The Grey Hounded Hare

The Grey Hounded Hare
	Title card for The Grey Hounded Hare
Directed by	Robert McKimson
Produced by	Edward Selzer (uncredited)
Story by	Warren Foster
Starring	Mel Blanc
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	John Carey; Charles McKimson; Phil DeLara; Manny Gould; Pete Burness (uncredited)
Layouts by	Cornett Wood
Backgrounds by	Richard H. Thomas
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures; The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	August 6, 1949 (USA)
Running time	6:40
Language	English

The Grey Hounded Hare[1] is a 1949 Looney Tunes short film made by Warner Bros. Pictures and starring the voice talent of Mel Blanc.[2] The film stars Bugs Bunny.[3] It was directed by Robert McKimson, and animated by John Carey, Phil DeLara, Manny Gould and Charles McKimson, with music scored by Carl Stalling.[4] The title refers to the greyhounds of the plot as well as "hounded" meaning pestered or pursued relentlessly.

Along with Tugboat Granny and Guided Muscle, The Grey Hounded Hare was featured on the final episode of The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, which aired on ABC on September 2, 2000. It was also the last Bugs Bunny cartoon to air on broadcast network television.

Plot

Bugs Bunny pops out of a hole, wondering what all the 'racket' is. He quickly finds out that he is at a greyhound track. Bugs decides to check out the dogs, commenting positively on dog #7, a large grey greyhound named Gnawbone, whom Bugs inadvertently angers.

After this, Bugs goes outside to see the race from trackside. Before the race begins, the announcer announces some of the dogs that are racing, including "Bill's Bunion", "Pneumatic Tire", "Father's Moustache", "Motorman's Glove", "Bride's Biscuit" and "Grandpa's Folly" (the latter of which has been "scratched" from the race, as in uncontrollable itching), in an homage to Spike Jones' "William Tell Overture."

Bugs watches as a rabbit lure is led out. Not realizing the rabbit is a mechanical fake, Bugs instantly falls in love with it ("Wow! What a hunk of feminine pulchritoodee!"). Upon seeing the dogs being released from their starting boxes, declaring that "chivalry is not dead", Bugs decides to "rescue" the lure and jumps into the track, taking down some of the dogs one at a time. During this sequence, the announcer, shocked at what he sees, kills himself off-screen. Bugs eventually teases the dogs enough that they start chasing him out of the track and into a taxi, which speeds off towards the Dog Pound. However, Gnawbone was not fooled and is waiting for Bugs.

Bugs then faces off with Gnawbone through trickery, first using a balloon decoy, then using a dynamite stick. Finally, Gnawbone has had it and starts to charge at Bugs "like a bull" in attempt to kill the rabbit once and for all, but Bugs plays matador and causes Gnawbone to charge into a fire hydrant, putting the dog out of commission, with a white flag of surrender on his tail.

After defeating Gnawbone, now free to pursue "Dreamboat" unhindered, Bugs gives the lure a kiss, getting a large electric shock, just before the lure goes back into its starting box. He goes for another kiss and gets electrocuted again.

Availability

This cartoon is available, uncensored and uncut, on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 DVD set.

References

Samerdyke, Michael.Cartoon Carnival: A Critical Guide to the Best Cartoons from Warner Brothers, MGM, Walter Lantz and DePatie-Freleng. Lulu Press. 28 August 2014.
Persons, Alisa and Lawson, Tim.The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors.Univ. Press of Mississippi, Dec 9, 2004,367 page. P.61.
Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 201. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

External links

Preceded by Knights Must Fall	Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1949	Succeeded by The Windblown Hare

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[1] Samerdyke, Michael.Cartoon Carnival: A Critical Guide to the Best Cartoons from Warner Brothers, MGM, Walter Lantz and DePatie-Freleng. Lulu Press. 28 August 2014.

[2] Persons, Alisa and Lawson, Tim.The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors.Univ. Press of Mississippi, Dec 9, 2004,367 page. P.61.

[3] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.

[Beck-4] Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 201. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.