The Old Grey Hare

Amazing, Proustian Bugs Bunny, shot through with a twisted pathos. The film opens with the melancholy sight of a bawling Elmer Fudd, exasperated, as many men become, at the repetitive futility of his life. His needs are simple, he just wants to kill one rabbit; get that, if I may carelessly mix my metaphors, bugbear out of the way, and he can get on with his life. This is the eternal dilemma of the human race, the hopeless pursuit of that one object, which, if fulfilled, would bring ultimate content. It is an anxiety that is properly metaphysical, and, sure enough, God intrudes to comfort a despairing Elmer.

God takes him to the future. The brilliant thing about this future is that it is this year, 2000. We can literally connect with an ancient cartoon! So the millenarians are right - Bugs will finally get his reckoning. Once the object of desire has been achieved, the world can only end - what else is there? Latterday Elmer is a wrinkly crone, wheezing and whinging rather sympathetically, as he fondles the Buck Rogers zapper that will finally do in his prey.

Bugs himself, of course, has aged too, and a Bugs without mental and physical agility is no Bugs at all. He can't even say 'What's up doc?' He tries the old moves, but is full of arthritic creaks and is easily nabbed. The law of all Looney Toons, from Roadrunner to Tweetie, is irrevocably destroyed, the elusive prey is felled, the forces of might are right.

The lachrymose outcome of this scenario floods the screen, as Elmer and Bugs tragically realise that they are both of the same entity, maybe even the same person - one can't live without the other. In a lovely sequence, Bugs harks back to their youth which initiated the endless circle of chasing and taunting, never quite reaching consummation.

This is a lovely short with an explosive, subversive twist. If director Clampett never reaches the artsitic wonder of Chuck Jones' 'Hair Raising Hare', he has excellent pacing, and his futurising the old Western landscapes is a hoot.

Frustrated at never getting the rabbit, Elmer Fudd cries out to his God, who responds (much to Elmer's reply). God takes Elmer far into the future, to 2018 where Elmer is an old man chasing an old Bugs. With the new weaponry available, Elmer fatally wounds Bugs, sparking a trip down memory lane to when they were both children and the chase began.

Starting with the usual amusing play on words title, this short cartoon stutters a little early on. The focus on Fudd slows things down a little, an impact that is only slightly lessened by the arrival of an elderly Bugs Bunny. However when the short moves to the baby flashback, things pick up significantly and stay that way until the end. The baby stuff and the climax moves quicker and feels more enjoyable that the lengthy, flash-forward set up.

The animation is good and shows real care (lacking in some later cartoons) and the voice work is as superb as always. Seeing the baby Bugs being just as scheming and resourceful as his adult self is very funny.

Overall a good cartoon which suffers a little during the set-up scenes but then ends on a run of highs to leave a good impression.

The Old Grey Hare (1944)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Very funny short finds Elmer Fudd crying because he can't catch Bugs Bunny but God then speaks to him and tells him to look into the future. We go to the year 2000 when Elmer finally gets Bugs who then decides to show him a flashback to when the two were children. This here is one of the most clever films in the Bugs series because it's really two very good movies in one. The first has the elderly Bugs and Elmer going at it with some "futuristic" weapons and it manages to be very funny. The flashback sequence is just as good because we get to see them as babies fighting and of course there are plenty of laughs here as well. THE OLD GREY HARE features some great animation and of course a lot of nice laughs.

Wow, this was a strange feeling to watch this cartoon near the end of 2007. The animated short was made almost 65 years ago and deals with Elmer Fudd being transported by God to the future: the year 2000, which probably seemed far, far away to audiences in the theater back then. Now, here we are almost another decade later.

Anyway, Elmer suddenly finds himself "all winkled" and "gway," still in his hunter's outfit and sitting under a tree. He sees a newspaper headline that claims "Smellovision Replaces Television." Hey, I've seen today's programs and that prediction has pretty much come true!

Even better is when Bugs pops out of his hole nearby and has a white goatee - hey, he's in style!!! Who knew back in 1944? "What's up, prune face?" he asks old-man Elmer.

Bugs may need a cane to walk with his bad hip and limp, but he's still a wise-guy. Mel Blanc voicing Bugs as an old man is a hoot, too.

Time is reversed in the second half of the cartoon when Bugs - supposedly on his death bed - relives old times with Elmer, beginning when the latter was baby crawling along the ground with diapers and a popgun, looking for "Bugsy."

This one makes me laugh. True, it's not a Chuck Jones, who many consider the master of the genre, but it's right up there at the top.

Elmer Fudd is probably my favorite foil to bugs, and here he is brimming with pathos. His stutter is as prominent as his brow, and the script for this is astounding. Whomever wrote these little 'cartoons' hopefully moved on to great things, because they are better than most films made today! Well worth your time.