Hare-Way to the Stars

This and Duck Dodgers etc. are the two cartoons which have stuck in my mind since I first saw them over 40 years ago, though I didn't know the correct title until I thought of doing a search on 'Marvin Martian'. The last time I saw both was on 'The Bugs Bunny Show', which quite often - mostly, perhaps? - didn't include titles.

I suspect that you have to be 40 years of age or older to really appreciate this cartoon, which encapsulates the entire 1950s into it's length. The Cold War, the Bomb, Modern Art, the approaching leap into Space, even the fashions and colors, are worked into the 7 minutes.

In short, it's Warners Bros' supreme achieve in animation, and a fitting tribute to the Great Mel Blanc, not forgetting all those other geniuses whose names appear on the credits.

If I was limited to one item of movie media on a desert island, this would be my selection. Believe it :) !

Badly hung over from mixing radish juice and carrot juice the night before, bugs staggers up his stairs and accidentally into a space rocket that has been established as a launch point directly above his home. When the rocket reaches his destination, Bugs stumbles into a plot by an alien to destroy the earth - a plot Bugs has no option but to try and foil.

This film is one of the many that started to cash in on the whole sci-fi scene and saw the creation of the alien character who has faced up to several of the usual characters. The plot here is too simple for my tastes and doesn't create that many funny sequences. The overly silly setup is happily put aside as soon as it can be to create a battle of wits between Bugs and alien. Sadly this chase is full of daft looking monsters who are easily outwitted by Bugs - but only in one amusing sequence. Before you know it the film is finished (and with a whimper at that).

Bugs is good and the alien is funny if you like him; the problem seems to be with the material, which is uninspired and lacking in real imagination or spark. Bits of it are still pretty amusing but mostly I found it to be quite lacklustre considering the characters involved. Overall, it is worth seeing because all Bugs Bunny films are, but it would have been nice if the material had ran to a few more sequences with more laughs.

Occasionally I like to browse Google using the search term "banned cartoons" as many of these suppressed films are interesting--especially from a historical point of view. With most of these cartoons I can understand why Disney and Warner Brothers have decided to withdraw them from general distribution, as they have some horribly insensitive and hurtful portrayals of minorities. However, SOME of them are excellent entertainment and aren't the least bit offensive to anyone other than a humorless corporate executive. Now why THIS PARTICULAR one was removed from circulation is beyond me and I wonder if it has NOT been pulled by Warner--especially since it features the ever-popular Marvin the Martian. Was, perhaps, someone offended because it made fun of aliens? I doubt it and seriously think this film was never repressed and someone labeled it "banned" incorrectly.

Now as for this cartoon, this is one of the most famous Warner toons and has been very popular with audiences over the years. Bugs accidentally gets shot into space where he meets Marvin--who is about to blow up the Earth since it obstructs his view of Venus!! Very funny stuff and featuring the best Chuck Jones-inspired artwork.

First I'll say that Marvin and Bugs are very good in this Looney Tunes episode. Secondly I'll say that I did not like the other parts of this cartoon nearly as much. Stuff that I liked were the two main characters, the quotes and I thought the plot was quite good. The jokes are - in places - mediocre, at least the farce and slapstick ones are.

Personally I prefer "Mad as a Mars Hare" a slightly similar cartoon also featuring Bugs and Marvin. This particular cartoon is more for people who like the slapstick and farce in Looney Tunes, although this for people who like Bugs Bunny as well - at least to watch once, anyhow.

Planktonrules submitted a good point in his review: Why is this cartoon banned? I had not heard it was until I read his review and I think the reason may be something to do with the idea of "exploding the earth" and perhaps the fact that it is set in a demolition site may be something to do with it. These are complete guesses, but it's something to think about while you watch this cartoon.

Bugs Bunny, having had carrot juice and radish juice mixed, feels absolutely dreadful and is having a sort of hangover. Due to some circumstances (that you have to watch to understand properly) Bugs climbs into a space rocket and finds himself in space, on a comet and in some sort of space station where a little alien is very excited....

I recommend this to all Bugs Bunny fans, people who like space Looney Tunes and people who like farce at least a little bit. Enjoy! :-)

I really do not understand why this cartoon was banned, I must have seen it 10 times in the past month and I don't find anything offensive about it. And I personally think it is better than Mad as a Mars Hare, which I liked for the voices, animation and music but I found it too talky and was disappointed at how little Marvin was given to do. Back on target, this cartoon is wonderfully imaginative; the animation is truly stunning and the music is atmospheric enough. Marvin is given more to do here, though if anything he could've done with a tad more, and Bugs is great. The writing I thought was excellent, Bug's last line "run to the hills, otherwise you'll be up to your armpits in martians" was hysterical. I think it was how Mel Blanc, brilliant again, delivered it. Overall, I enjoy this a lot, it is imaginative, beautifully animated and just fun really. 10/10 Bethany Cox