To Hare Is Human

This is one of the shorts pitting Wile E. Coyote (Super Genius) against Bugs. In these, the old fellow talks, whereas, with the Road Runner, he's silent. Bugs is quite manic here. Not as off the wall as in Rabbit's Feat, but close. Best bits are Bugs bopping to "Sweet Georgia Brown" and the computer gags at the end. Well worth watching. Most recommended.

Taking time out from his fruitless pursuit of the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote tries to nab Bugs Bunny. He introduces himself with a card that reads "Have Brain, Will Travel." And yes, this is one of the cartoons where Wile E. Coyote (or "Coyotay") talks. Of course, Bugs proves to be too much for Wile E. to handle. So the coyote builds a Univac Electronic Brain from a do-it-yourself kit. It's a super computer and he consults it on the best way to capture Bugs. There's a fun little twist to this but, suffice it to say, Wile E. is screwed . It's a fun Chuck Jones cartoon with colorful animation and some creative gags. Love the Univac. Great voicework from Mel Blanc, as usual. Wile E. Coyote is a fun adversary for Bugs in the few shorts they did together.

As another reviewer mentioned, "To Hare is Human" is a curious title. We have two characters, and neither of them is human. I must have seen Operation Rabbit at least a hundred times, over the years. I don't remember ever seeing To Hare is Human, or even being aware that was more than one cartoon with Bugs Bunny and the Coyote together. That's not hard to understand. The latter cartoon is part of a Bugs Bunny compilation DVD. It's definitely a curio, but not nearly on par with Operation Rabbit. Very routine hijinks, ultimately underwhelming. The beginning of the cartoon features what might have been some kind of goof. The Coyote introduces himself to Bugs Bunny, almost identically to the scene in Operation Rabbit. The first cartoon came four years earlier, but these two characters had already met. Overall, a mediocre cartoon. Nothing happens that you're likely to remember for longer than a minute.

Sort of a sequel to "Operation: Rabbit", Chuck Jones's "To Hare Is Human" once again has an eloquent Wile E. Coyote trying to trap Bugs Bunny. Needless to say, Bugs always avoids harm, and WEC gets harmed in the process. But even more than that is how this cartoon represents what the baby boom generation grew up with. Bugs vacuums his rabbit hole with his ears tied up like a 1950s housewife, and he even owns a womb chair! Imagine that: Bugs Bunny as Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore's character on "The Dick Van Dyke Show")! Not to mention that the Univac sounds like a 1950s product, and looks like an early computer.

But maybe I'm reading too far into the cartoon. It was probably intended as pure entertainment, and it entertains. Worth seeing.

In 'To Hare Is Human' we see a talking Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Bugs Bunny (both with the voice of Mel Blanc). The Coyote uses an elevator to go down in the rabbits hole, is actually able to catch Bugs but then he spoils it by explaining to Bugs who he is: Wile E. Coyote, Genius. After this Coyote invents a Univac Electric Brain that must help him to catch Bugs, but of course things do not go as planned.

This is a nice cartoon. I like the talking Coyote although his silent one, from the Road Runner cartoons, is probably more fun. There are some good gags here. Especially the one where the Coyote asks his machine what to do next and the machine sends him to the real purpose of the Coyote in every cartoon is a great one. Recommended.