Water, Water Every Hare

Water, Water Every Hare (1952)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A great imagination is really what pushes this Looney Tunes short into the classic territory. A flood forces Bugs Bunny out of his hole when he ends up in a strange castle where a deranged scientist puts Rudolph, a red headed monster onto him. This is one of the more famous shorts in the series and it's easy to see why because of the brains known as Chuck Jones. Not only is his animation of Rudolph, the scientist and the robot monster all perfect but he also does plenty of small things that many might not notice. One of my favorite moments is when the hole is flooded and Bugs gets up to get a drink of water. While walking back the top of his ears are outside the water and while many might not see the comedy here I see it as a small, magical moment by Jones. There are plenty of laughs from start to finish as Bugs is in classic shape and he's got two great villains to work with.

Water Water Every Hare is a great Looney Tunes cartoon, helped by chiefly the beautiful artwork, the voice work and the script.

The story I do think is the weakest element here. Don't get me wrong, it is great and compelling enough, but everything else was even stronger.

The artwork is a thing of true beauty. You can never go wrong with beautiful backgrounds and sharp character features and this cartoon succeeded in both areas.

The music is also beautiful. Featured is the Raindrop Prelude by Frederic Chopin, and you know what, it works orchestrated. It gives a somewhat lyrical feel to it.

The script is fine, Bugs has some very snappy lines and the Evil Scientist is really sinister with his appearance, lines and especially his voice. The monster is hideous at first, but really is quite cute.

The voices are perfect. Mel Blanc excels as always, and John T Smith does a superb job as the evil scientist. All in all, excellent cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Chuck Jones's 'Water, Water Every Hare' is significantly better than its truly dreadful title. Pitting Bugs against a bulbously headed green faced scientist and his furry orange, sneaker wearing monster (later dubbed Gossamer but here referred to as Rudolph), 'Water, Water Every Hare' features some breathtaking visuals in the opening minutes. His home beset by flooding, an oblivious, soundly-sleeping Bugs is washed away on his mattress. This sequence is glorious to behold with its flowing water and cascading waterfall. Ultimately, this watery subplot plays only a small part in the cartoon, making the dreadful title even more unforgivable. Most of the action takes place inside the castle. The most famous sequence is the hairdressing scene in which Bugs assumes the role of a camp beautician spouting a monologue about all the "inter-resting" monsters he's met (this is actually a rehash of a similar routine in the previous Gossamer cartoon 'Hair-Raising Hare'). Far more memorable, however, is the climactic chase scene in which Bugs and the green faced scientist are both under the influence of ether and bound across the screen in slow motion. It's an appropriately striking climax to a particularly handsome and dreamlike cartoon which proves to be inventive and entertaining in equal measures. A lesser talked-about classic, no less.

Bugs sleeps through a flood and is washed out of his Rabbit hole, down the river and floats by a spooky old castle. Unfortunately for him, said castle is the, not so subtle, residence of a mad scientist who needs a brain to put in his new robot. He chooses Bugs as that brain, but Bugs is having none of it.

His escape is made difficult by the unleashing of that big, orange furball thing. How cute is it really? Bugs pretends to be a camp hairdresser and fancy up Things hair. But uses sticks of TNT instead of curlers. Mere seconds later Thing has quit after Bugs shrinks him down to the size of a mouse using a magic potion.

After breaking a ether potion both Bugs and the Mad Scientist go on a trippy chase that results in Bugs falling asleep and being washed away in the river again. He wakes up in his hole believing it all to be a dream.

But the little Thing sez otherwise.

An above average Bugs cartoon with the always lovable Thing.

Bugs Bunny is whisked away via his bed to a mad scientist's castle when his rabbit hole is flooded in the great Chuck Jones directed and Michael Maltese penned Looney Tunes short. As a kid, i loved watching 'that VERY hairy monster' and still get a kick out of him as an adult. This is one of my favorites.

On a side note: I'm writing these reviews as I rewatch each tune as they're ordered on the 'Golden Collection' set. So after "What's up Doc?" and "Rabbit's Kin" I was VERY glad that I didn't have to sit through another Robert McKimson directed short. Don't get me wrong I'll ALWAYS be grateful that he created Taz and Foghorn, I just dont care for alot of his Bugs cartoons.This cartoon is the eighth Looney Tune short on Disk 1 of the 'Loony Tunes Golden Collection'

My Grade: A+