Hiawathas Hasenjagd

This is not the best Bugs Bunny episode I have ever watched, but it was certainly better than I thought it would be! I first thought it would be another one of those old Native-American racist Looney Tunes, but it was not so bad and many of the jokes were pretty good! Clearly this episode is somewhat a spoof/remake of "Little Hiawatha", a Silly Symphonies Disney cartoon, there are many repeated references, such as Hiawatha's falling over as he runs, the way he paddles his boat, the following of his prey and the way he snaps his bow when he is angry.

Some people may think this cartoon slightly racist, but there is no reason for the episode to have been banned - and if you think the portrayal of Native Americans is bad in this Looney Tunes, you should watch "Scalp Trouble"!!

Anyway, in this episode, Hiawatha is hunting for a rabbit to cook in his pot. This rabbit turns out to be Bugs Bunny (a very early version) and he is found bathing in the cooking pot. Excitedly, Hiawatha adds some carrot peelings to the pot and Bugs Bunny seems very calm until Hiawatha tells him he is cooking rabbit stew.

The antics of Bugs Bunny in "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt", may be familiar to people who watch Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd with the rabbit, but basically he manages many times to avoid being caught by Hiawatha. The later character of Bugs Bunny is not featured here so much, he may be clever in avoiding Hiawatha, but he can make mistakes.

I enjoyed this episode for the little unexpected jokes, the animation, the fact that it was better than I expected and the character of the early Bugs Bunny.

I recommend this to people who like Bugs Bunny and to people who like the sort of episodes where he avoids scrapes and pulls gags. Enjoy!! :-)

8 and a half out of ten.

This short, nominated for an Oscar, is a good, not great, cartoon. It does introduce a bit of Longfellow and any Bugs Bunny is a good cartoon and worth watching. There just isn't anything terribly funny or special about this particular cartoon besides the poem sections read at the beginning and end. But it is worth watching. It runs periodically on Cartoon Network.

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

This is one of the best known Merrie Melodies shorts as Indian Hiawatha goes out looking for a rabbit and unluckily for him he runs into Bugs Bunny who makes his life one misstep after another. Of all the early incarnations of Bugs, this here is probably one of the most popular and it's easy to see why because the rabbit is given a perfect co-star and the two really work well together. Yes, some might object to some of the stereotyped humor but I tend not to let these things bother me. The film works so well because of the way Bugs manages to drive Hiawatha crazy and one of the best sequences is when Bugs jumps into his water for a bath and even helps him put a log onto the fire. Another funny joke involves a cliff but I won't even think about spoiling the gag. The two characters here are given quite a lot to do and they work so well together that you can't help but have a smile on your face the entire time. There's plenty of nice laughs and just as many good action scenes. If you're a fan of animation then this here is a must see.

Although IMDb indicates that Warner Brothers pulled this one from circulation because of the way it portrayed Indians, it IS available from at least two sources--as an extra with "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) as well as on "Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Award-Nominated Animation: Cinema Favorites" (which is how I saw it).

The film is pretty much like a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon except that instead of Elmer, you have a cute American Indian character that is a lot like Elmer. Whether folks actually find this offensive, I have no idea at all. However, ALL of Bugs' foils look stupid--so I don't think Looney Tunes was singling out Indians.

This cartoon, by the way, marks the second year in a row that this brand-new character, Bugs, was nominated for an Academy Award. Previously he was nominated for "A Wild Hare". And, like "A Wild Hare", the animation in "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" is exquisite--much nicer than the later Bugs cartoons.

Understanding the racial stereotypes in "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt", it's got some funny stuff, as Bugs Bunny avoids getting trapped by the eponymous Native American. As I understand it, this cartoon is a parody of a Silly Symphony from Disney, but I've never seen that one. I first saw clips from this cartoon in "What's Cookin', Doc?", in which Bugs submits this cartoon for an Oscar nomination. Watching the later cartoon in "Bugs Bunny Superstar" as a little boy was the first time that I'd ever heard of the Academy Awards.

Anyway, it's an OK cartoon. The tricks with the river are the best part. The cartoon even has a little twist at the end.

PS: This was the first time that Friz Freleng directed Bugs Bunny, and also the first time that Gerry Chiniquy helped animate Bugs.