The Old Grey Hare

On this, what would have been Mel Blanc's 99th birthday, I wanted to talk about one of his many accomplishments as a voice artist. In the Termite Terrace crowd's first look into the future - preceding "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century" - the unseen God takes Elmer Fudd into the 21st century to see whether or not he can ever catch Bugs Bunny. I just found it neat to see what they expected the 21st century to look like. For example, Smellevision makes television obsolete (but Carl Stalling denies that it'll work). Surely we can forgive these various predictions for not envisioning the Internet or anything like that.

So, while the most important part may be the memory of the first time that Elmer chased Bugs when they were infants, my favorite part was seeing their joke prediction. So I consider "The Old Grey Hare" worth seeing. Available in the documentary "Bugs Bunny Superstar".

Smellevision. It sounds kind of like John Waters's use of Odorama in "Polyester".

Frustrated at never getting the rabbit, Elmer Fudd cries out to his God, who responds (much to Elmer's reply). God takes Elmer far into the future, to 2018 where Elmer is an old man chasing an old Bugs. With the new weaponry available, Elmer fatally wounds Bugs, sparking a trip down memory lane to when they were both children and the chase began.

Starting with the usual amusing play on words title, this short cartoon stutters a little early on. The focus on Fudd slows things down a little, an impact that is only slightly lessened by the arrival of an elderly Bugs Bunny. However when the short moves to the baby flashback, things pick up significantly and stay that way until the end. The baby stuff and the climax moves quicker and feels more enjoyable that the lengthy, flash-forward set up.

The animation is good and shows real care (lacking in some later cartoons) and the voice work is as superb as always. Seeing the baby Bugs being just as scheming and resourceful as his adult self is very funny.

Overall a good cartoon which suffers a little during the set-up scenes but then ends on a run of highs to leave a good impression.

I absolutely love The Old Grey Hare. While one or two parts do take a little too long to build up, this cartoon is still one of Bob Clampett's best, and when he is good, he is great. The animation is excellent. The colours are plentiful and very beautiful to look at, the backgrounds are both simple and imaginative and the character designs are convincing, particularly with Bugs. The music is energetic and rousing, exactly how I like it to be, with the use of the Light Calvary Overture nicely judged. Actually some of the gags work so well because of the music come to think of it, in particular the one with the tuba.

The concept here is an interesting one, when Elmer goes into the future and Bugs reminisces about babyhood. I was intrigued about how it would turn out, and it did turn out wonderfully. The story was well-paced more at the end than the beginning, carefully structured and maintained its freshness throughout. The Old Grey Hare also excelled in its humour, and I was surprised at how much there was for such a short running time. The sight gags are very funny, and the dialogue is witty and also has an element of cuteness without being too cloying. And the climax was both haunting and clever.

Elmer and Bugs work very well together. Elmer does have a persona of being dim-witted and somewhat naive, and while this persona is apparent what I liked especially about Elmer here was that the writers decided to give him a bit of pathos which gave a poignant air to the proceedings. Bugs as usual is great, rascally, smart, arrogant yet very likable and also here I thought he was quite cute especially as a baby. I can not write without mentioning Mel Blanc. He adds such a lot to these cartoons, and as always he is superb. Same with Arthur Q. Bryan, whose voice work makes Elmer even more endearing.

Overall, a wonderful cartoon, and one of Clampett's best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This one makes me laugh. True, it's not a Chuck Jones, who many consider the master of the genre, but it's right up there at the top.

Elmer Fudd is probably my favorite foil to bugs, and here he is brimming with pathos. His stutter is as prominent as his brow, and the script for this is astounding. Whomever wrote these little 'cartoons' hopefully moved on to great things, because they are better than most films made today! Well worth your time.

Amazing, Proustian Bugs Bunny, shot through with a twisted pathos. The film opens with the melancholy sight of a bawling Elmer Fudd, exasperated, as many men become, at the repetitive futility of his life. His needs are simple, he just wants to kill one rabbit; get that, if I may carelessly mix my metaphors, bugbear out of the way, and he can get on with his life. This is the eternal dilemma of the human race, the hopeless pursuit of that one object, which, if fulfilled, would bring ultimate content. It is an anxiety that is properly metaphysical, and, sure enough, God intrudes to comfort a despairing Elmer.

God takes him to the future. The brilliant thing about this future is that it is this year, 2000. We can literally connect with an ancient cartoon! So the millenarians are right - Bugs will finally get his reckoning. Once the object of desire has been achieved, the world can only end - what else is there? Latterday Elmer is a wrinkly crone, wheezing and whinging rather sympathetically, as he fondles the Buck Rogers zapper that will finally do in his prey.

Bugs himself, of course, has aged too, and a Bugs without mental and physical agility is no Bugs at all. He can't even say 'What's up doc?' He tries the old moves, but is full of arthritic creaks and is easily nabbed. The law of all Looney Toons, from Roadrunner to Tweetie, is irrevocably destroyed, the elusive prey is felled, the forces of might are right.

The lachrymose outcome of this scenario floods the screen, as Elmer and Bugs tragically realise that they are both of the same entity, maybe even the same person - one can't live without the other. In a lovely sequence, Bugs harks back to their youth which initiated the endless circle of chasing and taunting, never quite reaching consummation.

This is a lovely short with an explosive, subversive twist. If director Clampett never reaches the artsitic wonder of Chuck Jones' 'Hair Raising Hare', he has excellent pacing, and his futurising the old Western landscapes is a hoot.