False Hare

Though there are fans who dislike the Warner Brothers output from 1964 or thereabouts to 1969, I don't think it was all that bad. It certainly doesn't match the best of the heyday, but a lot of it was entertaining. This one was enjoyable, if not a true classic, but then, there were less than extraordinary shorts in the 1930s, '40s and '50s also. Bugs Bunny's retirement followed this (at least theatrically-like many stars of the silver screen, Bugs did television to keep himself in carrots) until 1990. You just can't keep a good hare down. Worth watching. Recommended.

In this short, Bugs Bunny again comes up against the big bad wolf and his nephew. The story is amusing and there are some definite laughs to be seen. Fog horn Leghorn even pops in for a cameo at the very end. The animation is also pretty good. Sadly, this was the final theatrically released Bugs Bunny short, at least until Box Office Bunny which came out in 1990.

A poor Bugs Bunny cartoon that has the notable distinctions of being the last Bugs short made during the classic era, the last Looney Tunes cartoon to use the familiar theme music, and the last one made by Warner Bros. before DePatie-Freleng took over production and quality, which had been dropping steadily in the '60s, took a nosedive. This short, directed by Robert McKimson, is a sequel of sorts to McKimson's "Now Hare This" from 1958. The Big Bad Wolf character from that cartoon returns here, along with his precocious nephew, to play a poor man's Sylvester & Sylvester, Jr. Only instead of Jr. egging his dad on to catch mice, it's the nephew egging his uncle on to catch Bugs. Pretty dumb and tired, these guys are near the bottom of the many foils Bugs had over the years. The animation is flat with dull colors and lifeless character designs and backgrounds. The sound effects are annoyingly loud. The score, courtesy of Bill Lava, is about on par with his usual output. That's not a compliment, by the way. There are no standout gags or lines in this. Whatever credit there is for a chuckle or two should go to Mel Blanc, whose voice work goes a long way to breathing life into this carcass. One final note is that, in addition to this being the final Bugs short of the classic era, it's also the last appearance of Foghorn Leghorn in the same era. He makes a cameo at the end.

False Hare is not a classic in my book, it did feel too short in the length, the nephew to me didn't have much of a purpose other than with his uncle's traps and there are times when the movements weren't completely in sync with the voices and music. However, the animation is decent with nice colours and backgrounds and the characters are appealing in look. Animation-wise the only big mistake I noticed was to do with the canon, where it didn't move at all yet somehow it still managed to make a hole in a different position. The music is lively and energetic, the dialogue witty and fresh and the story amusing and nicely paced. Bugs is great here, and Uncle Big Bad is more than a good foil for him. Once again, Mel Blanc's vocal characterisations are brilliant. Oh, and look out for a very brief cameo with Foghorn Leghorn at the end. All in all, this is an amusing and decent cartoon, not a classic, but hardly part of the dark era. 7/10 Bethany Cox