Hare-Less Wolf
Encyclopedia
Hare-Less Wolf is a 1958 Merrie Melodies
cartoon starring Bugs Bunny
and a wolf character, Charles M. Wolf (voiced by Mel Blanc
). An uncredited voice goes to June Foray
as the wolf's wife, who appears in a brief scene at the beginning of the cartoon.
, who used to sign his earlier works as "Charles M. Jones") at home in his cave watching a baseball game on TV. His fun is interrupted when his wife rudely bursts in and calls him a "lazy good for nothing." The wife then blames Charlie for not filling the pot for dinner, and, tossing him the shotgun, orders him to go out and shoot a rabbit. After Charlie runs out of the cave, he pauses and tells us that he hates his wife, which encourages her to bean him with a frying pan and order him to get going.
Bugs Bunny catches Charlie running and while running alongside, he asks him what the rush is. When asked if he's hunting for something, Charlie forgets what it was his wife wanted ("A chipmunk
? A squirrel
?"). When Bugs openly guesses a rabbit, Charlie remembers right away and shoots at Bugs, but Bugs dodges the shots and, while standing on Charlie's gun, tuts him for terrible shooting. Charlie then asks Bugs to get off his gun, but Bugs hops on to Charlie's head, making him whack himself in the process.
Bugs takes Charlie's gun, thinking that there's something wrong with it. He decides to test it out by tossing a can into the air and shooting it, but after shooting Charlie in the face in the process, Bugs assumes that Charlie is what's wrong. While Bugs is leaving, Charlie shoots at him, but Bugs ducks and Charlie starts chasing him around a tree. When Bugs stops and asks what Charlie's chasing round the tree, Charlie, again, forgets what he's chasing (" A porcupine
? A woodchuck
?"). Bugs, again, openly guesses a rabbit, making Charlie remember, but before he can proceed to rush away, Bugs trips him over.
Bugs then ducks into a hole and leaves out a box. Charlie opens it and finds a hand grenade inside. While threatening Bugs to come out or be blasted, Charlie forgets the name of the place, to which Bugs reminds him "Kingdom Come." Charlie then finds a set of instructions in the box which he follows, but on the other side, there is a warning that tells him that he has only ten seconds to carry out the operation of throwing the grenade. When Charlie looks at his pocket watch, he discovers too late that ten seconds have already past, and the grenade explodes, vaporizing the fur on his head.
Angered, Charlie chases Bugs down a railroad track and into a tunnel. Just as a train whistle sounds and a headlight appears, Charlie runs out of the tunnel, only to turn around and discover Bugs holding a flashlight and blowing into a whistle. Having wised up, Charlie chases Bugs back into the tunnel. When a headlight appears and a train whistle sounds, Charlie thinks it's Bugs trying to trick him again, puts his hands on his hips, and just stays there, but a real train comes out of the tunnel and runs him over. After the train is gone, Charlie wonders why he ever wanted to catch a train.
Back in another hole, Bugs lights a nearby fuse, which makes Charlie decide to put his nose to the ground and follow it. At one point, the fuse stops, goes off like a firework to frighten Charlie, and goes on. Charlie continues to follow the fuse until he comes behind a rock and discovers a keg of gunpowder, which the fuse was attached to. The keg then explodes, leaving Charlie charred black in the process.
Bugs then builds a door on a plank of wood stretching out from a cliff. After Charlie knocks on the door, he orders Bugs to open it, but while threatening to make a move, he forgets how he's going to do it, to which Bugs reminds him "knock it down." Charlie then backs up and succeeds in breaking down the door. While falling, Charlie bangs on the door again, demanding to be let in, but upon opening the little viewing door, discovers too late he's falling. As Charlie crashes into the ravine below, the impact makes Bugs almost fall off the plank, but Bugs manages to save himself.
Already furious, Charlie rushes back up to Bugs and breathes heavily on Bugs' fur. Bugs orders him to stop it and demands to know what he wants. When Charlie, yet again, forgets what he wants, Bugs berates Charlie for forgetting and reminds him that he was hunting for something. Charlie then starts to go over what he wants ("A hedgehog
? A chimpanzee
?"). Bugs then decides not to openly say "a rabbit" again and, instead, tells Charlie to let him know when he finally finds out, leaving Charlie to continue to guess ("A giraffe
? A warthog
?").
Hours later into the night, way past dinnertime, Charlie is sitting on a rock, still trying to figure out what he wants ("A zebra
? No, no, not a zebra. Um...a hippopotamus
? No, no, not a hippopotamus."). The camera then pulls down to Bugs, in his pajamas and holding a candle, and he bids the audience goodnight as the running time for the cartoon is almost up. Bugs then ducks down into his hole and the candle douses the light, ending the cartoon.
.
The gag where Bugs Bunny tries to shoot a can but ends up shooting his adversary in the face is used again in the 1959 cartoon Wild and Woolly Hare
.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon starring Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
and a wolf character, Charles M. Wolf (voiced by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
). An uncredited voice goes to June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
as the wolf's wife, who appears in a brief scene at the beginning of the cartoon.
