''Hare-um Scare-um'' is a 1939

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

Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was sometim ...

and Cal Dalton. The short was released on August 12, 1939, and is the third short to feature the rabbit that would evolve into

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 ' ...

. The title is a

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

with an old nonsense expression — "harum-scarum", meaning reckless or irresponsible. This was the first use of a hare-based pun title in the Warner Bros. cartoons; it would be a device used to name many Bugs Bunny cartoons in the years to come.

Plot

A man (named as John Sourpuss in the copyright synopsis) reading a newspaper comes across an article stating that meat prices have soared and the consumers are sore. Angry, he declares that he'll hunt his own meat to get back at the government for the price inflation. He takes his dog with him, revealing he is going hunting for rabbits. In the woods, a rabbit leads the dog into a hollow log and pushes the log down a hill, where it smashes into a tree. Meanwhile, John sees several rabbits hopping over a hill. He fires his gun several times and runs to where the rabbits were. When he gets there, he finds two

spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, ...

s with pictures of rabbits on them, giving the perception of moving rabbits. He then sees the rabbit sleeping. The hunter starts pouring salt on the rabbit's tail. The rabbit quickly gets up and holds a stick of

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...

under the stream of salt. The rabbit then runs into a cave, and the hunter runs after him. Before he reaches the cave, a pair of elevator doors closes, which the hunter runs into. The bunny then dresses as a female dog, successfully seducing the hunter's dog. When the dog finally realizes he's with the rabbit rather than another dog, he resumes his chase. The rabbit then pretends he's a policeman, citing the dog for numerous crimes (speeding, running on the wrong side of the street, intoxicated "driving", etc.). After confusing the dog and running away, the rabbit begins singing a song about how crazy he is. When he finishes his song, he turns to find the hunter with his gun aimed at him. The rabbit, trying to gain sympathy, begs for his life, explaining how poor and sick he is. John begins crying, feeling sorry for the rabbit. Despite this, the rabbit shocks John with a

joy buzzer A joy buzzer (also called a hand buzzer) is a practical joke device that consists of a coiled mainspring inside a disc worn in the palm of the hand. When the wearer shakes hands with another person, a button on the disc releases the spring, whic ...

. The hunter then shouts that he can whip the rabbit and his whole family. Suddenly, a large group of rabbits surround John, looking for a fight. The rabbits attack the hunter in a cartoon smoke cloud and then run away.Ramapith: David Gerstein's Prehistoric Pop Culture Blog – Legendbreakers: Hare-um Scare-um
/ref> The smoke clears up to show the hunter disheveled. The rabbit returns to give the hunter his busted rifle saying "You oughtta get that fixed. Somebody's liable to get hurt." He then returns to his looney self, bouncing on his head like a pogo stick down the road. The hunter becomes enraged, but then does the same thing the rabbit does (see "Notes" below for alternate ending).

Home media

*LaserDisc – ''

The Golden Age of Looney Tunes ''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes'' is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being made up of seven cartoon ...

'', Volume 2, Side 2 (unrestored, without lost ending) *DVD – ''

Invisible Stripes ''Invisible Stripes'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. crime film starring George Raft as a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by Lloyd Bacon and also features William Holden, Jane Bryan and Humphre ...

'' (USA 1995 dubbed print added as a bonus, without lost ending) *Blu-ray and DVD – '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2'', Disc 2 (lost ending restored) *Streaming –

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

Notes

*This cartoon marks the third appearance of Bugs Bunny's predecessor and the first time he, thanks to a redesign by Charlie Thorson, appears as a grey rabbit instead of a white one. *The rabbit's voice and laugh were identical to those of

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studios, Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures sinc ...

in his very first appearance (the

Andy Panda Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title ...

cartoon " Knock Knock", released the following year). In fact,

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 ...

voiced Woody Woodpecker for the first year before entering into an exclusive contract with

*There had been speculation about the real ending of this cartoon, as the version sometimes shown on television ends abruptly after the rabbits appear following the hunter threatening to beat up the wacky rabbit and his entire family. On April 27, 2009, animation historian

David Gerstein David Gerstein (born February 6, 1974) is an American comics author and editor as well as an animation historian. Gerstein has five books and countless comic book credits to his name. He has written many Disney comics stories, usually featuring ...

posted a report on his blog that he finally revealed the true ending to this cartoon. This scene might have been removed because, as Gerstein theorizes, the ending scene was similar to the ending of Tex Avery's " Daffy Duck & Egghead", which was released a year earlier prior to the release of "Hare-um Scare-um". The lost ending was restored on '' Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hare-Um Scare-Um 1939 films Merrie Melodies short films Bugs Bunny films Films about hunting Films directed by Ben Hardaway Films directed by Cal Dalton Films produced by Leon Schlesinger 1930s Warner Bros. animated short films 1939 animated short films