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"Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" is Bugs Bunny's first film directed by Friz Freleng, and it's a wonderful sample of what Freleng would have in store for Bugs for the next 23 years.

Freleng already starts throwing a curveball into the standard Bugs formula by inserting Bugs into the story of Little Hiawatha. While there is not much difference in intelligence between Hiawatha and, say, Elmer Fudd, Freleng does a great job at making the new character look funny (particularly in Hiawatha's run, which causes him to trip over himself often).

Freleng also introduces a new traditional Bugs joke...having the wabbit climb into a boiling pot thinking it's a bathtub. This little sequence alone is also fun to watch, including the little puff of relaxing steam that comes out of Bugs' mouth once he gets both feet inside.

And although Bugs acts more confident in this picture than he has in the recent past, even he is not safe from foolish mistakes. At the end of one scene Bugs leaps into the air, intending to land into a rabbit hole, but just misses and smacks his head on the ground. He sheepishly crawls into the hole, looking apologetically at the audience. How can you not like this character??

Sadly, this cartoon is not seen often because it deals with a Native American character. But if you get the chance somehow, do sit down and watch this cartoon. It's one of the early Bugs' best.

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.

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.

This is the ninth Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941 I'm reviewing on this site, having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Boy of Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas, Jack King's Truant Officer Donald, Dave Fleischer's Superman, and Paul Fennell's How War Came. In this one Bugs Bunny is reading a poem about Indian (or Native American) Hiawatha rowing his boat searching for a forest rabbit before realizing he's such a creature and Hiawatha finds him! In other words, it's another version of Elmer Fudd. Many funny gags abound courtesy of writer Michael Maltese with mostly excellent direction (or "supervision" as the credit was at the time) from Friz Freleng who was credited as I. (for Isadore) Freleng during this period. This was his first Bugs cartoon. It was also the second one nominated for the Academy Award of which the first was Bugs' debut in A Wild Hare. I'm not sure it was that good but hey, it's entertaining enough. Only one more nominated cartoon to go and it's the one that won...

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.

This comes on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of The Maltese Falcon, as part of the Warner Night at the Movies portion. Back then, they would show films with stuff like this(remember, no one had TV's at this time). Bugs looks odd, not the look we know for him... he sounds exactly the way we're used to, though. I should perhaps say that I'm not really a fan of these. They didn't particularly amuse me when I was a kid, and I've only become less into cartoony violence(or any other kind of it where it's meant to be funny). I've never heard of Hiawatha, but I'll wager a guess that he's a historical(or legendary) figure. Given when it was made, it's no surprise that this is racially insensitive to Native Americans. The animation is great, no complaints there, it doesn't feel like any corners were cut and there are a couple of very nice visuals. This syncs up to the music used here and there, and the timing is good on the mild slapstick. There is a routine or two that you've heard of(even if you haven't watched one of these; they're part of pop culture, and at least one has been seen in another of these shorts), and the jokes and gags are reasonable, if this comes to a close so abruptly that you can tell they merely ran out of material. This keeps to a fine pace, if there could be more laughs for 8 minutes of running time. I recommend this to fans of the intrepid rabbit. 6/10

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.

I have loved Looney Tunes since childhood, and to this day I really like, love even, a vast majority of the cartoons. Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is not one of the best, nor is it one of my least favourites. The story is on the routine side, and there are stereotypes that are far from subtle that you can understand why some will be offended. These aside, there are many reasons to like about Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt. The animation is just great, with lots of colour and fluidity. The character designs are also well done, though I do prefer Bugs' look later on. The music is lively and beautifully orchestrated, bringing an infectious energetic flavour to the proceedings. The cartoon is crisply paced, has some witty dialogue and some clever gags such as Bugs climbing into the boiling pot mistaking it for a bathtub, very Bugs Bunny behaviour but you love him for it. The scenes on the river and the poetic beginning and end are delightful too. Bugs is great here, smart, arrogant and still likable. I do like that when he does make mistakes and I think he makes at least one in every cartoon he's made while perhaps not learning from them he at least realises he makes them. Mel Blanc's voice work is impeccable, no surprises there. Overall, not one of Freleng's(a promising start by the way) and Bugs' very best but an interesting and enjoyable cartoon regardless of whether it was banned or not. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.