Long-Haired Hare

Long-Haired Hare
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	June 25, 1949
Run time	7:35
Starring	Mel Blanc Nicolai Shutorov
Music composed by	Carl Stalling
Story by	Mike Maltese
Animation	Philip Monroe Ben Washam Lloyd Vaughan Ken Harris
Director(s)	Charles M. Jones
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Title card

Long-Haired Hare is the two hundred and fifty-fifth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was distributed Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on June 25, 1949. It was written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones.

When Bugs encounters both a music and rabbit hater by the name of Giovanni Jones, he decides to heckle him during his concert at night.

Memorable quotes

Bugs: Of course you know, this means war!

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Bugs Bunny	Mel Blanc
Giovanni Jones	Nicolai Shutorov Mel Blanc (speaking voice)
Conductor	Mel Blanc
Leopold Stokowski

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • California
      • Giovanni's residence
      • Hollywood
        • Hollywood Bowl

Objects

• Banjo
• Harp
• Tuba
• Croquet mallet
• Bottle of liquid aluminum
• Stick of dynamite
• Autograph book
• Earmuff Noise Silencers

Music

The score was composed by Carl W. Stalling. Some of the songs in this short – which consist of operatic pieces – were sung by Nicolai Shutorov, who provided the singing voice for Giovanni Jones. The following pieces are as follows:

• "A Rainy Night in Rio" by Arthur Schwartz - sung by Bugs on the banjo, and later by Giovanni, who unknowingly performs it
• "Largo al factotum" from The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia), by Gioacchino Rossini - sung by Giovanni during his rehearsal, and later in the concert as its second piece
• "My Gal is a High-Born Lady" by Barney Fagan - sung by Bugs on a harp and Giovanni
• "When Yuba Plays the Rumba on the Tuba" by Herman Hupfeld - performed by Bugs on a tuba
• "Chi Mi Frena In Tal Momento" from Lucia di Lammermoor, by Gaetano Donizetti - the first piece performed by Giovanni and the concert's orchestra
• "Prelude, 2nd theme" from Act III of Lohengrin, by Richard Wagner - the third piece of the concert that plays when Bugs (in disguise) hands Giovanni an autograph
• "Overture" from Die schöne Galathee, by Franz von Suppé - the final piece of the concert, before Bugs arrives in the guise of Leopold Stokowski

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: June 25, 1949

Behind the scenes

• The title, in addition to including a play on the words "hair" and "hare", is also a pun on "longhairs", a characterization of classical music lovers.
• The MPAA certificate number is 12516.
• Giovanni's last name is derived from director Chuck Jones.
• According to Daniel Goldmark, the director of the Center for Popular Music Studies at Case Western Reserve University, the clash established between Giovanni and Bugs is a struggle between classical music and popular music; Giovanni acts as if he is protecting the word of "good" music from the ignorant masses, which Bugs represents, while the latter signs folk melodies that Giovanni views as a disease, as Giovanni represents the music establishment.
• As stated by the DVD commentary, Bugs' conducting performance as "Leopold" is a send-up of Leopold Stokowski's energetic style, including his lack of baton.
• When Bugs forces Giovanni to hold onto an extremely long vocal note, he sings a high G.

Errors

• While "Chi Mi Frena In Tal Momento" is performed in this short as solo piece, the piece itself is actually a sextet, with a tenor and a baritone making the joint first entry and four other characters to join the sextet shortly thereafter. No one but Giovanni is on stage and how he is able to sing the piece in question is unclear.

Legacy

• This short, albeit edited for time, was used in the feature compilation film The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie.
• Giovanni Jones and Bugs' Leopold persona would both appear in the 2018 mobile game Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem.

In popular culture

• In the Rick and Morty episode "Something Ricked This Way Comes," Rick connects his feud with the Devil to this cartoon, stating, "To me this was all just a bit like when Bugs Bunny f---s with the opera singer for twenty minutes."

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • October 28, 2003: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 on DVD.
  • October 16, 2012: Warner Home Media releases Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 on Blu-ray.
  • October 16, 2012: Warner Home Media releases Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 on Blu-ray.
  • August 10, 2010: Warner Home Media releases Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Wascally Wabbit on DVD.
  • April 14, 2020: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny Golden Carrot Collection on DVD.