Falling Hare

Fun Bugs Bunny short with a wartime backdrop. During WWII, unexplained accidents and mechanical problems aboard aircraft were jokingly blamed on mischievous creatures called gremlins (which were inspiration for the creatures in the Joe Dante movie we all know and love). In this cartoon, Bugs doesn't believe that gremlins are causing sabotage to airplanes until he catches one in the act. What follows are a series of funny gags as Bugs tussles with the gremlin on land and in the air. The music and voicework are great. Love the animation, especially the airplane crash dive scene. The gremlin actually gets the best of Bugs throughout the short, something that you didn't see very often.

Whereas Joe Dante's holiday classic "Gremlins" portrayed its title characters as evil, conniving little monsters, "Falling Hare" shows a (slightly) different side. In this case, Bugs Bunny is reading "Victory Thru Hare Power" when he reads about gremlins sabotaging the airplanes. Naturally, he doesn't believe it. But when a gremlin starts sabotaging the airplane that Bugs is working on, Bugs suddenly changes. Usually the cool-headed, acerbic type, he becomes an impetuous, accident-prone twerp. And the gremlin knows exactly how to use Bugs's weaknesses against him. I guess that you could say that the little guy becomes Bugs, while Bugs becomes most of the other Looney Tunes.

So, while the gremlin here is still conniving, he's clearly got his goals laid out. It's a pretty neat cartoon. And the soldiers' opinions of the sergeant probably would have to get CENSORED!!!!!!!!!!

This is a true time capsule of a cartoon in that it gives wonderful insight into what life was like for Americans back in 1943. There are so many wonderful references to gremlins, Wendell Wilkie and gasoline ration cards that the cartoon could be used as a tool to teach kids about WWII. Fortunately, while it is jam-packed full of such interesting tidbits, it also is pretty funny and well worth watching over 60 years later! The film does seem a bit strange, though, as for once, Bugs Bunny is NOT the wise-cracking or annoying jerk he was in most films made of him during the war. Instead, he is the unlikely voice of reason that tries to thwart the evil but mischievous intentions of the gremlin! The short abounds with cute jokes, sight gags and a very original script (the only similar cartoon I can think about is GREMLINS FROM THE KREMLIN--another Looney Toons cartoon, but one where a huge swarm of gremlins are working for the allies to destroy the Nazi menace).

Mr. Freeling, Producer of the Bugs cartoons in their most classic era, believed there were two basic dramatic types: Identification Characters (Porky, Elmer Fudd ) and Aspiration Characters ( Bugs, and...Yosemite Sam? Hmmm...). Bugs as we know is a supernatural Being, with powers ordinary rabbits or humans do not have. In this movie he encounters another such Being, the Gremlin. But the Gremlin is even more Elemental than Bugs---he's a sort of Primordial Force of Destruction.Its not that he hates anybody; its his job, and he does it well, like James Bond. Right at the outset of the Bug/Gremlin collaboration the little guy says that you have to hit Blockbusters just right; Bugs, with his typical streetwise sangfroid says, "Yeah?" but instead of the usual blowing off of the other character, the Gremlin even more authoritatively replies "YEAH!" and makes it stick. From then on, the Gremlin is in charge.

For another Bugs-Tables-Turned storyline, see the one with the Lion ( married to Hortense ): "I gotta go Mr. Bunny; sorry I can't stay and Kill you."

But for me the most important and intriguing detail of the cartoon is during the sequence with the Blockbuster Bomb, when the music distinctly plays the phrase "I'll Take Manhattan." This was 1943, remember, and the Manhattan Project was top secret.

Bugs Bunny is relaxing on an A-Bomb reading a magazine and laughing at stories of gremlins interfering in the workings of aircraft. However when one such gremlin starts to mess around with the aircraft and equipment on the base, Bugs overcomes his disbelief to try and stop it.

Taking a good idea this film pitches Bugs against a gremlin to reasonable good effect to create an enjoyable, if far from great, cartoon. The gags are pretty good but parts of it do drag on a little too long without being funny – the final punch-line is weak but yet seems to be built up to for at least a minute! Despite this it still worked quite well, although many of the topical (at the time) references went over my head – made me think what watching Shrek will be like in about 50 years time!

The other big weakness it did have was in it's lead character – which was a surprising thing to me. I love Bugs and enjoy seeing him twist things on those who would get him! I like to se the many ways he gets the upper hand. However here he was very much the lesser character in terms of scoring points. He is shown to be easily tricked and fooled and, at times, out of his depth – in fact in the plane he is portrayed as terrified for the majority of the time. This didn't ruin the cartoon for me as it was still funny, but this was not the usual character I expect to see when I watch Bugs Bunny.

Overall this was an enjoyable cartoon despite it's weaknesses. Fans of Bugs (as I am) may struggle to enjoy it simply because our hero is painted as some sort of coward and weakling – a far cry from his usual wise-ass self!