'His Hare Raising Tale' is not one of my favourite Looney Tunes cartoons and Bugs has been in cartoons that are wittier, funnier (consistently so that is) and more original, but for what is essentially a clip-show cartoon it is not bad at all.
For a clip-show cartoon, it's very enjoyable and nowhere near as cheap as it could have been even if you do sort of question the point of it. What makes the cartoon enjoyable is the use of footage from 'Baseball Bugs', 'Haredevil Hare', 'Falling Hare', 'Rabbit Punch', and 'Stage Door Cartoon', which is like a trip down memory line for the viewer just as much as it is for Bugs when he is telling the stories to Clyde.
The footage is all wonderfully animated, scored with sumptuous liveliness, range from amusing to hilarious and some with a scary atmosphere like 'Haredevil Hare' and Bugs shines in all of them. The framing scenes between him and Clyde are also of surprisingly good quality, after seeing so many clip-show cartoons (or cheaters as they have been called) where the difference from the links to the cartoons featured is jarring which is not the case here. What does jar a little is the difference of animation styles between Freleng, Jones and Clampett, with Clampett's style being wackier than that of the other two.
Carl Stalling's music shines constantly in every cartoon he scored for, one of those composers that made things even better with not just the quality of the music but how it's used. That's apparent in the footage and in the framing/link scenes, as ever it's high in energy, liveliness, character, lushness and whimsy, and not only is dynamic and fits effortlessly with the action but enhances everything. 'His Hare Raising Tale' is never less than amusing, with the imaginative and often hilarious footage being funnier than the amusing, appealingly nostalgic if occasionally close to saccharine scenes between Bugs and Clyde.
Bugs is immensely likable and true to character throughout and Clyde very nearly avoids all the potential pitfalls that his type of character can have. He is never hilarious but he isn't annoying and is likable enough, but is undermined somewhat by the cartoon trying too hard to make him too cute so that it comes over as cloyingly cutesy. The frame/link scenes are of good quality and are amusing and charming enough, if just lacking the energy, wildness and wit of the footage. Mel Blanc does a characteristically wonderful job with the voices.
In conclusion, very enjoyable, especially for a clip-show cartoon, but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox
