''Falling Hare'' is a 1943

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' cartoon directed by

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, film director, director, film producer, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the te ...

. The cartoon features

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

. In this film, Bugs Bunny tries to prevent the wrecking of an American military aircraft by a

gremlin A gremlin is a mischievous fictional creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft, and later in other machinery, processes, and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widely. ...

. The setting is a base of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. The film's finale explicitly refers to wartime

rationing in the United States Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one person's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a p ...

Plot

This cartoon opens with the title credits over the strains of "

Down by the Riverside "Down by the Riverside" (also known as "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" and "Gonna lay down my burden") is an African-American spiritual. Its roots date back to before the American Civil War, though it was first published in 1918 in ''Plantati ...

", then into an extended series of

establishing shot An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...

s of an

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

base, to the brassy strains of "We’re in to Win" (a World War II song also sung by

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

in '' Scrap Happy Daffy'' two months before). The sign at the base reads "U.S. Army Air Field", and below that is shown the location, the number of planes (which include

C-45 Expeditor The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to Novembe ...

s and a

Douglas B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

) and number of men, all marked "Censored" as a reference to military secrecy. Beneath those categories, a sign reads "What Men Think of Top Sergeant", the reply to which is covered with a large white-on-black "CENSORED!!", implying that the language of the men's reply is not suitable for the public (and would not pass scrutiny by the

Hays Office The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

is seen reclining on a piece of ordnance (a

blockbuster bomb A blockbuster bomb or cookie was one of several of the largest conventional bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The term ''blockbuster'' was originally a name coined by the press and referred to a bomb which had enough explo ...

) idly reading ''Victory Thru Hare Power'' (a spoof of the 1942 book).Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 61 He begins laughing uproariously, and turns to the audience to share what he is reading: an assertion that

s wreck American planes through diabolical

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

(he pronounces those words "di-a-bo-lick-al saa-boh-tay-jee"), a notion that Bugs finds ludicrous. As he continues enjoying what he considers a hilarious joke, a little yellow humanoid wearing a large blue helmet with airplane wings scuttles by and begins striking the bomb's nose with a mallet, to the tune of "

I've Been Working on the Railroad "I've Been Working on the Railroad" is an American folk song. The first published version appeared as "Levee Song" in ''Carmina Princetonia'', a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894. The earliest known recording is by The Shannon ...

". It takes Bugs a few seconds to realize the reality of the situation, but shortly he asks the gremlin, "What's all the hub-bub, Bub?" The gremlin explains that the bomb must be hit "just right" in order to be made to explode and gets back to work. Bugs steps in to suggest that perhaps he ought to "take a whack at it" and proceeds to wind up for a great, hard swing. He stops immediately before making contact, in the sudden realization that, thanks to the strange being, he is engaging in an insane activity. Bugs starts shouting at the creature, but it is apparently gone. Bugs then turns to the audience as he ponders whether he has just had an experience with a gremlin. The gremlin appears on Bugs' face and affirms its existence with a shout, "It ain't

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...

!" The gremlin, after that, tugs on Bugs' ears and hammers Bugs' foot with a

monkey wrench A monkey wrench is a type of smooth-jawed adjustable wrench, a 19th century American refinement of 18th-century English coach wrenches. It was widely used in the 19th and early 20th century. It is of interest as an antique among tool collectors ...

and runs off. Bugs gives chase and, from its perch on a plane's wing, the gremlin clobbers the rabbit with a monkey wrench, knocking him silly, with Bugs asking, "Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?" a reference to the 1940 short ''

Of Fox and Hounds ''Of Fox and Hounds'' is a 1940 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' directed by Tex Avery. The short was released on December 7, 1940, and introduces Willoughby the Dog. Avery performed the voice of Willoughby, and Mel Blanc voiced George the Fox an ...

'', starring

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

. Bugs then speaks nonsensically as Lennie Small, then as

Baby Snooks ''The Baby Snooks Show'' was an American radio program starring comedian and '' Ziegfeld Follies'' alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who was 40 years younger than the actress who played her when she first went on the air. The series ...

