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Mad as a Mars Hare
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Wikipedia article
'Mad as a Mars Hare' is a 1963 Warner Bros. 'Merrie Melodies' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble. The short was released on October 19, 1963, and stars Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian. The cartoon's title is a play-on-words of the famous phrase to be "mad as a March hare", the origins of which are disputed. This is Marvin's final appearance in the Looney Tunes shorts during the Golden Age of American Animation.
Plot
This cartoon begins with Marvin the Martian observing the planet Earth from Mars through a telescope. He is examining a rocket launch that is taking place. As he watches, the rocket takes off from Earth and soon appears to be heading straight towards him. Indeed, the rocket plows right through his observatory and once a shaken Marvin gets himself up, he says to the audience "I'm not angry, just terribly, terribly hurt!"
Soon enough, the rocket lands on Mars, and a reluctant Bugs Bunny exits it. It is quickly evident that he is the only occupant and he has been lured onto the rocket and then sent to Mars as what Earth considered an expendable astro-rabbit. With his successful landing, Bugs inadvertently claims Mars (via a metal carrot with a flag inside which plays 'Yankee Doodle') in the name of the Earth. However, Marvin does not agree with this and decides that he will not allow Bugs to take his planet away from him. After a failed attempt to disintegrate the rabbit via disintegrating pistol, which resulte in Marvin getting disintegrated himself and going off to be re-integrated, Marvin gets a Time-Space Gun and intends to project Bugs forward into time so he can use him as a useful but harmless slave.
However, when Marvin zaps Bugs, he realizes too late that he had the gun in reverse, so Bugs is reverted into a huge and muscular Neanderthal rabbit, who immediately grabs Marvin and crushes him with just one hand. Marvin goes off to be regenerated again, while saying: "Well, back to the old electronic brain!" (a possible reference to 'Hare-Way to the Stars'). Bugs then comments to the audience about how when he gets back to Earth, Elmer Fudd and the rest of the hunters are due for a surprise, before eating the metal carrot.
Crew
*Co-Director & Layouts: Maurice Noble
*Story: John Dunn
*Animation: Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Bob Bransford & Tom Ray
*Backgrounds: Bob Singer
*Effects Animation: Harry Love
*Film Editor: Treg Brown
*Voice Characterizations: Mel Blanc
*Music: Bill Lava
*Produced by David H. DePatie
*Directed by Chuck Jones
Home media
"'Mad as a Mars Hare'" is available on the 'Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinare' DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen. It is also being shown fully screened on the 'Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1' Blu-ray box-set. It later became available on the DVD edition of the collection.
References
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