Fresh Hare

The much-discussed black-face ending is a non-sequitur, by its nature completely gratuitous. It is blurred out in a recent Digiview Public Domain version and an R - for Restricted? - appears in a box at the top left of the screen.

Other versions are available without the censorship. Or used to be.

Of its time and not a good gag but such meddling does not reflect well on the company. All it says to me is that these PD racketeers just want to market their wares to kiddies.

I'd cite this title as fairly strong evidence that Bugs is a gay character. Maybe someone with a bad conscience will censor the kissing, the sexualized power-games and the give-away silhouette in the snow. But who is the lady in this relationship? We are left guessing.

This is a Bugs Bunny cartoon with an old version of Elmer Fudd.

I was asking my family about the black and white minstrels, after reading reviews for this episode I wanted to know more about them. My family came to a decision that the black and white minstrels were more of a tribute to black people than an insult and it was only really in this day and age that they have been portrayed as politically incorrect. So why are so many people on here (including adults) saying that the black and white minstrels point at the end is racist?! It does not make any sense. Either my family has the wrong idea, or they have the wrong idea - and frankly, my familys' opinion is MY familys', so I will stick with theirs. :)

Anyhow, now that I've heaved that off my shoulders, this is one fun Bugs Bunny cartoon! There is nothing insulting in it at all (as far as I know) and it has a great deal of good jokes packed in! This episode is particularly funny. I also like Bugs Bunny and Elmer here, I wish they kept Elmer's animation like that (he is also smarter here than in his more well-known appearances).

I recommend this fun cartoon to anyone who likes old Bugs Bunny cartoons and does not mind anything too badly that is portrayed as politically incorrect nowadays. Enjoy "Fresh Hare"! :-)

In "Fresh Hare", an obese Elmer Fudd is a Mountie and out to get Bugs Bunny. Needless to say, Bugs isn't going to get trapped so easily. This is just one of many cartoons showing why the Looney Tunes outdid the Disney stuff easily. The scene where Bugs "drops" Elmer out of the service is enough to make anyone die laughing, as is the scene where they run through the ice. There is, however, one scene likely to make us nervous - and possibly doubt the whole cartoon - in the 21st century: at the end, they do a minstrel show, complete with black-face. But other than that, the whole thing's a hoot. Truly classic.

Like Michael Moore reminds us: Canada is the greatest place on Earth.

You know the quality is going to be above average when a cartoon starts with an big orchestral intro and a still picture to complement the titles. Bugs Bunny, looking slightly less cute than he would in later years (and still having to be content with his name under the titles) evades and tricks Elmer the Mountie at every turn. Back in these days Elmer was so overweight he had to wear a girdle. But if you look closely you can actually see him sweating off those pounds during the wild chase scenes.

In the forties the Warner Studios were still competing with Disney to produce the best looking animation around. It is obvious a lot of thought and care went into the backgrounds and character animation. Yet they still could not compare to the competition. However when it came to gags the Merry Melodies were unbeatable. There are probably more jokes crammed into these 7 minutes than in any 7 Disney cartoons of the same era. Only the final scene involving a black and white minstrel show feels a bit awkward nowadays, for we like to forget that these totally incorrect programmes ever existed. In fact it was not until the late Sixties that this type of shows was banned, about the same time the Merry Melodies ended their run.

7 out of 10

Most of this is vintage Bugs. Elmer is a mounty and there is a price on Bugs' head. Of course, there is never a chance that he will be brought in in a conventional way. Bugs torments our guy over and over. At the end, Bugs is ready to give up his freedom (and his life) to appease Elmer. Then comes a really offensive ending.