Knight-Mare Hare

Only in cartoons can you get a goofy set-up or premise like the following:

Bugs Bunny is out in the country sitting under a big hairdryer, as they used to have (maybe they still do, for all I know) at women's beauty salons? "Hey," says Bugs, "I just washed my ears and can't do a thing with them!"

Anyway, he's reading a big book called "Tales of Knighthood and Gallantry," when an acorn falls from the tree, clangs off the hairdryer and suddenly is transported back into the days of knights and castles. He wanders around in a daze when he's suddenly confronted with a huge knight on a horse with a lance stuck right into Bug's chest. "Uhhh, what's up, Duke?" asks our hero.

With that, we get introductions which are very funny, full of puns guaranteed to make you wince (I am "Sir Oh Of Kay, Sir Osis of the Liver, etc., etc.) Bugs, as usual, is not impressed nor scared and fires back a few one-liners at him. He names some of his friends: "Duke Of Ellington, Count of Basie, Earl Of Hines," etc. You get picture: this cartoon is full of wise cracks as only Bugs Bunny could deliver them!

There is nice artwork in here, too, not just silly gags. The drawings of the castle, surrounding area, the dragon, sorcerer and Merlin's wild house more are very colorful and look terrific on these "restored DVDs" put out by Warner Brothers.

Bugs Bunny is drying his hair while reading a book about knights. An apple falls on his head and he finds himself in the past. First, a knight confronts him. He challenges the knight. Despite the odds, his rabbit foot helps defeat the knight. Then comes the dragon. Finally, Bugs goes to see Merlin of Munro. Merlin uses Magic Powder on Bugs.

This is a great Bugs Bunny short. It is one from my memories and I love it. I love battling the knight. There is a nice rhythm to the comedy as the knight charges downhill. The dragon is a great classic gag. Merlin also does a great gag with repetitive undressing. I just love it.

Chuck Jones's 'Knight-mare Hare' is an oddly slow-moving parody of Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'. Beaned on the head by a falling apple, Bugs Bunny dreams that he is in the time of knights in shining armour. This promising set up gives way to a series of laboured exchanges. First there's a pun-filled discussion with a knight, then a tame gag with a dragon and finally a go-nowhere sequence involving Merlin, which proves to be the set up for one of the lamest final gags in cartoon history. A big problem with 'Knight-mare Hare' is Tedd Pierce's curiously lacklustre script but Jones directs the whole thing with an uncharacteristic lack of flair, making for a truly feeble cartoon experience. While I've always thought it a little overrated, Friz Freleng's Oscar winning 'Knighty Knight Bugs', which appeared a few years later, is a far better take on the Medieval Bugs scenario.

I am a huge fan of Looney Tunes, and I still enjoyed Knight-Mare Hare without being overly-enthusiastic with it. The only real problem with the cartoon was that I found it a little slow particularly at the start. Still the animation is terrific, not only with the characters but also the backgrounds and the castle, and the music is rousing and bombastic. The story is carefully constructed too, while the dialogue is irreverent and the sight gags and wisecracks very entertaining. I liked the ending too, it was a nice touch. Bugs is wonderful here, he has been better but he does make the most of the material he has and the supporting characters are fun particularly Merlin. And as always Mel Blanc is terrific with the vocals. Overall, entertaining, but not outstanding. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Long before the invention of the DVD, aye, even before every household had at least one VCR player, there was 8 mm film. Next to blank tapes for your own home movies you could buy selected bits from completed films, with or without sound (depending on the capabilities of your projector). My father used to buy films from the silent era and Loony Tunes. The very last one he got was called "La Magia", a 3 minuted black and white edit of "Knightmare Hare".

For some reason the editors deemed the exposition part unnecessary, so they removed the scene where Bugs Bunny gets knocked out by a falling apple while reading "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". They also skipped the part with the Black Knight, leaving "La Magia" to open with Bugs angrily talking to himself (no idea what he's saying) while wearing a robe. Then a Dragon who looks like a cross between "The Reluctant Dragon" and "Pete's Dragon" runs past.

After easily getting rid of the fire breather, Bugs enters a tower where (according to the mailbox) Merlin Monroe resides. Apparently there were many more puns uttered in this cartoon, but I have yet to hear them. Merlin looks like Witch Hazel's brother just escaped from the loony bin. He even has one of those little propeller caps that only little kids and total fruitcakes are allowed to wear. Beside the historical inaccurate garb, the dreamlike atmosphere is made even more apparent by the use of one dimensional checkered floors in Castle Monroe. Richard Williams' epic 30 year production "The Thief and the Cobbler" would make even greater and stranger use of this idea. Merlin decides to try out his Magic Powder on Bugsy, but POUF, the magic Bunny has some tricks of his own up his sleeve (and under his thumb).

Since they cut out the set up, the bit with Bugs waking up beneath the tree also had to go, and suddenly Mr. B is back in a robe for the usual did-he-or-didn't-he? coda. Although this was not the most enjoyable Loony Toon in our little home collection, being able to dissect 3 minutes of Warner animation by playing it at different speeds, in reverse and freeze frame made me appreciate the art of animation even more. Maybe somewhere in time I might find the complete version.

4 out of 10 (not a bad score for half a cartoon)

Update: finally having tracked down the complete version, it turns out I had not seen half of it. It turns out an apple fell on Bugs' hairdryer (he had 'just washed his ears' ) while reading "Tales of knighthood and gallantry" by Burton. This set up leads to a namedropping encounter with a knight, Sir O of K. Bugs is really out of his league in the physical department, being unable to lift his sword, but still manages to outwit Mel Blanc's English accented oaf. The encounter with the Dragon/Horney toad is a lot better with the sound effects, funnier too. Now that I know at last how Bugs figures out how to get back to the present (he uses another apple), I must revise my original rating and give this legendary caper

7 out of 10