1950s English-language films