The Hasty Hare
Encyclopedia
The Hasty Hare is a 1951 Looney Tunes
cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones
, and starring Bugs Bunny
. Marvin the Martian
is assigned to capture an Earth creature, and the first one he comes across is Bugs.
plays in the background (and will play repeatedly in the short), Marvin the Martian (here referred to as Commander of the X2 vessel) is traveling to Earth. Upon landing, he opens his assignment envelope - return one Earth creature back to Mars (signed, Commander E=mc²). With the help of his martian dog, K-9 (who 'talks' to Marvin by handing him notes), he finds Bugs' rabbit hole. As the two observe the hole, they are pushed back when Bugs cleans out a bucket of carrot stems. Seeing their getup, Bugs assumes it must be Halloween
, so he hands them each a bag of treats. Marvin then decides that he'll have to use force. He pulls out his disintegrating gun and atomizes a large hole where the small rabbit hole used to be. Bugs shrieks "How Halloween-y can you get?" before seeing the flying saucer.
Marvin then tells Bugs that he's to come back to Mars with him. Bugs tries to act defiant, but goes slightly insane when Marvin uses his pistol against a nearby rock (which also disintegrates part of the ground under the rock). He quickly gets some bags and runs into the ship, then runs back out as a train conductor, telling Marvin and K-9 "Flying saucer, leaving for Saturn
, Neptune
, Jupiter
, Venus
, the Dogstar
and Mars
. All aboard!" Marvin and K-9 rush on the ship and fly off, then realize their mistake in midflight and fly back ("Oh! That wasn't a bit nice! [huff, puff] You have made me very angry, [huff, puff] very angry indeed!").
Bugs convinces Marvin that he wants to go to Mars, but he doesn't want to get involved in a mutiny (the implication that K-9 is going against Marvin). Marvin calls K-9 over and atomizes him, but K-9 pulls himself out of his helmet, asking what he did wrong (signed, 'Anxious'). Bugs starts walking off, but Marvin and K-9 shoot him with an Acme
Straight-jacket ejecting bazooka, tying Bugs up. On the ship, Marvin is piloting while K-9 watches over Bugs (labeled as "One over-confident Earth creature"). Bugs convinces K-9 to let him 'try on something more sporty - maybe in a size 36'. Now out of the straight-jacket, Bugs quickly ties K-9 up, then grabs another jacket and yells that the ship has struck an iceberg, quickly tying up Marvin as well (telling Marvin it's a life preserver).
Now with both of them tied up (labeled as "Two disgruntled Martians"), Bugs tries turning the ship back home. After a brief out-of-control spin, he starts to fly back, but throws out an anchor
to steady the ship. The anchor then pulls on a crescent moon, which in turn pulls on Saturn's rings, a large planet (presumably Jupiter) and other assorted stars. Back on Earth, a small man in an observatory looks into his telescope, only to see the spaceship and the planets directly in front of him. The man then writes a note ("I resign! When I begin to see things like this, it's time to take up turkey farming." Signed, I. Frisby (a reference to Friz Freleng
, whose caricature was indeed used for the character) and leaves. Outside, Bugs asks the man if he knows where he can sell a "slightly used flying saucer — it's only got 3 billion miles on it." The man then starts making spastic movements and walking off, causing Bugs to ask the audience, "Huh, what's biting him?"
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...
cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck 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...
, and 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...
. Marvin the Martian
Marvin the Martian
Marvin the Martian is a fictional character appearing in the Looney Tunes cartoons. Marvin's likeness appears in miniature on the Spirit rover on Mars.-Conception and creation:...
is assigned to capture an Earth creature, and the first one he comes across is Bugs.
Synopsis
As PowerhousePowerhouse (song)
Powerhouse is a instrumental musical composition by Raymond Scott, probably best known today as the iconic "assembly line" music in animated cartoons released by Warner Brothers.-History:...
plays in the background (and will play repeatedly in the short), Marvin the Martian (here referred to as Commander of the X2 vessel) is traveling to Earth. Upon landing, he opens his assignment envelope - return one Earth creature back to Mars (signed, Commander E=mc²). With the help of his martian dog, K-9 (who 'talks' to Marvin by handing him notes), he finds Bugs' rabbit hole. As the two observe the hole, they are pushed back when Bugs cleans out a bucket of carrot stems. Seeing their getup, Bugs assumes it must be Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, so he hands them each a bag of treats. Marvin then decides that he'll have to use force. He pulls out his disintegrating gun and atomizes a large hole where the small rabbit hole used to be. Bugs shrieks "How Halloween-y can you get?" before seeing the flying saucer.
Marvin then tells Bugs that he's to come back to Mars with him. Bugs tries to act defiant, but goes slightly insane when Marvin uses his pistol against a nearby rock (which also disintegrates part of the ground under the rock). He quickly gets some bags and runs into the ship, then runs back out as a train conductor, telling Marvin and K-9 "Flying saucer, leaving for Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
, Neptune
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
, Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, the Dogstar
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
and Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. All aboard!" Marvin and K-9 rush on the ship and fly off, then realize their mistake in midflight and fly back ("Oh! That wasn't a bit nice! [huff, puff] You have made me very angry, [huff, puff] very angry indeed!").
Bugs convinces Marvin that he wants to go to Mars, but he doesn't want to get involved in a mutiny (the implication that K-9 is going against Marvin). Marvin calls K-9 over and atomizes him, but K-9 pulls himself out of his helmet, asking what he did wrong (signed, 'Anxious'). Bugs starts walking off, but Marvin and K-9 shoot him with an Acme
Acme Corporation
The Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a running gag featuring outlandish products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times...
Straight-jacket ejecting bazooka, tying Bugs up. On the ship, Marvin is piloting while K-9 watches over Bugs (labeled as "One over-confident Earth creature"). Bugs convinces K-9 to let him 'try on something more sporty - maybe in a size 36'. Now out of the straight-jacket, Bugs quickly ties K-9 up, then grabs another jacket and yells that the ship has struck an iceberg, quickly tying up Marvin as well (telling Marvin it's a life preserver).
Now with both of them tied up (labeled as "Two disgruntled Martians"), Bugs tries turning the ship back home. After a brief out-of-control spin, he starts to fly back, but throws out an anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
to steady the ship. The anchor then pulls on a crescent moon, which in turn pulls on Saturn's rings, a large planet (presumably Jupiter) and other assorted stars. Back on Earth, a small man in an observatory looks into his telescope, only to see the spaceship and the planets directly in front of him. The man then writes a note ("I resign! When I begin to see things like this, it's time to take up turkey farming." Signed, I. Frisby (a reference to 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....
, whose caricature was indeed used for the character) and leaves. Outside, Bugs asks the man if he knows where he can sell a "slightly used flying saucer — it's only got 3 billion miles on it." The man then starts making spastic movements and walking off, causing Bugs to ask the audience, "Huh, what's biting him?"
Censorship
- The CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
version of this cartoon cut the scene of Marvin the Martian blasting his dog with a laser gun. - For reasons unknown (possibly time constraints), Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
edited a rather innocuous part where after the Friz Freleng-esque astronomer sees Bugs' spaceship with the stars, planets, and moons attached to it, he writes a note and leaves, then it cuts to a close-up of the note and it reads, "I resign! When I begin to see things like this, it's time to take up turkey farming." The CN version just has the shot of the astronomer staring in shock after seeing the spaceship, then it cuts to him walking out of the observatory before being questioned by Bugs.