''Hare Do'' is a 1949

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. The short was released on January 15, 1949, and stars

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 ' ...

and

Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd's aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antag ...

Plot

Elmer Fudd is hunting for Bugs Bunny using his "Wabbit Detector". As he is searching, Bugs misleads Elmer, who walks off a

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

. Later Elmer gives chase to Bugs and Bugs hitches a ride in a

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

not noticing Elmer is the driver. When Bugs realizes that, Elmer stops the car at a

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

. Bugs pays his admission to get in the theater. After some pushing his way through the occupied seats and getting a snack, he is faced with Elmer. As Elmer follows Bugs pushing their way past the occupied seats Elmer comes across a little old lady, who hits Elmer for his interruption. Elmer finds out that the "old lady" is Bugs in disguise ensuing a scuffle with Bugs as he calls an usher who throws Elmer out. Back at his seat, Bugs' view is blocked by a woman with a large hat-which turns out to be Elmer. Elmer chases Bugs to a different theater and is greeted by a message on screen requesting him to come to the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

. When Elmer inquires, Bugs splatters a

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

in his face. Elmer then chases Bugs into the men's lounge, but Bugs rushes back out and replaces the sign with the sign from the ladies' lounge. Bugs reports Elmer to the usher who throws Elmer out again. When Elmer attempts to get back inside, he runs into a guard, who then scares Elmer away. When Elmer sneaks back in, he ends up getting trampled by movie patrons going in and out, due to Bugs operating the notification lights until Elmer catches up to him. Elmer then chases Bugs back to the theater, where Bugs disguises himself as an usher and leads Elmer through the dark. Bugs then reveals himself on stage in a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

act, where his partner, Elmer, on a

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is prac ...

, will ride down a highwire and into the mouth of a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

. Due to Bugs having placed dark

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names Sunglasses#Other names, below) are a form of Eye protection, protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damagin ...

on him in the dark, Elmer is unaware he's the act as he unknowingly unicycles down to the waiting lion. Bugs then opens the lion's mouth, where he hears Elmer's voice, completely unaware of where he is, wondering if the stunt guy made it. Bugs casts a side glance to the audience and says "Eh, yep, he made it" and closes the lion's mouth as the camera irises out.

Production notes

''Hare Do'' is one of the few

pairings directed by

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

that was released after '' Hare Trigger'', the debut of

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is ''Aloysius Bartholamew Sam''. ...

(most of whose appearances were in cartoons directed by Freleng). The film being shown at the theater (the marquee is partially visible when Bugs stops the car) is 1936's "

Anthony Adverse ''Anthony Adverse'' is a 1936 American epic historical drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland. The screenplay by Sheridan Gibney draws elements of its plot from eight of the nine books in Hervey ...

". This is also the last entry where Bugs is seen sitting on the Warner Bros. Shield and then he pulls it down during the post-1948 period. This would not occur again until '' (Blooper) Bunny'' in 1991. The cartoon's final scene is a nod to the ending of '' A Day at the Zoo'' (1939), which featured Elmer's derby hatted squinted-eyed prototype named "Elmer" being swallowed up by a lion.

Home media

''Hare Do'' is available on '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3'' DVD set. The short is also available to watch on

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 ...

References

External links

*
''Hare Do'' on the Internet Archive
{{Friz Freleng 1949 films 1940s Warner Bros. animated short films Merrie Melodies short films Bugs Bunny films Elmer Fudd films Animated films about lions Films set in a movie theatre Short films directed by Friz Freleng Films scored by Carl Stalling Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films 1940s English-language films English-language short films 1949 animated short films