. When he regains his senses, the now-infuriated Bugs gives chase, wielding the monkey wrench and ending up inside a plane (which ironically resembles a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

). The gremlin grabs the wrench and bashes Bugs' foot with it. As Bugs reacts to the pain, the gremlin locks him in, sets the plane in motion and ultimately into the air. Bugs looks for the gremlin and ends up getting kicked by it - reacting to the creature briefly laughing to the tune of "

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state song of the U.S. ...

" when it appears at the door's window - is not aware that the plane is aloft until the gremlin opens the door as Bugs comes at it full-throttle, hoping to break it open. The rabbit finds himself in midair and, after turning into a jackass (the comedy trope for being foolhardy) for a moment (as the "You're a horse's ass" motif is heard), he briefly demonstrates a heretofore-unseen ability to fly like a bird before racing through the open sky, back into the plane. Due to strategically placed banana skins, however, he slides out the door on the other side. The gremlin, believing that his job is done, slams the door triumphantly but opens it again when he notices it shaking. A terrified Bugs is plastered to it, with his heart pounding "4F" (Army code for drastically limiting medical condition, hospitalization required, and/or ineligible to be inducted via the draft). The gremlin pries him from the door; Bugs flies off but soon settles, curled up and flat, on the bomb bay doors - which, of course, the gremlin opens. Fortunately, Bugs' feet catch on a wire but as he is hanging there, he sees that the gremlin is now steering the plane into a city and toward two

skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

. Bugs rushes into the cockpit, takes control of the airplane, rolls it vertically, and flies through an extremely narrow slot between the towers to avoid what seemed to be an inevitable impact, then emerges from between the buildings in a 270°

aileron roll The aileron roll is an aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft does a full 360° revolution about its longitudinal axis. When executed properly, there is no appreciable change in altitude and the aircraft exits the maneuver on the same heading ...

. The plane goes into a steep nosedive, its wings ripping off during its descent, and an air speedometer showing: "INCREDIBLE, AIN'T IT???". Bugs is helpless, airsick and melting with terror. The gremlin nonchalantly plays with a

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...

while awaiting impact. An impossibly short distance above the ground, the plane unexpectedly sputters to a halt and hangs in the air, defying gravity. Both Bugs and the gremlin casually address the audience. The gremlin apologizes for the plane's fuel depletion, while Bugs points to a wartime gas

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...

sticker on the plane's windshield and remarks, "Yeah. You know how it is with these A cards!"

Production notes

''Falling Hare'' went into production under the title ''Bugs Bunny and the Gremlin''.

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

was developing a feature based on

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

’s novel ''

The Gremlins ''The Gremlins'' is a children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl and published in 1943. In writing the book, Dahl draws on his own experience as a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot during the Second World War. The story's principal chara ...

'', and asked other animation studios not to produce any films involving

s. However,

was too far into production on this cartoon and '' Russian Rhapsody'' to remove the references to gremlins, so

Leon Schlesinger Leonardo Schlesinger ( ; May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation The gold ...

merely re-titled the cartoons as a compromise. This is one of the few Bugs Bunny cartoons to have entered into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, as in 1971,

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, the copyright holder for most of the pre-1950s Warner Bros. cartoons at the time, did not renew the copyright. Despite being in the public domain, the film's usage is restricted as a derivative work of the still copyrighted ''

A Wild Hare ''A Wild Hare'' (reissued as The Wild Hare) is a 1940 American animated comedy short film directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and distributed by Warner Bros. as part of the ''Merrie Melodies'' series. The film was released on Ju ...

'', which will enter the public domain in 2036.

Release

Because of the cartoon's public domain status, it can be found on budget compilations in lower quality prints, while

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

issued a restored print on '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3'' and '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3'', with optional

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which ...

and

Bill Melendez José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was an American animator, director, producer, and voice actor. Melendez is known for working on the ''Peanuts'' animated specials, as well as providing the voices of Sno ...

