Hare Ribbin' (1944)

. . . as Bugs Bunny gives the canine which has supposedly just chomped America's Favorite Hare in half a revolver with which the remorseful mutt can extrude his brains. Since Dr. K. once proposed executing people by draining their blood into some sort of bank to be used by Terrorists Swiss-cheesed by the cops, HARE RIBBIN's assault on human sense and sensibilities would be right up Jack's Blind Alley. But for those of us still in possession of SOME of our marbles, it's pretty hard to see even cartoon logic in a story which spends most of its time underwater just for the Hell of it. That the Wishy-Washy pooch is nearly as irritating as Pepe Le Pew is neither here nor there. Bugs' eagerness to climb between two slices of bread--when he's not too busy hunting HIMSELF with a long gun--smacks of the sort of filth that would make Marquis De Sade blush in writing. If some of Today's Film Students turned in HARE RIBBIN' as their Animation Class Project, let's hope their prof would forward such claptrap to the dean for psychological evaluation and remediation treatments.

Bugs Bunny has always been one of animation's best, funniest, most interesting and most iconic characters. Bob Clampett is perhaps not as famous as the likes of Chuck Jones, Fritz Freleng or Tex Avery, but he was a very interesting and very good animation director in his own right with a quite unique visual style.'Hare Ribbin', to be honest, is not one of the best from either. It's interesting, it's amusing and it's very well made, but in the case of both Bugs and Clampett 'Hare Ribbin' is a contender for their strangest, and the weirdness did get in the way at times.There is definitely plenty to like. Clampett's visual style is immediately distinctive and is not just beautifully rendered but the imagination and wonderful exaggeration put into it makes it eye-popping. The colours are vibrant, the backgrounds very meticulous in detail and the drawing fluid and very smooth.Carl Stalling never disappoints and one of my favourite composers in cartoon history, 'Hare Ribbin' does nothing to change that perception. Anybody expecting luscious orchestration, characterful rhythms, clever use of instrumentation and sounds and the ability to elevate gags to a greater level rather than just adding to it will find all of those aplenty.Regarding the writing, it does have freshness and wit, more so from Bugs than with the Russian dog. Just don't look for logic and sense, they're cast to the wind here, not that you should expect that in cartoons but they are replaced by a bizarre weirdness that doesn't always feel right. Bugs' mermaid and French waiter disguises are especially a lot of fun though.As for the darker and more violent ending for a Looney Tunes cartoon, it is definitely not a bad thing to take risks (personally applaud risk-taking when done right, and tend to appreciate the effort if it doesn't quite come off, much less so if it badly fails at it), but the ending does feel like a cop out and is at odds with the rest of the cartoon.No complaints can be made with Bugs, he's still as funny and smartly likable as ever. Was less keen on the Russian dog, who is not one of our favourite rabbit's best foils, a bit dull and more dumb than funny. Mel Blanc does characteristically wonderfully as Bugs, Sam Wolfe however didn't do much for me due to an inconsistent accent that never seemed sure what it was meant to be.Overall, well-made and amusing but has a strangeness that doesn't quite work. 7/10 Bethany Cox

So the dog was supposed to have a Russian accent?! I never realized that; I had always thought that he sounded kind of effeminate - maybe he's supposed to be a Russian woman. But the Soviet Union was our ally during WWII, so I can't really tell what it's supposed to mean that he sounds Russki. As for the aspect that they can breathe underwater...well, this is a cartoon, so nothing has to make sense. The point is for Bugs Bunny to be irreverent, even dressing up as a woman (interesting that they were able to get that into a cartoon back then). It's pretty funny, but still sort of brain-twisting.Yeah, maybe that shouldn't have happened to a dog.

This one just does not make any sense, not even by Bob Clampett standards. What is the deal with this hound with the red poodle quiff (split down the middle) and a Russian accent? He's looking for a little gray rabbit, that's what. And he can breathe underwater. But then again so can Bugs. I suppose most cartoon characters can as long as they don't think about it. The chase starts in the usual Warner Forrest, but soon takes a dive into the deep end of the river and neither sanity nor the two leads ever surface again (I seriously doubt if that redski ever got out of the river at all). If Bob and screenwriter Lou Lilly were so keen to try out their new underwater ripple effects, why not write it into the story?Now what would you do if you're trying to outsmart someone at the bottom of the pond? Use different disguises of course! The rabbit immediately dressed up as a mermaid while the dog turns himself into a torpedo. Bugs then pretends to be a french waiter speaking to a Japanese cook (I think). He even does an imitation of Elmer, who should have been here in a diving suit going after Daffy if you ask me. That must be it, Bugs and this immigrant were filling in while the others were renegotiating their contracts! The end is yet another version of that favourite Warner cop out: the attempted suicide (was that ever really funny?) Surprisingly, there is one last add lib after this that did make me laugh. That Clampett! He never gives up!??? out of 10