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This short led directly to the exit of Tex Avery from Warner Brothers. Some sources say he was fired, others that he quit, but Leon Schlesinger's mistake was Avery's, animation's and MGM's gain. Avery did some fantastic work at MGM, animation gained from his influence on another studio and MGM gained by having the competition between Avery and Hanna and Barbera, which improved both teams. Avery's influence can be seen on the Tom and Jerry series in the mid to late 1940s and it's open to question whether Droopy or Screwball Squirrel would have developed at a crowded Warner Brothers. Who knows what would have developed (or not developed) at Warner Brothers had Avery NOT gone to MGM. Excellent short. Most highly recommended.

Heckling Hare, The (1941)

*** (out of 4)

The hunting dog Willoughby is out sniffing for a rabbit and of course finds Bugs Bunny but soon he's going to wish he hadn't. This is another winning short from director Avery who apparently walked away from Warner after a falling out due to the ending here. I certainly don't know all of the details but I did find the ending here to be the best thing about the movie, although one could argue the actual payoff is a tad bit of a cheat. The rest of the film isn't among Avery's best work but I think it's still a good film. Both Bugs and Willoughby work well together and there are plenty of funny scenes including the before mentioned ending as well as another scene where the dog thinks he has killed bugs.

The story is not exactly unfamiliar territory, and is occasionally predictable, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Heckling Hare and found it had a number of interest points. The animation is nice enough to look at, the backgrounds are audacious to watch especially, and the music is a lovely, rousing touch. One major point of interest are some very clever and hilarious sight gags, especially the lengthy fall down the cliff, and the dialogue is funny. Another point of interest is Tex Avery voicing the dog, I felt he did a very good job and his character was entertaining. But for me Bugs steals the show, arrogant and cunning, with excellent vocal work from Mel Blanc. Overall, hilarious and has a lot of interest, but not absolutely exceptional. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I noticed in the trivia that the studio head, Leon Schlessinger, didn't like the final joke in the cartoon and he edited it out...leaving the film with a missing ending. This apparently annoyed Tex Avery so much he soon left and went to work at MGM...which for us is a good thing as his MGM offerings were often amazingly zany and fun...better than his Looney Tunes films. I didn't notice a missing ending in the version I saw on HBO Max.

This is a funny and occasionally dark Bugs Bunny cartoon where he battles wits with a dog who is woefully stupid, Willoughby. Willoughby is trying to catch Bugs (much like Elmer) and again and again, the rabbit outsmarts him...which isn't all that difficult!

The cartoon is very funny and well made...and is well worth seeing.

After watching a bunch of 1950s Bugs Bunny cartoons, it was shock to see him in this early 1941 effort. He looks different, with a more oblong shaped head (glad they changed that) and the artwork looks different (no complaints in that department with the nice watercolors- type look). The next thing I noticed was Bugs' voice. Even though it was the same Mel Blanc doing Bugs, the voice was deeper. Frankly, it didn't right, probably because most of us aren't used to seeing him and hearing him like this.

The story is one that was shown many times afterward except hunter Elmer Fudd was playing the role that a dog did in here, namely going after Bugs and the latter outsmarting him at every turn. The two animals making faces at one another was good, as were a few other comedy bits involving Bugs' ears or the dog's tail.

Bugs' rhetorical question sums it up best: "Let's see; what can I do to this guy now?"

Overall, a fair effort. I think these were better-written in the '50s, and what's with all the kissing? That's overdone.