(Melendez was one of the animators on the cartoon). In 1989, it was included in the MGM/UA Home Video release '' Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons''. When the Southern Television broadcast interruption occurred in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the interruption ended shortly before the start of this cartoon. Elements from the short have been used in other Warner Bros. works. * Footage of this cartoon's climax was incorporated as a flashback into a later Bugs Bunny cartoon, '' His Hare-Raising Tale'' (1951). Bugs, narrating to his nephew Clyde, describes himself as a World War II test pilot who narrowly escaped death in a near-crash (fortunately, as in ''Falling Hare'', he ran out of gas). There is no mention of the Gremlin character, and one of Bugs' screams (''"Yow-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!!"'') from earlier in the cartoon is inserted into the soundtrack. The scene fades out as it zooms in on the stalled aircraft suspended inches above the ground. * Black-and-white footage from the cartoon was featured in the second trailer for '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (directed by

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

). Though no footage was used in the theatrical cut of the film, a clip from the cartoon appeared in the VHS version. * The Gremlin nemesis makes two reappearances in ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

''. In "Journey to the Center of Acme Acres", the Gremlin appears (with several look-alikes) as the cause of earthquakes in Acme Acres after their gold is stolen by Montana Max. Clampett is given an acknowledgement in the credits for their design. In the special '' Night Ghoulery'', a singular Gremlin antagonizes

Plucky Duck The ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' animated television series features an extensive cast of characters. The show's central characters are mostly various forms of anthropomorphic animals, based on ''Looney Tunes'' characters from earlier films and sh ...

in the segment titled "Gremlin on a Wing" (a spoof of the '' Twilight Zone'' episode " Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"). * It also made a brief cameo in "Plane Pals" (an episode from ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...

'') as a passenger. * The scene in which a flattened Bugs mutters " I'm only 3½ years old" and rolls on the floor flat as a pancake is used in "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?" (an episode from ''Tiny Toon Adventures''). * The ending "out of gas" gag is referenced in the 2003 theatrical release '' Looney Tunes Back in Action''. Bugs, Daffy, and the live-action characters in the spy car are suspended above the ground until one character comments on the situation's lack of realism, prompting the car to fall the remaining few feet. * The short was loosely adapted into the 2021 ''

Looney Tunes Cartoons ''Looney Tunes Cartoons'' is an American animated television series developed by Pete Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the characters from ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies''. The series made its worldwide de ...

'' short "High Speed Hare". In this short, Bugs fights the Gremlin while testing a

self-driving car A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car (AC), driverless car, robotic car or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis, though this term refers specifica ...

, and it shares the ending "out of gas" gag, except the car explodes just when Bugs and the Gremlin break the fourth wall.

Reception

Animator and director David Bowers writes, "''Falling Hare'' is wonderful for many reasons, but the most fun to be had is seeing someone finally get the better of Bugs Bunny... The final big joke is a masterpiece of comic staging. Clampett pours on the suspense as Bugs and the gremlin hurtle toward the earth in a crashing bomber. ''Falling Hare'' is filled with great sight gags, but it is also exciting edge-of-your-seat stuff, decades ahead of its time in terms of action staging and cutting."

Home media

''Falling Hare'' is available on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3.

Voice cast

and the Gremlin *

: vocal effects

In popular culture

The climactic scene in ''Falling Hare'' is described in detail in the

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

novel '' The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul''.

References

* *

External links

* * {{Bugs Bunny in animation, state=collapsed 1943 films Films directed by Bob Clampett Merrie Melodies short films Films about the United States Army Air Forces World War II films made in wartime Vitaphone short films Animated films about rabbits and hares Animated films about aviation American World War II films World War II aviation films American aviation films Films scored by Carl Stalling Films produced by Leon Schlesinger Bugs Bunny films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Films about gremlins Films with screenplays by Warren Foster 1943 animated short films