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The Old Grey Hare is a 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Bob Clampett, written by Michael Sasanoff, with music by Carl W. Stalling and starring an older and young Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. This was the first time a Bugs Bunny cartoon credited Warner Bros. Cartoons as producer after Leon Schlesinger had sold the studio to WB (because Edward Selzer refused to receive on-screen credit as producer).
| The Old Grey Hare | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd) series | |
Original title card | |
| Directed by | Robert Clampett |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
| Story by | Michael Sasanoff |
| Voices by | Voice characterizations: Mel Blanc as Old Bugs Bunny / Baby Bugs Bunny / God (off-screen) Arthur Q. Bryan as Elmer Fudd / Old Elmer Fudd / Baby Elmer Fudd (uncredited) |
| Music by | Musical direction: Carl W. Stalling Orchestra: Milt Franklyn (uncredited) |
| Animation by | Character animation: Robert McKimson Rod Scribner Manny Gould Basil Davidovich Jack Bradbury (final four uncredited) Effects animation: A. C. Gamer (uncredited) |
| Layouts by | Character layout and design: Thomas McKimson (uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by | Background layout: Thomas McKimson (uncredited) Background painter: Dorcy Howard |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | October 28, 1944 (U.S.) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 minutes 36 seconds |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Buckaroo Bugs |
| Followed by | Stage Door Cartoon |
The title is a double play on words. One is the typical pun between "hare" and "hair", with the bunny (who was already grey-haired) rendered "old and grey" for this cartoon. The title also refers to the old song, "The Old Gray Mare". Some of the lobby cards for this cartoon gave the alternate spelling, The Old Gray Hare.
Screenplay
The cartoon starts with Elmer sitting under a tree, crying over his failure to catch Bugs. The "voice of God" (also the voice of Mel Blanc) tells Elmer to keep trying to catch him. Elmer wonders how long it will it take-and is shown exactly how long by being transported "far into the future" past the years 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, until reaching the then-distant year of A.D. 2000, after the sound of the gong.
This offers the chance to use some contemporary gags with a futuristic twist, as Elmer finds a year 2000 newspaper. One headline says, "Smellevision Replaces Television: Carl Stalling Sez It Will Never Work!" In sporting news, another headline says, "Bing Crosby's Horse Hasn't Come In Yet!" (Crosby was known for investing in racehorses that did poorly).
By now, both Elmer and Bugs are very old and wrinkled ("What's up, prune-face", "Not so fast, there, Grandpa!") - Bugs even has a large white beard and a cane – and lumbago – but their chase resumes. This time, Elmer is armed with an "owiginal Buck Wogers wightning-qwick wabbit kiwwer" gun (with a powerful recoil). After a short chase (at slow speed, due to their ages), Elmer gets the upper hand, shooting Bugs with his ultra-modern weapon, with added Pinball effects and "TILT".
At the moment when it seems Elmer has finally beaten his nemesis, the apparently dying Bugs thinks back to when he and Elmer were much younger. This leads to a flashback sequence with a baby Elmer hunting a baby Bugs (both are still in diapers; Bugs is drinking carrot juice from a baby bottle; Elmer is crawling and toting a pop-gun; and they interrupt their chase to take a baby nap-time together).
After the flashback is over, a tearful Bugs starts to dig his own grave, with Elmer getting equally emotional (while literally sobbing along to the tune of "Träumerei" by Robert Schumann). Just at the point where it seems that Bugs is going to bury himself, he switches places with the weeping and distracted Elmer and cheerfully buries him alive instead ("So long, Methuselah!") The buried Elmer quips, "Weww anyway, that pesky wabbit is out of my wife fowevew and evew!" However, Bugs suddenly pops in and repeats the popular catchphrase of the "Richard Q. Peavey" character from The Great Gildersleeve, "Well, now, I wouldn't say that," plants a kiss on Elmer, then hands him a large firecracker, lights the fuse and quickly departs. While Elmer shivers and is unable to escape, the screen immediately fades out and Robert Clampett's famous vocalized "Bay-woop!" is heard with the firecracker still hissing. The ending "That's all, Folks!" card appears with it having been already pre-written, and the firecracker blows up in a tremendous explosion off-screen, rumbling and shaking the on-screen end title card, regardless of what happened to Elmer after the explosion.
- Direction: Robert Clampett
- Story: Michael Sasanoff
- Animation: Robert McKimson, Rod Scribner, Manny Gould, Basil Davidovich, Jack Bradbury
- Character Design/Layout: Thomas McKimson
- Background Layout: Thomas McKimson
- Background Paint: Dorcy Howard
- Effects Animation: A.C. Gamer
- Film Editor: Treg Brown
- Voice Characterizations: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan
- Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling
- Orchestrations: Milt Franklyn
- Production: Eddie Selzer
Of all the Bugs Bunny cartoons, this is the only one in which he does not appear in his recognizable form. Also, this is the only Looney Tunes cartoon in which God appears (although offscreen).
The scene with Baby Bugs and Baby Elmer interacting is a farcry to the 2001 show, Baby Looney Tunes.
- The short is available in its entirety (with the shaking end card) in the documentary Bugs Bunny: Superstar Part 2, which is available as a special feature on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, and was released independently on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 and on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1. The short can also be seen in the Essential Bugs Bunny DVD set.
- Baby Looney Tunes
- Little Go Beep
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