The Heckling Hare (1941)

Directed by

Tex Avery

Genre

comedy film

Country

United States

Runtime

7 min

Rating

7.1 of 10 from 31 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Bugs Bunny outwits a dopey dog named Willoughby. Bugs torments the dog just for fun, always staying one step ahead.

comedicfast-pacedplayfulcartoonyslapstickwhimsicalmischievouslighthearted

What happens

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. This is the second-to-last Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery to be released following a dispute with producer Leon Schlesinger during production (see "Original Ending" below). 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. 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Hare Force (1944)
• Hare Ribbin' (1944)
• All This and Rabbit Stew (1941)
• Rabbit's Kin (1952)
• The Windblown Hare (1949)
• Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)
• Baseball Bugs (1946)
• Long-Haired Hare (1949)