Knight-Mare Hare

Only in cartoons can you get a goofy set-up or premise like the following:

Bugs Bunny is out in the country sitting under a big hairdryer, as they used to have (maybe they still do, for all I know) at women's beauty salons? "Hey," says Bugs, "I just washed my ears and can't do a thing with them!"

Anyway, he's reading a big book called "Tales of Knighthood and Gallantry," when an acorn falls from the tree, clangs off the hairdryer and suddenly is transported back into the days of knights and castles. He wanders around in a daze when he's suddenly confronted with a huge knight on a horse with a lance stuck right into Bug's chest. "Uhhh, what's up, Duke?" asks our hero.

With that, we get introductions which are very funny, full of puns guaranteed to make you wince (I am "Sir Oh Of Kay, Sir Osis of the Liver, etc., etc.) Bugs, as usual, is not impressed nor scared and fires back a few one-liners at him. He names some of his friends: "Duke Of Ellington, Count of Basie, Earl Of Hines," etc. You get picture: this cartoon is full of wise cracks as only Bugs Bunny could deliver them!

There is nice artwork in here, too, not just silly gags. The drawings of the castle, surrounding area, the dragon, sorcerer and Merlin's wild house more are very colorful and look terrific on these "restored DVDs" put out by Warner Brothers.

I am a huge fan of Looney Tunes, and I still enjoyed Knight-Mare Hare without being overly-enthusiastic with it. The only real problem with the cartoon was that I found it a little slow particularly at the start. Still the animation is terrific, not only with the characters but also the backgrounds and the castle, and the music is rousing and bombastic. The story is carefully constructed too, while the dialogue is irreverent and the sight gags and wisecracks very entertaining. I liked the ending too, it was a nice touch. Bugs is wonderful here, he has been better but he does make the most of the material he has and the supporting characters are fun particularly Merlin. And as always Mel Blanc is terrific with the vocals. Overall, entertaining, but not outstanding. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs Bunny is drying his hair while reading a book about knights. An apple falls on his head and he finds himself in the past. First, a knight confronts him. He challenges the knight. Despite the odds, his rabbit foot helps defeat the knight. Then comes the dragon. Finally, Bugs goes to see Merlin of Munro. Merlin uses Magic Powder on Bugs.

This is a great Bugs Bunny short. It is one from my memories and I love it. I love battling the knight. There is a nice rhythm to the comedy as the knight charges downhill. The dragon is a great classic gag. Merlin also does a great gag with repetitive undressing. I just love it.

For most of Chuck Jones's "Knight-Mare Hare" - the first cartoon in which he billed himself as "Chuck Jones", as opposed to the earlier "Charles M. Jones" - it looked as though the cartoon was one of the shorts holding the places in between the really great ones. But I really laughed when Bugs Bunny rattled off the names of his friends: Duke of Ellington, Count of Basie and Satchmo of Armstrong! That's probably the main reason that it's a good thing that I saw this cartoon now, when I'm old enough to understand it; I can guarantee you that at six years old, I'd never heard of Louis Armstrong or any of those guys, so I wouldn't have known what to think when Bugs named them.

But aside from that, it's a pretty funny cartoon, as Bugs gets knocked out and dreams that he's in medieval England, and proceeds to turn everything upside down. Worth seeing.

Chuck Jones's 'Knight-mare Hare' is an oddly slow-moving parody of Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'. Beaned on the head by a falling apple, Bugs Bunny dreams that he is in the time of knights in shining armour. This promising set up gives way to a series of laboured exchanges. First there's a pun-filled discussion with a knight, then a tame gag with a dragon and finally a go-nowhere sequence involving Merlin, which proves to be the set up for one of the lamest final gags in cartoon history. A big problem with 'Knight-mare Hare' is Tedd Pierce's curiously lacklustre script but Jones directs the whole thing with an uncharacteristic lack of flair, making for a truly feeble cartoon experience. While I've always thought it a little overrated, Friz Freleng's Oscar winning 'Knighty Knight Bugs', which appeared a few years later, is a far better take on the Medieval Bugs scenario.