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Herr Meets Hare

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Wikipedia article




short, Bugs Bunny outwits Goering and Hitler.

'Herr Meets Hare' is a 1945 anti-Nazi 'Merrie Melodies' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on January 13, 1945, and features Bugs Bunny. This short, released not long before the collapse of the Third Reich, was the penultimate wartime themed cartoon from Warner Bros. ('Draftee Daffy' was the last) being released just under four months before Victory in Europe Day.

Plot



The cartoon opens with a faux Walter Winchell-like voice discussing the end of the Third Reich, saying that "Germany has been battered into a fare-thee-well", and musing about where the high leadership, and "Fatso" Gring in particular has gone. The scene soon cuts to the Black Forest, where Hermann Gringin bemedalled lederhosenis "soothing his jangled nerves" marching while on a hunt. Nearby, a furrow in the ground appears, with a hole at the end.

Bugs pops out of the hole, and sees no sign of the Black Forest on his map (variants of this scene would be used in later cartoons as the lead-in to the joke that Bugs, while tunneling underground, did indeed turn wrong somewhere in New Mexico, usually by not taking a left turn at Albuquerque. This cartoon is the first time Bugs says the popular catchphrase: "I KNEW I 'shoulda' (should have) made 'dat' (that) left 'toin' (turn) at 'Albakoikie' (Albuquerque)"). The other is Bugs asks Gring about the directions to Las Vegas, oblivious to his location. Gring is almost tricked into going to Las Vegas, but then quickly realizes, "Las Veegas? Why, there is no Las Veegas in Germany!" before he fires his musket at Bugs. Genuinely alarmed by his mistaken destination ("Joimany?! Yipe!"), Bugs hightails it. Gring chases after the rabbit, trying to suck Bugs out of his hole with his musket as a plunger.

A few chase gags go by in which Bugs insults the integrity of Gring's medals by bending one with his teeth. Suckered into bending one himself, Gring declares them ersatz and mumbles all sorts of anti-Hitler sentiments ("Oh, do I hate that Hitler swine, that phony fuehrer, that").Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 181182 Bugs masquerades as Adolf Hitler after smearing on some mud, and faces the surprised Gring. Gring disappears off-screen in a flash to change into his Nazi uniform adorned with all sorts of medals. After the usual Nazi salute, Bugs berates him in faux German as he rips all of the medals off Gring's uniform ("'Klooten-flooten-blooten-pooten-meirooten-tooten!'"), quickly followed by his belt. Gring "kisses" in reverence, saying, "Look! I kiss mein Fuehrer's hand. I kiss right in Der Fuehrer's face!'" (the joke being a popular near-contemporary song with this title composed by Oliver Wallace and the subject of a Disney animated short in 1943). Afterwards, Gring exclaims "Oh, Im a bad 'flooten-boy-glooten'!", a variant on Warner Bros. cartoons' frequently-cited Lou Costello-type catchphrase: "I'm a bad boy!".

Later, when the jig is up, Bugs rides in on a white horse, dressed as Brnhildefrom Wagnerian opera, to the tune of the "Pilgrims' Chorus" from 'Tannhuser'. Entranced, Gring responds by dressing up as Siegfried. The two dance and the music changes to 'Wiener Blut', before Bugs once again makes a fool of Gring and escapes (anticipating 'What's Opera, Doc?' co-starring Elmer Fudd).Goldmark (2005), pp. 143145.

