Roman-Legion Hare
Encyclopedia
Roman Legion-Hare is a Looney Tunes
animated short released in 1955. The title is a play on the words Roman Legionnaire
. After being ordered by Emperor Nero to find a victim to be tossed to the lions, Yosemite Sam
tries to capture Bugs Bunny
.
, 54 A. D.; the camera pans past a billboard announcing "Another Appian Freeway
for Your Safety (Slow Chariot
s Keep Right)" before settling on an exterior view of the Coliseum. As spectators file into the Coliseum
, their shadows fall on a poster describing the day's sporting event:
The sign was a reference to the NFL team with the same name
, which was a league powerhouse at the time. The NFL Lions had appeared in the league championship game in the three seasons prior to the short being released, winning the title in 1952
and 1953
.
A radio-style sportscaster describes the scene for his audience and the entrance of Emperor Nero into the arena (in a chariot with tail fins from a 1950s Cadillac). Nero is represented as a caricature of actor Charles Laughton
who had played the character in The Sign of the Cross
in 1932.
The announcer reports that Nero has "consented to throw out the first victim
". When it turns out they are all out of victims, Nero commands Captain of the Guard Sam to take his legion out to get one (informing Sam that if he fails to provide a victim for the lions, Sam will be the victim).
Along the way, Sam and the legion (which looks more like a squad) cross paths with Bugs Bunny
who is looking at them expecting a parade. Sam sends his troops after Bugs but he trips them with his foot.
Sam then chases after Bugs in a chariot where he once again is victim of the "giddyap! horse/whoa! horse" routine.
Through the rest of the picture, Sam and Bugs are running through the labyrinth of the Coliseum where the lions seem to be lurking behind every other door. Sam ends up near a lion's cage and hits it on the head as Bugs opens the cage causing the lion to attack Sam. Sam goes through a door and locks it only to for the lion to grab the rug underneath him and pull him in to attack him. Yosemite then chases Bugs into a room full of lions. Sam unknowingly follows him in and sees Bugs sneaking toward the ladder. Bugs gets out and uses an alarm clock which wake the lions who attack Sam as Sam escapes. He then nears a pit of lions with Bugs at the other side. As Sam makes is way across with stilts, Bugs gives the lions some axes and saws which they use to cut the stilts down and attack Sam as he tries to get back to the other side.
Bugs finally escapes but accidentally gets himself in the middle of the arena. Sam victoriously joins Nero in his box as the lions are released. The lions run by Bugs (who quickly protects himself) and straight to Sam and Nero who take refuge atop a tall column. Bugs puts on a Roman crown and says, "Well, as the Romans say, E Pluribus Uranium
". As the enraged lions slowly chop down the column, Nero plays "Taps" on his fiddle as he and Sam await their fate, with the cartoon fading to black.
was pitted against Yosemite Sam
. As with Sahara Hare
released earlier the same year, it was an attempt to move Sam and Bugs Bunny out of the contexts of westerns or pirate movies where most of their previous pairings had occurred. The 1950s were the golden age of sword and sandal
and Roman Epic movies which provided a good new locale for the two characters. The film is notable as it was the first one where the director is credited as Friz Freleng
instead of Isadore or I. Freleng.
Parts of this film were re-used in the Friz Freleng
short film Devil's Feud Cake
in 1963.
DVD set.
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
animated short released in 1955. The title is a play on the words Roman Legionnaire
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
. After being ordered by Emperor Nero to find a victim to be tossed to the lions, Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
tries to capture 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...
.
Synopsis
The setting is RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 54 A. D.; the camera pans past a billboard announcing "Another Appian Freeway
Appian Way
The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy...
for Your Safety (Slow Chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
s Keep Right)" before settling on an exterior view of the Coliseum. As spectators file into the Coliseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
, their shadows fall on a poster describing the day's sporting event:
- "Detroit Lions in Season Opener — Undefeated Lions out for First Taste of Victory"
The sign was a reference to the NFL team with the same name
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, which was a league powerhouse at the time. The NFL Lions had appeared in the league championship game in the three seasons prior to the short being released, winning the title in 1952
1952 NFL season
The 1952 NFL season was the 33rd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL...
and 1953
1953 NFL season
The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National conferences were changed to the Eastern and Western conferences....
