Half-Fare Hare

Last updated
Half-Fare Hare
Directed by Robert McKimson
Story by Tedd Pierce
Produced by Edward Selzer
Starring Mel Blanc
Daws Butler
(uncredited)
Music by Carl Stalling
Animation byGeorge Grandpre
Russ Dyson
Keith Darling
Ted Bonnicksen
Layouts by Robert Gribbroek
Backgrounds byRichard H. Thomas
Color process Technicolor
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • August 18, 1956 (1956-08-18)
Running time
6:37
LanguageEnglish

Half-Fare Hare is a 1956 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. [1] The short was released on August 18, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny. [2]

Contents

Plot

Bugs Bunny boards the Chattanooga Choo Choo and finds two hoboes who look and act like Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton, from The Honeymooners TV show, who want to eat Bugs after being hungry for days.

Summary

On a snowy winter day, a newspaper lands near a train station and at the same time, Bugs Bunny arrives and looks at the newspaper, saying that a local carrot crop froze, prompting rabbits to leave the state in droves. Despite that he doesn't have a drove (implying a motor vehicle), Bugs decides to hop on a train to Chattanooga (where a bumper a carrot crop is also reported to be on the paper's same page) and shouts, "C'mon, Chattanooga Choo-Choo!"

Bugs makes his way to a boxcar, where he finds two hoboes named Ralph and Ed, as they fantasize aloud about food, not having eaten for days. They quickly see Bugs as a means to this end and try several ways to trap him, with Bugs outsmarting them at every turn. The tramps finally get their just desserts when Bugs lures them to the catwalk atop the train cars right as they're approaching the tunnel, causing them to hit the tunnel entrance facefirst, thus foiling their plan and leaving them stranded. As Ed laughs off their mistake, Ralph balls up his fist and bellows in Ralph Kramden comedic fashion, "one of these days...one of these days!"

Bugs calls out a taunting good-bye, right before he himself falls to the same gag, only from behind. As he rises from the track, his head full of lumps, he breaks the fourth wall saying, "well, maybe I didn't get to Chattanooga, but I SURE did get a bumper crop! Ugh!"

Music

The cartoon features the song Carolina in the Morning, rather than the more obvious choice Chattanooga Choo Choo; Carolina in the Morning's faster melodic rhythm and emphatic downbeats complement the timing of the action in the cartoon. [3]

Censorship

ABC censored the part where Norton offers to attend to Bugs' scarf and he hangs Bugs on a coat hanger with the scarf hanger and another scene where Norton is cooking Ralph in a pot, presumably because of the violent nature. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Turtle</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Cecil Turtle is a fictional character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of films. Though he made only three theatrical appearances, Cecil has the unusual distinction in that he is one of the very few characters who were able to outsmart Bugs Bunny, and the only one to do so three times in a row and at the rabbit's own game. Cecil often gives Bugs the taunting nickname of "Speedy" when addressing the rabbit.

<i>Fresh Hare</i> 1942 Bugs Bunny cartoon

Fresh Hare is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, written by Michael Maltese, and produced by Leon Schlesinger. It was released to theatres on August 22, 1942.

<i>Hillbilly Hare</i> 1950 animated short film by Robert McKimson

Hillbilly Hare is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on August 12, 1950 and stars Bugs Bunny.

<i>Southern Fried Rabbit</i> 1953 film by Friz Freleng

Southern Fried Rabbit is a 1953 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The cartoon was released on May 2, 1953, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.

<i>Hare Brush</i> 1955 film

Hare Brush is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on May 7, 1955, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

<i>A Wild Hare</i> 1940 Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery

A 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 July 27, 1940, and features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance.

<i>The Heckling Hare</i> 1941 Bugs Bunny cartoon

The Heckling Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon, released on July 5, 1941, and featuring Bugs Bunny and a dopey dog named Willoughby. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery, written by Michael Maltese, animated by soon-to-be director Robert McKimson, and with musical direction by Carl W. Stalling. In a style that was becoming typical of the Bugs character, he easily outwitted and tormented his antagonist through the short, his only concern being what to do next to the dog.

<i>Oily Hare</i> 1952 film by Robert McKimson

Oily Hare is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on July 26, 1952, and stars Bugs Bunny.

<i>The Old Grey Hare</i> 1944 film by Bob Clampett

The Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on October 28, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

<i>8 Ball Bunny</i> 1950 film by Chuck Jones

8 Ball Bunny is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on July 8, 1950, and stars Bugs Bunny and Playboy Penguin.

<i>Haredevil Hare</i> 1948 animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Haredevil Hare is a 1948 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. It stars Bugs Bunny and it is the debut for Marvin the Martian — although he is unnamed in this film—along with his Martian dog, K-9. Marvin's nasal voice for this first film is different from the later one he is most known for. This is also the last pre-August 1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon whose copyright was sold to Associated Artists Productions.

<i>Roman Legion-Hare</i> 1955 film by Friz Freleng

Roman Legion-Hare is a 1955 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on November 12, 1955, and stars Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. The title is a play on the words Roman Legionnaire. After being ordered by Emperor Nero to find a victim to be tossed to the lions, Yosemite Sam tries to capture Bugs Bunny.

<i>Hare Ribbin</i> 1944 animated short film by Robert Clampett

Hare Ribbin' is a 1944 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert Clampett and featuring Bugs Bunny. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. on June 24, 1944. The title is a pun on "hair ribbon".

<i>Hyde and Hare</i> 1955 film by Friz Freleng

Hyde and Hare is a 1955 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on August 27, 1955, and stars Bugs Bunny. The short is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The cartoon pits Bugs against Dr. Jekyll, who continues to turn into Mr. Hyde. The title is a play on the expression "neither hide nor hair."

<i>Mad as a Mars Hare</i> 1963 film

Mad as a Mars Hare is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble. The short was released on October 19, 1963, and stars Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian. The cartoon's title is a play-on-words of the famous phrase to be "mad as a March hare". This is Marvin's final appearance in the Looney Tunes shorts during the Golden Age of American Animation.

<i>Bedevilled Rabbit</i> 1957 film by Robert McKimson

Bedevilled Rabbit is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on April 13, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny. In this cartoon, Bugs is lost in Tasmania, and has to deal with the Tasmanian Devil.

<i>To Hare Is Human</i> 1956 film

To Hare is Human is a 1956 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on December 15, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote. In this film, Wile builds a UNIVAC computer, and grows to rely on its answers.

<i>This Is a Life?</i> 1955 film

This Is a Life? is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, written by Warren Foster, and produced by Edward Selzer, with music directed by Milt Franklyn. The short was released on July 9, 1955, and stars Bugs Bunny. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan, and June Foray in her first work for Warner Bros. This is one of the few Bugs Bunny cartoons whose title does not contain Bugs, bunny, rabbit/wabbit or hare.

<i>Bill of Hare</i> 1962 film

Bill of Hare is a 1962 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on June 9, 1962, and stars Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil.

<i>Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection</i> 2020 American film

Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection is a Blu-ray Disc box-set released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on December 1, 2020. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts starring Bugs Bunny and numerous bonus features and supplementary content. The set's packaging includes a slip book, a booklet, and a collectible Bugs Bunny Funko! POP doll.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 287. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Goldmark, Daniel; Taylor, Yuval, eds. (2002). The Cartoon Music Book. Chicago Review Press. ISBN   9781569764121.
  4. ↑ The CENSORED Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide
Preceded by Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1956		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.