Eventually, Gring gets a hawk to capture Bugs. Bugs, standing next to Gring asks, "Do you think he'll catch me, doc?" to which Gring replies, "Do I think he'll catch you? Why, he'll have you back here before you can say Schicklgruber." (Schicklgruber was the original surname of Hitler's father Alois.) Bugs runs off and jumps into his rabbit hole, but as he falls down the hole, the hawk, which imitates Jimmy Durante, catches Bugs in a bag, capturing him. Gring brings the bag to Hitler, who plays solitaire in front of a map depicting the decline of Fortress Europe. Gring identifies the captive in the bag as "Bugsenheimer Bunny" (as opposed to "Weisenheimer", or "wise guy") to 'Der Fuehrer'.During this final sequence, realistic hand prints are visible on a wall map. These prints represent a signature of background artist Robert Gribbroek, who is not credited in this cartoon. As Herr Hitler talks of the great rewards he is going to pile upon Gring for this act of heroism, he peeks inside the bag and is shocked ("Ach!! Himmel!"). Gring goes and looks inside the bag as well, to be shocked as well (again, "Ach!! Himmel!"). Out of the bag comes Bugs dressed as Joseph Stalincomplete with an enormous pipe and a large moustachestaring back at them. As the cartoon ends, Bugs glances back at the camera and asks, in a Russian accent: "Does your tobacco taste different lately?", citing an ad slogan of that era for the Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco manufactured by the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company.

Home media



*VHS, LaserDisc - 'Cartoon Moviestars': Bugs and Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons

*LaserDisc - 'The Golden Age of Looney Tunes', Vol. 3, Side 2: Bugs Bunny

*DVD - 'Hollywood Canteen'

*DVD - 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6', Disc 2

Analysis



The Lobby cards credits Leon Schlesinger as the producer of the short, however the short itself is under the Warner Bros. Cartoons name rather than crediting Schlesinger. However this can imply the short entered production prior to Schlesinger's departure from the studio.

Bugs dresses as Hitler to assert control over his German opponent. This is a repetition of a scene from 'Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips', in which Bugs dresses up as a Japanese general.Lerner (2010), p. 220

Daniel Goldmark cites the cartoon as a significant precursor to 'What's Opera, Doc?' (1957) and a source for its visual imagery. After running off, Bugs re-enters the scene dressed as Brnnhilde. The costume includes a blonde wig with braids and a Viking-style helmet. Bugs rides on a white horse, visually based on the Clydesdale horse. Musically, the scene is accompanied by the "Pilgrim's Chorus" from the 'Tannhuser' (1845).

In response, Hermann Gring changes clothes. His lederhosen is replaced by a long brown loincloth. He wears a horned-type Viking helmet. The horns grow in size as if erect, as he lustfully gazes at "Brnnhilde". The duo dances to the tune of two waltzes by Johann Strauss II: "Vienna Life" and "You and You", the latter originating in 'Die Fledermaus' (1874).

The entry of Bugs and his white horse into the scene is repeated in 'What's Opera, Doc?'. The dance with the male suitor is, however, changed from a slapstick-rendition of the waltz to a refined ballet. The motivation of the dancers also changes. Gring is "lost in the moment" and follows his partner's lead. In the latter, the dance is part of an artistic performance.

Both cartoons were written by Michael Maltese, which may account for the similarities. In the older short, the musical references were intended as a criticism of Germany, Richard Wagner serving as "a suitable musical backdrop". The second short makes Wagner and opera itself its targets.

Reception



Like other American animated cartoons, 'Herr Meets Hare' was available to German prisoners of war in the United States, some of whom did not like it; Hans Goebler said: "You saw Hermann Gring standing there full of decorations, then all of a sudden a rabbit showed up and took all the decorations off, and stuff like that. And we didn't care for that."Waters, Michael R., Mark Long, and William Dickens. 'Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearn'e. 2004, Texas A&M University Press. , page 27.

As with many of the World War IIthemed cartoons put out by the major studios, 'Herr Meets Hare' was placed under an unofficial ban from broadcast or video distribution by Warner Bros. and other rights-holders (including Turner Broadcasting and AOL Time Warner). In 2001, Cartoon Network had planned on showing each and every Bugs Bunny cartoon made so far as part of its yearly "June Bugs" festival. AOL Time Warner refused to allow the broadcast of 'Herr Meets Hare', on the grounds that the cartoon was offensive (by today's standards) as it dealt with the Nazis in a joking manner.

The cartoon saw limited broadcast on a special one-hour episode of 'ToonHeads' about cartoons from World War II. It has also appeared on Turner Classic Movies' 'Cartoon Alley' as recently as January 20, 2007.

In 2008, it was released to DVD on the set 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6'.

References





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