Hit or Miss: Hare Splitter

[Marty26]

Seeing as to how this appears to be one of the more (unfairly) forgotten Bugs cartoons of the 1940s, I was wondering what everybody else here thinks of it.

[J Lee]

It has its moments -- the dueling gift scene is pretty funny, as is Bugs' aside to the ladies in the theater audience -- but I always associated this short as the moment when the WB cartoons began their transition from the animation-driven all-out frantic style of the 1940s to the more story-driven, straightforward plot style of the 1950s, with a much less active bunny.

[Thad]

It's a hit. Aside from the fact that it's hilarious, we get the great message that Bugs has no problem putting on his sweetheart's stockings and underwear.

I honestly always thought of Freleng's shorts being more story-driven from the start, not at just a certain point, since on the whole, his animation is arguably the weakest at Warners.

[J Lee]

It's a hit. Aside from the fact that it's hilarious, we get the great message that Bugs has no problem putting on his sweetheart's stockings and underwear.

I honestly always thought of Freleng's shorts being more story-driven from the start, not at just a certain point, since on the whole, his animation is arguably the weakest at Warners.

Friz's cartoons were a little more story-driven than the other units even back in the earlier part of the 40s, but when you look at the Freleng Bugs toons that came just prior to this one, like "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" or "Buccaneer Bunny", there's still a looseness in both the pacing and animation that I just don't see in "Hare Splitter", and Bugs is more directly calculating than "wacky", as far as suddenly doing things that you'd least expect, like blowing up a parrot or building an entire metropolitan city in five seconds for Yosemite Sam (Here's where the loss of Michael Maltese as a writer about the same time may have reallly affected the Freleng unit).

When people talk about the difference between pre-48 and post-48 cartoons, it's the difference between cartoons like that and "Hare Splitter" they're referring to (though I wouldn't say the break was exactly at the same time as the split on the AAP package -- "Hare Do" and "High-Diving Hare" IMHO feel more like pre-48 cartoons, even though they're also part of the post-48 package and were credited to Tedd Pierce alone as writer).

[Marty26]

Friz's cartoons were a little more story-driven than the other units even back in the earlier part of the 40s, but when you look at the Freleng Bugs toons that came just prior to this one, like "Bugs Bunny Rides Again" or "Buccaneer Bunny", there's still a looseness in both the pacing and animation that I just don't see in "Hare Splitter", and Bugs is more directly calculating than "wacky", as far as suddenly doing things that you'd least expect, like blowing up a parrot or building an entire metropolitan city in five seconds for Yosemite Sam (Here's where the loss of Michael Maltese as a writer about the same time may have reallly affected the Freleng unit).

When people talk about the difference between pre-48 and post-48 cartoons, it's the difference between cartoons like that and "Hare Splitter" they're referring to (though I wouldn't say the break was exactly at the same time as the split on the AAP package -- "Hare Do" and "High-Diving Hare" IMHO feel more like pre-48 cartoons, even though they're also part of the post-48 package and were credited to Tedd Pierce alone as writer).

I was always confused as to why there was that split in Cartoon Syndication, where the pre-1948 cartoons were given to Cartoon Network, TNT, etc while the post-1948 cartoons were given to Nickelodeon, ABC, etc. One thing I have always noticed is that the cartoons from 1948-1969 did have a more "modern" look and sound than the pre-1948 cartoons. You would've never guessed My Bunny Lies Over The Sea was from as early as late 1948 as it looks sounds and feels more like a 1950s short than a lot of 1949/1950 cartoons do, while Paying The Piper and Highdiving Hare look and feel older despite being released later.

But I digress. My question is why was there that split in syndication anyway (barring the 1930s Looney Tunes shorts)?

[CueBallCat79]

Can I ask an odd question? What really makes 1948 so significant? I'm sorry to drag my favorite cat and mouse into everything, but even for them I find 1948 to be the start of a transitional period for tom and Jerry.

[Matt the Y]

Can I ask an odd question? What really makes 1948 so significant? I'm sorry to drag my favorite cat and mouse into everything, but even for them I find 1948 to be the start of a transitional period for tom and Jerry.

You do kinda have a tendency toward that, huh? :D :p ;) Not that it's a bad thing; I like Tom & Jerry a lot too.

1948, huh? I can't see it. To me, a 1948 Tom & Jerry short is the same as one from 1947 or 1949. To me, the "transitional" period for Tom & Jerry is probably around 1952. Not only were Tom & Jerry redesigned and "simplified" during this time (actually, this is my favorite design of Tom after the 1944-45 design; some of Tom's best facial expressions are found in shorts of this era), but we also lost Mammy Two-Shoes (her final appearance was in "Push Button Kitty") and to me, the shorts became more fast-paced, particularly in shorts like "Cruise Cat", "The Missing Mouse", "Just Ducky", "Two Little Indians", and "Pet Peeve".

[Marty26]

So what about the WB shorts from 1948?

[speedy fast]

Getting back to the original topic, I'd say that Hare Splitter is a hit. Maybe not the same kind of hit as Duck Amuck or Birds Anonymous, but still a hit.

[mmtper]

A hit. It's been a while since I've seen it, but it's a nice, tight little toon, with neat details like the "Smoking Cupid" or Bugs & Daisy Lou's little "mating dance" at the very close. Freleng isn't as extravagent or convulsive as Avery or Clampett when it comes to depicting Lust, (think also of Bugs & Yosemite's reaction to the "Miami Special" in Bugs Bunny Rides Again) but he can still be a lot of fun. Another good bit is when Casbah tries to pitch a little woo, Carl Stalling slides into a silly old kissie-face song "Cuddle Up a Little Closer",( Cuddle Up a Little Closer Lovey Mine, Cuddle up and be my little clinging vine) giving the tune to a sour, wobbly solo violin.

"Cuddle Up" was an exceptionally silly tune from 1908, but it had staying power, it was covered by Doris Day, Betty Grable, Julie London, and Dean Martin. My parents had it on an old Bing Crosby album; Bing, bless him, didn't take it too seriously and turned into a gently swinging soft shoe number.

[Timber Wolf]

A hit! The explosive carrots/kissing scene in the end is one of the funniest endings ever. :D

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Neither hit or miss. It's rather average. Some funny gags, but mostly bland.

[Mr. Semaj]

I've only spotted this once or twice on the Cartoon Network, which is a shame, because this is a pretty neat cartoon.

This seems to be one of the rare instances where Bugs is given a girlfriend outside the comic book world, and it helps prove to a few modern-day skeptics that perhaps the bunny WASN'T guy, even with all of his cross-dressing tendences. Also, it was interesting to see Bugs up against another rabbit, something they didn't do too often.

Even with a non-Mickey Mouse fellow like Bugs, we're shown how he's able to use his wits to get the girl, more so against a rival. That said, Hare Splitter is a hit.

:bugs2: