Category: Merrie Melodies

Cartoons that were labeled as such.

Posted on

Tortoise beats Hare

“I tell ya, it just don’t make sense.”

Sorry for the delay. Christmas came and with it, Looney Tunes. I have been watching a lot of new ones and now I am ready for more action!

This is an early Bugs Bunny cartoon, number 3 for him. It was also one of the few made by Tex Avery. (I just noticed, he directed Daffy, and Bugs’ first cartoons.) Back on topic, Bugs comes out and reads the title and credits. (Pronouncing them wrong) When he gets to the title, he freaks out and demands a race with the tortoise. Winner gets ten bucks.

When the race begins, Bugs is off and Cecil calls nine other turtles to help him cheat. Bugs is still running and passes one of them. Needless to say, he is dumbstruck. He leaves him behind, but no matter how fast he goes, he keeps finding a tortoise ahead of him. He tries leaving various debris in the path, and destroying a bridge, but when he comes to the end, Cecil is already there.

Bugs gives him the money and wonders if he was tricked. Cecil and the turtles (each holding a dollar) tell him its a possibility. (I should have talked about this one before the second one.)

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

Little Red Riding Rabbit

“Hey grandma! That’s an awfully big nose for you… ta have!”

Just like the original story, we open with Red going to her grandma’s house. She is an annoying, loud, bobbysoxer, who is obsessed with getting the story right. She is going to give her grandma a rabbit and as to be expected, a wolf makes it there first. (Grandma is not home.)

When Red arrives, the wolf kicks her out because all he wants is the rabbit. He chases Bugs through a great gag involving lots of doors. After this, Bugs decides to be helpful and show where he is hiding. Throughout this whole cartoon, Red keeps coming in to say her lines only for the wolf to throw her out again.

In the climax, the wolf is dangling over a pan of hot coals, and just as Bugs is about to make him fall, Red comes in again. Fed up, Bugs switches her with the wolf. Now the two are pals. It looks like a beginning to a beautiful friendship.

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

The Heckling Hare

“Uh… flowers.”

Willoughby is out sniffing and, finding a hole, decides to dig for whatever reason. Bugs appears and the chase is on. After that, Bugs starts imitating his adversary’s faces and pretty soon, he gets Willoughby to copy him. He then clobbers him with a bat. Bugs dives into a lake and the chase briefly continues underwater.

After they get out, Bugs dives behind a tree while Willy reaches into the knot hole for him. Bugs puts a tomato in his paw and when he squishes it, he pines for the rabbit he “crushed.” Of course, once he realizes it was a trick he digs again only, to dig through a cliff! He manages not to fall but ends up walking off the cliff. Bugs is not remorseful but doesn’t watch his step and winds up falling too!

It’s too bad that Avery’s initial choice of ending; wherein the two would land safely, only to fall off another cliff was frowned upon. This would eventually lead to Avery leaving for MGM. It’s not like his work there could be considered bad cartoons (“King Sized Canary” is one of my favorite films, ever.) but it would have been great if Tex stayed. I’d really like to see how that reality would have panned out.

Personal Rating: 3, but it probably could have reached 4 if Avery had been allowed to end it how he wanted to.

Posted on

The Hare-Brained Hypnotist

“Who’s the comedian in this picture anyway?”

Typical start. Elmer is hunting and he reads that animals are dumb* and can easily be hypnotized. He bumps into a bear and unlike most people (or his past self) he does not freak out and uses his new found knowledge to get the ursine to believe he is a canary. It actually works and the bear flies away.

Bugs pops up and Elmer immediately tries his new skill but just ends up with a balloon lookalike. He does not notice he is floating away until the bear flies by. He shoves his gun into the hole and a tug of war ensues. After this, Elmer breaks down and Bugs agrees to let him have a try at the hypnotism thing. However, Bugs hypnotizes Elmer instead and has him believe he’s a rabbit. Guess who Elmer takes after?

He acts like Bugs, while Bugs begins hunting Elmer, so he can snap him out of it. It climaxes with Elmer hypnotizing Bugs at last, but Bugs laughs because he can’t be hypnotized. Noticing the time, he flies to the airport. He is a B-19 after all.

* I will never type this again

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

French Rarebit

“Where do ya suppose I am?”

Since I’m in such a good mood, (I actually got a real comment) I decided to begin another post.

A truck carrying carrots is driving through France, and after driving over a bumpy road one of the boxes falls off and smashes. Of course, Bugs was in there and seeing that he is in Paris decides to look around. Walking down a street he is seen by two chefs who plan to have him for their menu. They are Louie with orange hair and Francois with black hair.

After a fight (egging them on is Bugs) Francois takes the rabbit to cook. Bugs tells him of a great recipe but refuses to share it unless the chef and him trade places so he can demonstrate. The chef is desperate enough, and soon him and Louie (who also wants to know Bug’s culinary secrets) are shoved into a stove with a lit stick of dynamite. Voila! C’est magnefique!

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Bunny Hugged

“Its a living.”

At the championships of wrestling, we have in one corner: the Crusher! An athlete who is literally one, big muscle. In the other corner Ravishing Ronald (a take on real wrestler, Gorgeous George) and his mascot Bugs Bunny. Ronald is quickly turned into a punching bag and Bugs, worrying about his job, steps in to take on the champ himself as the masked terror. (I don’t care what you say. That is a cool mask and if I had one, I would wear it everyday.)

Unfortunately, Bugs is almost as bad as Ronald was. Looks like its time to cheat. He rips his mask to make the Crusher think he ripped his shorts. Bugs disguises himself as a tailor and gives the champ a poke in the butt. After getting slammed into a safe door, Bugs is able to pin the dazed crusher to the mat.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Bugs Bunny Rides Again

“This town aint big enough for the two of us!”

You’d think with a title like that, it would be Sam’s second appearance. However, he appeared in the Bugs Bunny cartoon made before this one. Of course, he was a pirate there, so we can forgive that. (Besides, how could the animators have guessed it would arrive first?)

Plot time! Sam comes into western town and dares anyone to challenge him. Cue our hero! Bugs initially runs away, but eventually gets Sam to keep walking over lines until he falls off a cliff. The chase continues on horses until Bugs notes they are not getting anywhere. They play cards to see who leaves town, and even though Sam loses, Bugs hops on the train when he sees all the scantily clad women on there

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

Early to Bet

“So remember folks, the gambling bug will get you if you don’t watch out!”

This is one of those shorts that was a one shot. That did not make it any less hilarious, though. It opens with an nature documentary sort of thing. We are introduced to the Gambling Bug. (Hemipterus addictus.) An insect whose bite inflicts anyone with a need to gamble. Today, however, the bug thinks he needs a vacation, so he goes for a walk in the country. He witnesses a dog ask a cat to play cards with him, but the cat refuses. Perhaps it’s because every time the cat loses he must face a penalty?

The bug decides that this is a job for him, and gives the cat a bite. As to be expected, he loses and we see his penalties range from sneezing while being forced to chew bubble gum, to being forced to roll out a barrel of gunpowder. Finally the dog decides that the cat is too unlucky and if they play more, he’ll die. (Ruining the dogs fun). Feeling bad the bug plays the cat… only to promptly lose and have to face a penalty: being swatted.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

The Foghorn Leghorn

“Still trying to prove you’re a chicken?”

Don’t I pick the most creatively titled cartoons to review?

It starts with Henery Hawk begging his dad to let him go chicken hunting with him. His dad says no because chickens are vicious monsters. This does not deter Henery in the slightest and secretly follows his pop. At the chicken farm Henery’s father gets beaten up by Foghorn. Having witnessed this Henery asks if that was a chicken. Not wanting to admit he was beaten by his prey, Dad identifies the rooster as “a loud mouthed schnook”

The dad goes away for the rest of the film and Henery tries to catch a chicken on his own. Finding a chickens “cave” (doghouse) he ventures in and easily nabs a “chicken.” Seeing this, Foghorn claims that he himself is a chicken while accidentally beating the farmyard Dawg. Henery does not believe and of course the dog calls a rooster a schnook as well. Eventually, after many failed attempts and many beatings of the dog. (Who thinks Foghorn is the one bothering him) he finally calls the chicken a chicken. Henery hears this and carries the rooster off. Now Foghorn identifies himself as a loud mouthed schnook.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Tweety’s S.O.S.

“Hello, breakfast.”

 

This short begins with Sylvester digging through the trash. He can’t bring himself to eat what he finds, and he goes down by the pier to mope. As the title promises, he soon spies Tweety and, of course, he gives chase. However, Granny is also on the boat and she wont let the cat hurt her bird, BUT… she has a weakness. Without her glasses, she is blind. Sylvester kicks them under a couch and almost catches his meal, but Tweety gets the glasses just in time.

The ship begins its cruise and Sylvester paints a bad drawing of Tweety on Granny’s glasses so he can chase him round the ship. After a while he is found with his head over the side. Tweety asks if he lost something and he did… his lunch. Tweety tries to give him a snack, but it causes the cat to run to the sick room to down some antidote. The chase resumes, which ends up with Sylvester in the boiler.

He corners Tweety who holds up a picture of a boat and rocks it, causing the putty tat to get nauseous again. Tweety beats him to the sick room (Look, Hawley Pratt!) and switches the antidote with nitroglycerine. This gives Sylvester a new weapon and he would have caught the bird if Granny had not shown up. She hits him with her umbrella which causes him to sail into the sky. He lands on the captain ko-ing them both. Tweety and Granny then take over the ship.

Personal Rating: 3