Herr Meets Hare
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| Herr Meets Hare | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card. | |
| Production company | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | January 13, 1945 |
| Run time | 7:15 |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Producer(s) | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Music composed by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Animation | Gerry Chiniquy |
| Director(s) | I. Freleng |
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Herr Meets Hare is the two hundred and forty-fourth short in the Merrie Melodies theatrical series. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on January 13, 1945. It was written by Michael Maltese, produced by Edward Selzer, and directed by Friz Freleng.
Bugs Bunny, after taking the wrong turn at Albuquerque, ends up in the depths of the Black Forest. He crosses paths with Nazi Party leader and minister, Hermann Göring, and heckles the life out of him.
Detailed summary
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Memorable quotes
Bugs: Say, y'know. I knew I shoulda made a left toin at Albuquerque!
Hermann: Oh, I'm a bad flooten-boy-glooten!
Characters
In order of appearance: | ||||||||||
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Locations
- Earth
- Germany
- Black Forest
- Hitler's office
- United States (indirectly mentioned)
- New Mexico (indirectly mentioned)
- Albuquerque (mentioned)
- Nevada (indirectly mentioned)
- Las Vegas (mentioned)
- New Mexico (indirectly mentioned)
- Mexico (map)
- Germany
Objects
- Bugs' map
Vehicles
- None
Production
Filming
The short was copyrighted on December 26, 1944.[1]
Music
The score was composed by Carl W. Stalling.
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: January 13, 1945
Behind the scenes
- The title plays on the words "herr" (used in German as a title equivalent to Mr.) and "hare". You're welcome.
- The MPAA certificate number is 9267.
- This short, coming a few months before the collapse of the Third Reich, was one of the final major wartime animated cartoons to be released by Warner Bros. Draftee Daffy—directed by Bob Clampett—would be last one.
- The radio announcer at the beginning has a vocal resemblance to Walter Winchell, an American media columnist known for his fast, gossip-driven commentary, and one of the first major commentator to directly attack Adolf Hitler.[2]
- Bugs dresses up as Hitler to assert control over Göring. This is a repeated gag from Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips, in which Bugs dresses up as a Japanese general.
- The short was withdrawn from broadcast by Warner Bros. and other rights-holders (including Turner Broadcasting and AOL Time Warner), due to its wartime setting and portrayal of Nazi Germany.
- In 2001, Cartoon Network had planned on airing the short as part of their annual June Bugs marathon, but AOL Time Warner refused to allow the short's broadcast, due to it being interpreted as World War II propaganda by today's standards. It was also meant to be shown as part of the ToonHeads special "The Twelve Missing Hares," but scrapped for similar reasons.
- Despite this, the short was shown in its entirety in the other ToonHeads special, "The Wartime Cartoons", along with similar shorts, to demonstrate how wartime cartoons depict the Axis Powers in unflattering portrayals, and how the protagonists of these shorts personify American nationalism of its period.
- Additionally, the short also aired on Turner Classic Movies' Cartoon Alley, as recently as January 20, 2007.
Connections
- The Wagnerian dance scene would serve as a template for Chuck Jones' 1957 short, What's Opera, Doc?
- The short was featured in the 1989 documentary program, Bugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons.
Critical reception
Like many American movies, Herr Meets Hare was made available to German prisoners of war in the United States, some of whom didn't like it; prisoner Hans Goebler said: "You saw Hermann Göring 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."[3]
Home availability
- In the United States:
- October 21, 2008: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 on DVD.
References
- ↑ "Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series". Library of Congress (1945).
- ↑ "Walter Winchell biography and timeline". PBS (September 15, 2020). Retrieved April 28, 2025.
- ↑ Waters, Michael R.; Long, Mark; Dickens, William (2004). Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearn, p.27. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-545-5.
