To Hare Is Human

In 'To Hare Is Human' we see a talking Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Bugs Bunny (both with the voice of Mel Blanc). The Coyote uses an elevator to go down in the rabbits hole, is actually able to catch Bugs but then he spoils it by explaining to Bugs who he is: Wile E. Coyote, Genius. After this Coyote invents a Univac Electric Brain that must help him to catch Bugs, but of course things do not go as planned.

This is a nice cartoon. I like the talking Coyote although his silent one, from the Road Runner cartoons, is probably more fun. There are some good gags here. Especially the one where the Coyote asks his machine what to do next and the machine sends him to the real purpose of the Coyote in every cartoon is a great one. Recommended.

Sort of a sequel to "Operation: Rabbit", Chuck Jones's "To Hare Is Human" once again has an eloquent Wile E. Coyote trying to trap Bugs Bunny. Needless to say, Bugs always avoids harm, and WEC gets harmed in the process. But even more than that is how this cartoon represents what the baby boom generation grew up with. Bugs vacuums his rabbit hole with his ears tied up like a 1950s housewife, and he even owns a womb chair! Imagine that: Bugs Bunny as Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore's character on "The Dick Van Dyke Show")! Not to mention that the Univac sounds like a 1950s product, and looks like an early computer.

But maybe I'm reading too far into the cartoon. It was probably intended as pure entertainment, and it entertains. Worth seeing.

Chuck Jones's 'To Hare is Human' is an expansion on 'Operation: Rabbit', a cartoon that pitted Bugs Bunny against a vocal version of Wile E. Coyote. I was never fond of 'Operation: Rabbit', partly because I wasn't keen on a talking version of the Coyote, but since this version of the character already existed, there was no harm in making a sequel. As it transpire, 'To Hare is Human' is actually a very funny short. By this point, the Road Runner series was well established and Jones had more to lose by pushing forward with this alternative version of the Coyote but, happily, it pays off this time round. Michael Maltese's script is a great improvement on 'Operation: Rabbit', beginning with a very clever sequence in which the Coyote deconstructs what we expect of Bugs's usual adversaries. This witty sequence segues into a series of often hilarious, brilliantly executed gags, all of which are tied together by scenes in which the Coyote consults a huge machine as to how he should approach catching Bugs. The ending is a predictable variation on the climax to several Road Runner cartoons but this disappointing finale is not enough to diminish the quality of the rest of the film. While there will always be a part of me that wishes Jones had never given the Coyote a voice, 'To Hare is Human' is the best argument against this viewpoint.

Wile E. Coyote introduces himself as a genius and captures Bugs Bunny in a bag. Of course, Bugs manages to escape. So Wile E. Coyote unpacks the UNIVAC electronic brain. He consults the UNIVAC as each situation arises to capture the rabbit.

The UNIVAC is a funny idea, but I would like it to stop coming back. Mostly, I don't want to read. It disrupts the flow with these little card stops. After the first incident, I want Wile E. Coyote to smash the machine. Otherwise, I do like this for the most part. I love the banana peel. Who doesn't? Everybody love a banana peel gag. I just don't want to read.

As another reviewer mentioned, "To Hare is Human" is a curious title. We have two characters, and neither of them is human. I must have seen Operation Rabbit at least a hundred times, over the years. I don't remember ever seeing To Hare is Human, or even being aware that was more than one cartoon with Bugs Bunny and the Coyote together. That's not hard to understand. The latter cartoon is part of a Bugs Bunny compilation DVD. It's definitely a curio, but not nearly on par with Operation Rabbit. Very routine hijinks, ultimately underwhelming. The beginning of the cartoon features what might have been some kind of goof. The Coyote introduces himself to Bugs Bunny, almost identically to the scene in Operation Rabbit. The first cartoon came four years earlier, but these two characters had already met. Overall, a mediocre cartoon. Nothing happens that you're likely to remember for longer than a minute.