| Hillbilly Hare | |
| Director: | Robert McKimson |
| Producer: | Edward Selzer |
| Story: | Tedd Pierce |
| Layout Artist: | Cornett Wood |
| Background Artist: | Richard H. Thomas |
| Music: | Carl Stalling |
| Studio: | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Color Process: | Technicolor |
| Runtime: | 7:22 |
| Language: | English |
Hillbilly Hare is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson.[1] The short was released on August 12, 1950 and stars Bugs Bunny.[2]
Bugs Bunny is vacationing in the Ozarks and stumbles into the territory of two hillbilly brothers, Curt and Punkinhead Martin. The brothers mistake Bugs as being a member of The Coy Clan they are feuding with and make several attempts to shoot him. Bugs foils them each time. Curt and Punkinhead are determined to get revenge on Bugs for their humiliation. Bugs easily outsmarts them and eventually, dressed as an attractive hillbilly girl, tricks them into doing a square dance. The dance tune starts as a straightforward version of "Skip to My Lou" played and called by the jukebox band, "The Sow Belly Trio". Shortly after, Bugs deliberately unplugs the jukebox, emoves the dress, and takes over fiddling and calling the square dance. He continues to follow the beat and rhythm of the song while manipulating the Martins through a series of slapstick comedy gags. Bugs proceeds to assign the Martins increasingly bizarre and violent directives, which the brothers unquestioningly follow with hilarious results. Finally, with the Martins having promenaded off a cliff, Bugs finishes the dance by having the Martins groggily bow to each other (before collapsing due to exhaustion from the whole "dance") and saying, "And THAT is all!" and playing six final notes on the fiddle, before the cartoon ends.
The hillbillies in Hillbilly Hare have appeared in the DC Looney Tunes comic book series, and had a cameo along with Bugs in the Histeria! episode "Great Heroes of France". They also make a brief cameo in Space Jam (they are briefly seen with the other Looney Tunes characters watching the basketball game between the Tune Squad and the Monstars). They are also part of the characters in the television series New Looney Tunes.
Animation historian Mike Mallory writes, "With Hillbilly Hare, director Robert McKimson, story man Tedd Pierce, and composer Carl Stalling combined to create a comedic perfect storm: the picture without the soundtrack is funny; the soundtrack without the picture is funny; and the music by itself is funny... What elevates Hillbilly Hare to the top rank of Looney Tunes cartoons is its second half, a relentless, hilariously insane square dance called by Bugs (channeling the Western swing musician Bob Wills). The rabbit's instructions are religiously carried out by the hillbillies, who bludgeon each other senseless in the process. This three-minute crescendo of slapstick is one of the greatest sustained pieces of comedy ever drawn."[4] The gag of Bugs Bunny refixing his opponents gun so it will literally backfire is seen in Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958).
Months after the films release, a letter from Warren, Pennsylvania was sent to the studio, requesting for Bugs' square dancing calls that were used during the film's climax. McKimson also considered putting the short up for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, however producer Edward Selzer refused to submit it for consideration.[5]