Mississippi Hare

Mississippi Hare is not one of the greatest Looney Tunes cartoons, and Chuck Jones has done better and perhaps been more original. The story is rather predictable, Bugs disguising himself as a woman(southern belle here) has been seen many times though here it's still pretty amusing. However it didn't and doesn't deserve to be banned, the opening scene is stereotypical in a sense but as far as I'm concerned it wasn't racist(believe it or not black people did actually pick cotton). Much makes up for the story's predictability, for one thing it's always crisply paced and doesn't come across as dull. It's beautifully animated, bright and colourful with very well-rendered backgrounds and character designs. Carl Stalling's music is perfectly in sync with the action and is very characterful, the way the music is orchestrated also still impresses. The dialogue still maintains the freshness and wit you expect from Looney Tunes- who doesn't love the ending line?- while the gags are similarly funny, strictly speaking the one with Colonel Shuffle setting fire to his pants is hilarious. Bugs is still cunning and likable as well as smart and arrogant, while Colonel Shuffle is a fun foil, like the southern answer to Yosemite Sam. Mel Blanc's vocals are still nigh-on perfect, likewise with Billy Bletcher. Overall, fun, witty, well-voiced and beautifully animated and scored if a little predictable that was/is undeservedly banned. 8/10 Bethany Cox

While I can agree that many of the cartoons that Warner Brothers pulled from circulation were quite racist, I think they made a big mistake in the case of "Mississippi Hare". First, I doubt if many people would in any way consider it racist--and I don't think we should always cater to those who the easily offended. Second, it is a pretty good cartoon and it's a shame to ban it (officially or unofficially).

The film is set in what appears to be the antebellum South. It begins with a black worker picking cotton and accidentally dropping Bugs Bunny into a hopper that then transfers him to a river boat. What, exactly, is racist about this? In those days and after, a huge majority of people working in the cotton fields WERE black Americans. Should they have made them white or green so as not to offend?! Plus, the person is just a person--no stereotypical facial features (or ANY) are seen--just a brown-skinned arm. My attitude about this is just get over it--it IS a part of our history, like it or not! As for what happens next, Bugs has a run in with Colonel Shuffle--a gambler who is angry Bugs beat him so badly at poker (or course, Bugs having six Aces might also have something to do with it). During the rest of the film, Bugs does he did best with Elmer or Yosimite Sam--he terrorizes the victim repeatedly for our viewing pleasure. It's all pretty funny--particularly the final line. My advice is to download it from archive.org--you're bound to enjoy it.

Mississippi Hare is one of the many Bugs Bunny shorts that been censored or banned.

Takes place on a Steamboat in the Mississippi River.

Bugs Bunny ended up on the Steamboat after he got in the cotton mill and stored with the other cotton. To avoid getting kicked out of the boat. He disguised himself as a rich guy and able to blend in with the crowd.

He find the gambling room with a Colonel dude who never loses. He challenges him for a game of poker for 100 dollars worth. After Bugs beat-ed the Colonel, the Colonel gets mad and threw out the whole cartoon the Colonel wanted to get even with Bugs.

This short is good. I don't think it deserves to be titled as a banned cartoon. Reason why it was banned is because it had black people picking cotton as a parody to slavery. And a part with the Colonel's face darken after a cigar explosion.

I'm not black so I didn't find this cartoon to be offensive. It doesn't seem too racist either. But everyone would have their own opion on this cartoon. I don't know if it'll ever get released on a collection of Banned Looney Tunes. At the moment you're able to see off of internet searches.

One of the better Bugs shorts, although not seen much today due to its depiction of blacks picking cotton and parodies of Uncle Tom's Cabin. If you can forgive those misgivings, then this is a definite must see short. Bugs takes on a Mississippi Colonel on a riverboat.

Chuck Jones's 'Mississippi Hare' is a fun cartoon which never quite rises above merely good. Although it looks lovely (never more so than in its controversial opening scenes of the cotton fields), 'Mississippi Hare' feels like Jones's attempt to emulate Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny/Yosemite Sam cartoons by way of a thinly veiled Southern version of Sam named Colonel Shuffle. This makes 'Mississippi Hare' seem like an unnecessary foray into imitation by one of the most inventive film makers of all time. Nevertheless, 'Mississippi Hare' moves at a fair lick and features some great gags amongst its more predictable moments. It doesn't scale the heights of Freleng's best Bugs and Sam cartoons but 'Mississippi Hare' is a fun, entertaining short nevertheless.