The Hasty Hare

This is one of quite a few cartoons with Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian - and a space dog called K-9 is included as well. This Looney Tunes episode is very funny, has reasonably good cartoon animation (Marvin's animation is very well done) and the plot is well done. The end is rather weird, so be prepared for it, it is slightly boring.

In this episode, Marvin the Martian has been sent to earth to capture an earth creature and bring it back to Mars. With his trusty dog K-9, Marvin sets out and soon finds the tracks of no other rabbit but Bugs Bunny! He greets them with treats, thinking they are trick or treaters in their costumes. Little does he realise they are preparing themselves to take this rabbit to Mars...

I recommend this episode to anyone who likes Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian and Looney Tunes in general. As far as the beginning and the middle of the episode are concerned, you are likely to like this. Enjoy "Hasty Hare"! :-)

Marvin the Martian comes to Earth and attempts to bring Bugs back to Mars with him. Doesn't work so well. Marvin's hilarious so you know you have to watch just for him. He has a little dog called K-9 that's also good for some laughs. Bugs is a hoot as usual. Brilliant voice work from Mel Blanc. Great music from Carl Stalling (and great use of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse"). The animation is beautiful with rich colors and well-drawn characters and backgrounds. Love the outer space scenes. The gags and lines are funny. The climax of the short is wonderful. Another winner from Chuck Jones. Only question I have is why did they insist on using titles that made no mention or pun or anything of the Martian angle of the story? They did this in Marvin's first short, Haredevil Hare, and again here. It has no bearing on the quality of the cartoon just an odd thing I have noticed and wondered if there was some specific reason they refrained from mentioning the Martian aspect in the titles back then.

Part of what was so great about the classic Looney Tunes cartoons was their irreverence and how they weren't afraid to do anything that they wanted. In this case, Marvin the Martian has an assignment to bring back an earthling. Sure enough, he comes across Bugs Bunny, who warns of a mutiny on the part of Marvin's dog. After Marvin finally traps Bugs - by means of an Acme strait jacket-ejecting bazooka! - Bugs has more stuff planned for the voyage back to Mars. What I mean is, if you thought that it was a major change in the Solar System when they stripped Pluto of its planet status, then you ain't seen nothing yet! Yes, "The Hasty Hare" goes all out. How they buy Acme products in outer space is probably beyond most people, but the point here - I mean "hare" - is to have fun. And believe me, you definitely will. After all, a little space-out never hurt anyone.

I love Looney Tunes, I love Bugs Bunny and I love Marvin the Martian, so this was a sheer delight. If I had a minor quibble, it would be the ending wasn't as strong as the rest of the cartoon, but The Hasty Hare is still hugely enjoyable. The animation is simply terrific, particularly the colourful backgrounds and on Marvin. The music is rousing, the dialogue is razor sharp, the gags all work and are delivered thick and fast, the pacing is spot on and the story is a nice one to work from. Bugs is the star of the show, but Marvin is superb and the dog is funny and a relevant character too. To top it all, Mel Blanc's vocals are brilliant. Overall, delightful. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

Marvin the Martian is dispatched to Earth by General MC Squared to capture and return to Mars with a specimen of life from Earth. After much trickery, Marvin and K9 manage to get Bugs onto their spaceship and set out for Mars.

This cartoon starts out with the familiar opening of an alien craft coming to Earth to capture a specimen creature - it has been done several times in other cartoons, but it is not to the detriment of this cartoon. The alien here is Marvin with his sidekick K9 (a green dog) and the creature they pick is Bugs Bunny. The film starts really well and is great for the first half with Bugs and Marvin trading blows and Bugs being his typically tricky self. However, in the final stages it isn't quite as good and relies on other factors other than bugs for laughs - a mistake. The ending is weak which was a surprise as it started so well.

Marvin is good here, well animated and has some good dialogue. His dog K9 is also pretty funny even if it just looks like WB sidestepped Disney's legal challenges by simply painting their Pluto clone green! Bugs is the star of course and he works really well for the most part; it says a lot that the cartoon dips a bit when it takes the focus off him towards the end.

Overall this is an enjoyable cartoon but it performs best up front and begins to run out of steam in the final stages. Still worth watching but it needed a better conclusion that it got.