Hare Ribbin'

If there was an award for the most violent Bugs Bunny cartoon ever, I'll bet Hare Ribbin' would win it with no sweat.


This cartoon is legendary, even by Bob Clampett's standards. Yes, it does have the basic chase plot of your typical 1940's Warner Bros. cartoons, this one is diffrent from all the others. During the beginning of the film, Bugs meets up with a dog with a Russian accent. The dog is a joke on comedian Bert Gordon's signature character, "The Mad Russian", complete with his catchpraises, "How do you do?" and "Do you mean it?", wich were quite common in these cartoons.

See? Told ya!

Now, part of the short involves Bugs being chased into a lake, and for some bizzare reason, the rest of it takes place at the bottom of this lake.

But the real reason that this one is special is that this cartoon has two seprate endings, both of them deemed for being too violent to show on TV. Fortunatly for you, I posted both versions on this blog for you.

I wish I were dead! I wish I were DEAD!

#1:

Merrie Melodies - Hare Ribbin' (1944)
Uploaded by Cartoonzof2006


This version is the one you're more likely to see on TV. At the end, the dog assumes that Bugs has been killed (he "ate" him in a rabbit sandwitch) and is so upset by what he did that he wishes he were dead as well. The ol' grey hare comes back alive, says "Ehh, do you mean it?", and gives the dog a gun so that the job can be done.

#2:

Merrie Melodies - Hare Ribbin' (1944)
Uploaded by Cartoonzof2006

This is the rare directer's cut. At the end, the dog says the same thing, and so does Bugs, but this time, he shoots the dog himself! You can find this one on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 5 DVD as a special feature on disc 3.

That's all for today. See ya next time! :p