.
A radio-style sportscaster describes the scene for his audience and the entrance of Emperor Nero into the arena (in a chariot with tail fins from a 1950s Cadillac). Nero is represented as a caricature of actor Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
who had played the character in The Sign of the Cross
The Sign of the Cross (film)
The Sign of the Cross is a pre-Code epic film released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman, and based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett....
in 1932.
The announcer reports that Nero has "consented to throw out the first victim
Ceremonial first pitch
The ceremonial first ball is a longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from his/her place in the grandstand to the pitcher or catcher of the home team...
". When it turns out they are all out of victims, Nero commands Captain of the Guard Sam to take his legion out to get one (informing Sam that if he fails to provide a victim for the lions, Sam will be the victim).
Along the way, Sam and the legion (which looks more like a squad) cross paths with 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...
who is looking at them expecting a parade. Sam sends his troops after Bugs but he trips them with his foot.
Sam then chases after Bugs in a chariot where he once again is victim of the "giddyap! horse/whoa! horse" routine.
Through the rest of the picture, Sam and Bugs are running through the labyrinth of the Coliseum where the lions seem to be lurking behind every other door. Sam ends up near a lion's cage and hits it on the head as Bugs opens the cage causing the lion to attack Sam. Sam goes through a door and locks it only to for the lion to grab the rug underneath him and pull him in to attack him. Yosemite then chases Bugs into a room full of lions. Sam unknowingly follows him in and sees Bugs sneaking toward the ladder. Bugs gets out and uses an alarm clock which wake the lions who attack Sam as Sam escapes. He then nears a pit of lions with Bugs at the other side. As Sam makes is way across with stilts, Bugs gives the lions some axes and saws which they use to cut the stilts down and attack Sam as he tries to get back to the other side.
Bugs finally escapes but accidentally gets himself in the middle of the arena. Sam victoriously joins Nero in his box as the lions are released. The lions run by Bugs (who quickly protects himself) and straight to Sam and Nero who take refuge atop a tall column. Bugs puts on a Roman crown and says, "Well, as the Romans say, E Pluribus Uranium
E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
". As the enraged lions slowly chop down the column, Nero plays "Taps" on his fiddle as he and Sam await their fate, with the cartoon fading to black.
History
This cartoon represents the eighteenth time Bugs BunnyBugs 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...
was pitted against Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
. As with Sahara Hare
Sahara Hare
Sahara Hare is a 1954 Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1955 and directed by Friz Freleng.-Plot:This is another classic battle between Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam . Bugs pops up out from underground, thinking he has reached Miami Beach, when in reality he is in the Sahara Desert,...
released earlier the same year, it was an attempt to move Sam and Bugs Bunny out of the contexts of westerns or pirate movies where most of their previous pairings had occurred. The 1950s were the golden age of sword and sandal
Sword and sandal
The Peplum , also known as Sword-and-Sandal, is a genre of largely Italian-made Historical or Biblical Epics that dominated the Italian film industry from 1957 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by the "Spaghetti Western"...
and Roman Epic movies which provided a good new locale for the two characters. The film is notable as it was the first one where the director is credited as Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
instead of Isadore or I. Freleng.
Parts of this film were re-used in the Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
short film Devil's Feud Cake
Devil's Feud Cake
Devil's Feud Cake is a 1962 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short featuring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. This one of the few Bugs Bunny cartoons to use footage from previous episodes, and the first to do so since 1959's Hare-Abian Nights....
in 1963.
Censorship
- When aired on ABC, the part where Yosemite Sam beats the lion ("How many times do I have to tell..you...to....shut.....up?") before realizing that there are no cage bars separating him from the lion was shortened from eight beatings to one and a half.
- For reasons unknown (possibly time constraints), Cartoon Network's airing cuts out Bugs's line (after Nero and Sam are chased to the top of the column by the lions), "Well, like the Romans say, E. Pluribus Uranium." -a spoof of E pluribus unumE pluribus unumE pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
.
Availability
Roman Legion Hare was released on the Bugs Bunny's Wacky Adventures VHS as part of the Golden Jubilee video set. The short is also part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on November 14, 2006...
DVD set.
See also
- Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1950–1959)
- List of Bugs Bunny cartoons