Hyde and Hare
Encyclopedia
Hyde and Hare is a 1955 Looney Tunes
Bugs Bunny
cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng
. 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."
) keeps coming to feed him a carrot ("Well, here I go again with the 'timid little rabbit' routine. It's shameful, but - eh, it's a living!"). At first feigning a usual rabbit posture, Bugs eventually stands up and confides that he'd rather simply go home with the gentleman as a "pet," since it would be easier on both of them. As the gentleman brings Bugs home, he remarks that it is strange that Bugs calls him "Doc" because "I happen to be a doctor." The camera then pans up to see that the name above the apartment is none other than Dr. Jekyll.
Inside the house, Bugs gets used to his new surroundings. Dr. Jekyll comes across a bubbling potion that he knows he shouldn't drink, but he gives in ("Oh, I'm so ashamed!!") and drinks the potion anyway. He then transforms into Mr. Hyde, with a monstrous green face and glowing red eyes. Bugs tries running from this monster, but soon the monster reverts back to Dr. Jekyll. Bugs, thinking that the monster is still after both of them, tries leading the doctor into various rooms and closets, with the eventual re-transformation of the doctor into Mr. Hyde. This continues for a few minutes, until Dr. Jekyll decides that he's going to pour the rest of the formula down the drain. He goes into his lab, but finds only the empty beaker. The Doctor asks Bugs if he drank the potion; Bugs becomes insulted at the idea and leaves ("I am going back to the park! There is no question of my integrity there", he huffs).
Walking back to his park, Bugs transforms into a monstrous green rabbit (an implication, to the viewers anyway, that he DID drink the formula). The people at the park who are busy feeding the pigeons see Bugs and run away screaming. Bugs looks at them and wonders, "Now what's eating THEM? Hmph! You'd think they never saw a rabbit before!" After Bugs Bunny says his last lines, he eats a carrot and watches the old ladies and old man run away as the screen closes.
DVD box set. You can play Hyde Bugs in the Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
video game.
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
. 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."
Plot
Bugs comes out of his rabbit hole in a city park every morning because a kind gentleman (who has the likeness and mannerism of Peter LorrePeter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
) keeps coming to feed him a carrot ("Well, here I go again with the 'timid little rabbit' routine. It's shameful, but - eh, it's a living!"). At first feigning a usual rabbit posture, Bugs eventually stands up and confides that he'd rather simply go home with the gentleman as a "pet," since it would be easier on both of them. As the gentleman brings Bugs home, he remarks that it is strange that Bugs calls him "Doc" because "I happen to be a doctor." The camera then pans up to see that the name above the apartment is none other than Dr. Jekyll.
Inside the house, Bugs gets used to his new surroundings. Dr. Jekyll comes across a bubbling potion that he knows he shouldn't drink, but he gives in ("Oh, I'm so ashamed!!") and drinks the potion anyway. He then transforms into Mr. Hyde, with a monstrous green face and glowing red eyes. Bugs tries running from this monster, but soon the monster reverts back to Dr. Jekyll. Bugs, thinking that the monster is still after both of them, tries leading the doctor into various rooms and closets, with the eventual re-transformation of the doctor into Mr. Hyde. This continues for a few minutes, until Dr. Jekyll decides that he's going to pour the rest of the formula down the drain. He goes into his lab, but finds only the empty beaker. The Doctor asks Bugs if he drank the potion; Bugs becomes insulted at the idea and leaves ("I am going back to the park! There is no question of my integrity there", he huffs).
Walking back to his park, Bugs transforms into a monstrous green rabbit (an implication, to the viewers anyway, that he DID drink the formula). The people at the park who are busy feeding the pigeons see Bugs and run away screaming. Bugs looks at them and wonders, "Now what's eating THEM? Hmph! You'd think they never saw a rabbit before!" After Bugs Bunny says his last lines, he eats a carrot and watches the old ladies and old man run away as the screen closes.
Allusions
- In the cartoon, Bugs utters the phrase, "I wish my brother George was here" as he sits down to play a piano. The reference was to LiberaceLiberaceWladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
, who had a brother George, who was also his conductor on TV and personal appearances during the 1950s. - The piano piece that Bugs plays is the Minute WaltzMinute WaltzThe Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, popularly known as the Minute Waltz, and also Valse du petit chien, is a waltz for solo piano by Frédéric Chopin. It is dedicated to the Countess Delfina Potocka.-History:...
by Chopin, or as Bugs calls him "Choppin'." - When Bugs first sees Mr. Hyde, he says Ralph Kramden's line to him, "You... are a mental case!"
Appearances
The cartoon is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 2, 2004. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Related releases:...
DVD box set. You can play Hyde Bugs in the Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal is a third-person, action-adventure game developed for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.-Story:The Evil Dr. Frankenbeans has built robots of extraordinary power. Dr...
video game.