Tortoise Beats Hare

Aesop's fable gets brought to life in the first pairing of Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle. I guess that you could say that Bugs Bunny has a tendency to let his ego get in the way of everything, especially since Cecil has friends in high - and low - places. A previous reviewer said that Tex Avery helped bring Bugs to his fullest potential here. I don't know whether I fully agree with that, but there's no doubt that Avery (or, as Bugs pronounces it: a-vary) had some neat ideas.

Anyway, the title explains how it ends. Some scenes in "Tortoise Beats Hare" were shown in the sequel "Tortoise Wins by a Hare". I suppose that no matter what happens, that'll never be all, folks. At least not for the Looney Tunes.

Of all the early appearances by Bugs Bunny, "Tortoise Beats Hare" might just be the best. The story is so good that it was reworked in the studio's later cartoons.

The cartoon features a great character, Cecil the Turtle. In some ways, his slow delivery sounds like MGM's Droopy...but unlike Droopy, he's a bit of a jerk!

The story begins with Bugs walking across the screen and seeing the credits. When he sees that the tortoise beats the hare, he's incensed and demands a rematch. The tortoise, with a lot of help and cheating, manages to once again upstage the rabbit.

The way the characters break the fourth wall is very funny...and very typical of many of the Tex Avery directed cartoons. It's well animated, fun and among the studio's best.

Right away, we some innovation in this early Bugs Bunny cartoon as Bugs reads - with his mouth full - the opening credits, mispronouncing the names! That was very funny. He gets angry when he sees the title of this 'toon, so he rips off the credits and the scenery is behind it, beginning the story.

Bugs goes looking for "the stupe," meaning Cecil Turtle. (Bugs went on to race Cecil two other times in future cartoons.) Although it's longtime voice man Mel Blanc, Bugs' voice sounds a bit lower and with slightly more of a Brooklyn accent. He also is taller, has bigger ears and a more oblong-shaped head.

Bugs bets Cecil ten bucks he can beat him in a race, and we go from there with the normal cocky Bugs sarcastically calling him opponent "Seabiscuit" and the normal ending. How they got there, though, was fun to watch as Cecil gets his buddies to play mind games on Bugs.

Once again, kudos to the restoration team on these Looney Tunes Golden Collection discs that made this cartoon, which 66 years old, look fantastic. The scenery and the colors are amazing.

All of the Bugs vs. Cecil cartoons are extremely good, while Rabbit Transit was the one that introduced me to that lovable turtle Cecil(despite the fact this is the actual cartoon that introduces him), Tortoise Wins by a Hare is my personal favourite. From the title, you may already know how Tortoise Beats Hare ends, but the cartoon begins brilliantly and originally while the final gag is actually amusing. The story is well done, the animation is excellent(even if Bugs looks a little different having longer ears for example), the music is rousing and bouncy, the dialogue is witty and sharp and the sight gags are a real joy. Not to mention Bugs and Cecil having a great time together and individually, and Mel Blanc's vocals are superb. Overall, delightful. 9/10 Bethany Cox

After Bugs' disastrous second outing, "Elmer's Pet Rabbit," to a point it's nice to see him back with his creative father Tex Avery. However, Tex seems to have forgotten what he did in his first Bugs cartoon to make him successful.

In this cartoon, which (and hopefully this isn't spoiling the should-be-obvious plot to anyone) concerns Bugs racing against the slow yet shifty Cecil Turtle, Bugs has changed roles. He is no longer the heckler but the heckled, constantly being outwitted by Cecil at every turn.

Perhaps Avery likes the idea of the littler, thought-to-be weaker guy being the wiseacre, regardless of the situation. Sadly, it just doesn't work here as far as sheer character. Of course the gags are hilarious, but Cecil is definitely and knowingly rotten. He makes asides to the camera affirming his cockiness, something Bugs didn't do in "A Wild Hare." In that film, the prey was heckling the hunter for private humiliation, whereas in this one the "prey" is confiding in the audience that he's humiliating his opponent for their benefit. It comes off as a little seedy, so one starts to even root for Bugs to win (even though his arrogance caused the situation in the first place).

But at this point Avery, like Chuck Jones before him, is still getting to know his new character and is still figuring out that the jokes work best when Bugs is pulling them on others. Both Tex and Bugs fortunately succeed soon in the future.