The Heckling Hare
Encyclopedia
The Heckling Hare is a Merrie Melodies
cartoon, released on July 12, 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 Bob McKimson, and with musical direction
by Carl Stalling
. In 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.
This is the second-to-last Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery
to be released. The last, All This and Rabbit Stew
, was produced before this film. Additionally, it was the fifth cartoon for Bugs and the 55th cartoon Avery directed at Warner Bros.
The Merrie Melodies opening sequence also featured the first usage of the Warner Bros. shield logo zooming in with a carrot-munching Bugs Bunny lying on top of it (as such, the shield appears smaller than normal). For the first time, the "Warner Bros." and "Present" graphics are already on the screen when the title card is shown before the shield zooms in. Here, after the zoom-in and a couple of bites of his carrot, Bugs pulls down the Merrie Melodies title screen like it is a shade.
, Bugs is hunted by a dog named Willoughby, but the dog falls for every trap Bugs sets for him until they both fall off a cliff at the end (reported to contain the longest fall in the history of film).
, unrestored, as part of the 1990 TV special What's Up Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny The restored version had previously been released as part of Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
.
and moving to MGM. The final gag
of this cartoon originally had Bugs and Willoughby falling off three cliffs, with Bugs telling the audience after the second tumble, "Hold on to your hats, folks. Here we go again!" during the third trip down. Schlessinger intervened for reasons that are not known with certainty. The most popular story is that the "Hold on to your hats" line referred to a risqué joke that was then in circulation ; another story is that Schlesinger feared that Tex Avery had killed off Bugs Bunny by ending the cartoon with Bugs and Willoughby falling off the second cliff without a clear indication of whether or not the two survived.
The film was edited so that the characters only fall off a cliff once. After Bugs and Willoughby fall through the sky in a lengthy sequence, they "put on the brakes" and make a soft, feet-first landing on the ground. Bugs says to the audience, "N'yah, fooled you, didn't we?!" The dog follows with, "Yeah!" just as the cartoon fades out. Willoughby's line and the fade out to the end card are usually cut in TV versions (mostly those shown on the Ted Turner-owned cable networks TBS
, TNT
, Cartoon Network
, and Boomerang
) to cover up the fact that the cartoon had been edited in such an abrupt manner prior to release in theaters.
Avery was angry, and walked out of the studio. He was promptly suspended, but during his suspension, he was hired by MGM. Curiously, a similar line had been allowed in Daffy Duck and Egghead
(1938, coincidentally also directed by Avery). Just before launching into his own take on The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
, Daffy Duck
tells the audience, "Hold your seats, folks, here we go again!"
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon, released on July 12, 1941 and featuring 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...
and a dopey dog named Willoughby. The cartoon was directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
by Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
, written
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
, animated
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
by soon-to-be director Bob McKimson, and with musical direction
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
by Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
. In style that was becoming typical of the Bugs character, he easily outwitted and tormented his antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
through the short, his only concern being what to do next to the dog.
This is the second-to-last Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
to be released. The last, All This and Rabbit Stew
All This and Rabbit Stew
All This and Rabbit Stew is a one-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Merrie Melodies series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on September 20, 1941 by Warner Bros. and Vitaphone. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger and directed by an uncredited Tex Avery, with musical...
, was produced before this film. Additionally, it was the fifth cartoon for Bugs and the 55th cartoon Avery directed at Warner Bros.
The Merrie Melodies opening sequence also featured the first usage of the Warner Bros. shield logo zooming in with a carrot-munching Bugs Bunny lying on top of it (as such, the shield appears smaller than normal). For the first time, the "Warner Bros." and "Present" graphics are already on the screen when the title card is shown before the shield zooms in. Here, after the zoom-in and a couple of bites of his carrot, Bugs pulls down the Merrie Melodies title screen like it is a shade.
Synopsis
Instead of Elmer FuddElmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
, Bugs is hunted by a dog named Willoughby, but the dog falls for every trap Bugs sets for him until they both fall off a cliff at the end (reported to contain the longest fall in the history of film).
Availability
This cartoon appears in the DVD Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, 9 documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from...
, unrestored, as part of the 1990 TV special What's Up Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny The restored version had previously been released as part of Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2
Looney 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:...
.
Original ending
This is the cartoon that led to Avery leaving Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and moving to MGM. The final gag
Gag
A gag is usually a device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help. This is usually done by blocking the mouth, partially or completely, or attempting to prevent the tongue, lips, or jaw from moving in the normal patterns of speech. They are...
of this cartoon originally had Bugs and Willoughby falling off three cliffs, with Bugs telling the audience after the second tumble, "Hold on to your hats, folks. Here we go again!" during the third trip down. Schlessinger intervened for reasons that are not known with certainty. The most popular story is that the "Hold on to your hats" line referred to a risqué joke that was then in circulation ; another story is that Schlesinger feared that Tex Avery had killed off Bugs Bunny by ending the cartoon with Bugs and Willoughby falling off the second cliff without a clear indication of whether or not the two survived.
The film was edited so that the characters only fall off a cliff once. After Bugs and Willoughby fall through the sky in a lengthy sequence, they "put on the brakes" and make a soft, feet-first landing on the ground. Bugs says to the audience, "N'yah, fooled you, didn't we?!" The dog follows with, "Yeah!" just as the cartoon fades out. Willoughby's line and the fade out to the end card are usually cut in TV versions (mostly those shown on the Ted Turner-owned cable networks TBS
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
, TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
, Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, and Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
) to cover up the fact that the cartoon had been edited in such an abrupt manner prior to release in theaters.
Avery was angry, and walked out of the studio. He was promptly suspended, but during his suspension, he was hired by MGM. Curiously, a similar line had been allowed in Daffy Duck and Egghead
Daffy Duck and Egghead
Daffy Duck & Egghead is a 1937-produced, 1938-released Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series. It features the early, zany version of Daffy Duck, who spends the film harassing Egghead , marking the second appearance of Daffy Duck , his first in color, and first...
(1938, coincidentally also directed by Avery). Just before launching into his own take on The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
"The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is a song written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin. It is best known as the theme tune for the Looney Tunes cartoon series produced by Warner Bros...
, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
tells the audience, "Hold your seats, folks, here we go again!"