The Hare-Brained Hypnotist

Hare-Brained Hypnotist, The (1942)

*** (out of 4)

Nice short has Elmer Fudd trying to use hypnotism to capture Bugs Bunny but the plan backfires. Elmer does get some sweet justice when Bugs turns him into the rabbit and he finally gets to harass Bugs. This early Bugs Bunny short manages to have some pretty good laughs and I've always enjoyed the animation from this period. There are many good sequences but there's no doubt that the best one is at the end when Elmer thinks he's the rabbit and gets to mess around with Bugs by giving him some of his own medicine. The movie is a minor classic but there were certainly better shorts out there.

When dim-witted Elmer Fudd gets his hands on a book about hypnotism, we just know that it won't take long for his plan to backfire… what we didn't anticipate, however, is that it would subsequently backfire again in his favour. 'The Hare-Brained Hypnotist (1942)' was directed by Friz Freleng, and was released October 31, 1942. The cartoon is notable in that the animators have reverted back to the Elmer Fudd we're all accustomed to, after retiring the experimental rotund version that was last featured in 'Fresh Hare (1942).' It is also interesting in that, unlike the majority of Bugs' encounters with Fudd, the humiliation isn't all one-way traffic, and the pair actually find their traditional comedic roles to have been reversed due to the influence of the powerful hypnotism. The film ends with arrogant Bugs as the fall-guy, having been duped into the belief that he is a Douglas XB-19 experimental bomber aircraft ("I'm the B-19!"), promptly due at the airport to make his flight.

The characteristically-dim Fudd opens the cartoon on his usual hunting trip through the forest, though he's also found it necessary to read a new book at the same time. When he happens upon the secret to hypnotism, Fudd tests the technique on a ferocious bear, which is soon fluttering in the stratosphere with the presupposition of being a canary. Here, he decides, is his real opportunity to bamboozle the "pesky wabbit" once and for all. But, of course, Bugs proves himself to be more troublesome than his opponent had anticipated, and it isn't long before Fudd finds himself at the receiving end of a hypnotist's powerful glare. This is when director Friz Freleng turns the tables: after Fudd is ordered to act like a rabbit, he immediately hijacks Bugs' usual comedic niche, and the hapless rabbit, despite thinking himself the winner in this particular spate, is consistently out-witted by the stealthy wabbit known as Elmer Fudd. The cleverest Merrie Melodies are those that recognise the series' clichés and actively subvert them – 'The Hare-Brained Hypnotist' does this very well.

Elmer reads that one can hypnotize "dumb animals" so when he's out hunting one day (and reading the book at the same time), he comes across a bear. Lo and behold - it works! He puts the bear to sleep and has him float around like a canary. He then realizes this is his chance to finally capture the elusive Bugs Bunny.

However, Bugs, as well know, is anything but a "dumb animal," and turns the tables on dumb Mr. Fudd. By the way, does Elmer's laugh annoy anyone else out here? It annoys me. This is one guy I don't mind getting the short end of the stick when it comes to Bugs Bunny's mayhem. He's right on when he calls Elmer "a jerk" in this story.

The last third of this picture is excellent, however, when Elmer turns into a rabbit and asks Bugs, "What's up, doc?" He then drives Bugs crazy.

That's one thing about these cleverly-written cartoons; the smarter Bugs doesn't always prevail, as we see in here.

Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny find themselves as each other thanks to Elmer's faulty attempt to hypnotize Bugs. I found this cartoon to be clever and funny for the most part and the change between the personalities of the two main characters was interesting. I didn't really care for the ending as it just seemed that the powers that be told Friz to wrap it up to keep the length of the short to a lean 7 minutes even and it seemed like a non-ending more than anything else. But overall I did enjoy this one a lot. This animated short can be seen on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: B+

We've probably all been warned not to hypnotize people, as it could have a dangerous outcome. Well, after watching "The Hare-Brained Hypnotist", you just might want to hypnotize someone. This cartoon has Elmer Fudd trying to catch Bugs Bunny by hypnotizing him, only to have everything go a little haywire. I partly agree with a previous reviewer that the ending seemed like a little bit of a cop-out, but on the other hand, a cartoon couldn't really go on for too long or it would get tiresome.

So anyway, it may not be the best cartoon ever produced by the Friz Freleng crowd, but it's still very fun to watch. Ready to hypnotize anyone?