Plot
The cartoon opens with Charles M. Wolf (obviously a joke on Freleng's colleague Chuck JonesChuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
, who used to sign his earlier works as "Charles M. Jones") at home in his cave watching a baseball game on TV. His fun is interrupted when his wife rudely bursts in and calls him a "lazy good for nothing." The wife then blames Charlie for not filling the pot for dinner, and, tossing him the shotgun, orders him to go out and shoot a rabbit. After Charlie runs out of the cave, he pauses and tells us that he hates his wife, which encourages her to bean him with a frying pan and order him to get going.
Bugs Bunny catches Charlie running and while running alongside, he asks him what the rush is. When asked if he's hunting for something, Charlie forgets what it was his wife wanted ("A chipmunk
Chipmunk
Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
? A squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
?"). When Bugs openly guesses a rabbit, Charlie remembers right away and shoots at Bugs, but Bugs dodges the shots and, while standing on Charlie's gun, tuts him for terrible shooting. Charlie then asks Bugs to get off his gun, but Bugs hops on to Charlie's head, making him whack himself in the process.
Bugs takes Charlie's gun, thinking that there's something wrong with it. He decides to test it out by tossing a can into the air and shooting it, but after shooting Charlie in the face in the process, Bugs assumes that Charlie is what's wrong. While Bugs is leaving, Charlie shoots at him, but Bugs ducks and Charlie starts chasing him around a tree. When Bugs stops and asks what Charlie's chasing round the tree, Charlie, again, forgets what he's chasing (" A porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
? A woodchuck
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
?"). Bugs, again, openly guesses a rabbit, making Charlie remember, but before he can proceed to rush away, Bugs trips him over.
Bugs then ducks into a hole and leaves out a box. Charlie opens it and finds a hand grenade inside. While threatening Bugs to come out or be blasted, Charlie forgets the name of the place, to which Bugs reminds him "Kingdom Come." Charlie then finds a set of instructions in the box which he follows, but on the other side, there is a warning that tells him that he has only ten seconds to carry out the operation of throwing the grenade. When Charlie looks at his pocket watch, he discovers too late that ten seconds have already past, and the grenade explodes, vaporizing the fur on his head.
Angered, Charlie chases Bugs down a railroad track and into a tunnel. Just as a train whistle sounds and a headlight appears, Charlie runs out of the tunnel, only to turn around and discover Bugs holding a flashlight and blowing into a whistle. Having wised up, Charlie chases Bugs back into the tunnel. When a headlight appears and a train whistle sounds, Charlie thinks it's Bugs trying to trick him again, puts his hands on his hips, and just stays there, but a real train comes out of the tunnel and runs him over. After the train is gone, Charlie wonders why he ever wanted to catch a train.
Back in another hole, Bugs lights a nearby fuse, which makes Charlie decide to put his nose to the ground and follow it. At one point, the fuse stops, goes off like a firework to frighten Charlie, and goes on. Charlie continues to follow the fuse until he comes behind a rock and discovers a keg of gunpowder, which the fuse was attached to. The keg then explodes, leaving Charlie charred black in the process.
Bugs then builds a door on a plank of wood stretching out from a cliff. After Charlie knocks on the door, he orders Bugs to open it, but while threatening to make a move, he forgets how he's going to do it, to which Bugs reminds him "knock it down." Charlie then backs up and succeeds in breaking down the door. While falling, Charlie bangs on the door again, demanding to be let in, but upon opening the little viewing door, discovers too late he's falling. As Charlie crashes into the ravine below, the impact makes Bugs almost fall off the plank, but Bugs manages to save himself.
Already furious, Charlie rushes back up to Bugs and breathes heavily on Bugs' fur. Bugs orders him to stop it and demands to know what he wants. When Charlie, yet again, forgets what he wants, Bugs berates Charlie for forgetting and reminds him that he was hunting for something. Charlie then starts to go over what he wants ("A hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
? A chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
?"). Bugs then decides not to openly say "a rabbit" again and, instead, tells Charlie to let him know when he finally finds out, leaving Charlie to continue to guess ("A giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
? A warthog
Warthog
The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...
?").
Hours later into the night, way past dinnertime, Charlie is sitting on a rock, still trying to figure out what he wants ("A zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
? No, no, not a zebra. Um...a hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
? No, no, not a hippopotamus."). The camera then pulls down to Bugs, in his pajamas and holding a candle, and he bids the audience goodnight as the running time for the cartoon is almost up. Bugs then ducks down into his hole and the candle douses the light, ending the cartoon.
Facts
Charles M. Wolf is the same pea-brained wolf from the 1955 Sylvester and Tweety cartoon Red Riding HoodwinkedRed Riding Hoodwinked
Red Riding Hoodwinked is a "Looney Tunes" cartoon animated short starring Tweety and Sylvester. Released October 29, 1955, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng...
.
The gag where Bugs Bunny tries to shoot a can but ends up shooting his adversary in the face is used again in the 1959 cartoon Wild and Woolly Hare
Wild and Woolly Hare
Wild and Woolly Hare is a 1959 animated short starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. It features Bugs in a Western setting, again saving a town from Yosemite Sam.-Plot:...
.
Censorship
- The ABC version of this cartoon removes all of the explosives gags and the beginning scene where, after Charles M. Wolf is chased out of the house by his wife, he whispers to the audience, "I hate her," and gets nailed in the head with a frying pan http://web.archive.org/web/20000303210453/www.megalink.net/~cooke/looney/ltcutsh.html.
External Links
- Hare-Less Wolf at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...