| Herr Meets Hare | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Title card for the short | |
| Directed by | Friz Freleng |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by |
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| Layouts by | Owen Fitzgerald |
| Backgrounds by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 7:15 |
| Language | English |
Herr Meets Hare is a 1945Merrie Melodiesanti-Nazipropaganda animated short directed byFriz Freleng.[2] The short was released on January 13, 1945 duringWorld War II, and featuresBugs Bunny.[3][4] This short, released not long before the collapse of theThird Reich, was the penultimate wartime themed cartoon fromWarner Bros. (Draftee Daffy was the last) being released just under four months beforeVictory in Europe Day.
The cartoon opens with a fauxWalter Winchell-like voice discussing the end of theThird Reich, saying that "Germany has been battered into a fare-thee-well", and musing about where the high leadership, and"Fatso" Göring in particular has gone. The scene soon cuts to theBlack Forest, where Hermann Göring—in bemedalledlederhosen—is "soothing his jangled nerves" marching while on a hunt. Nearby, a furrow in the ground appears, with a hole at the end.
Bugs pops out of the hole, and sees no sign of the Black Forest on his map. (Variants of this scene would be used in later cartoons as the lead-in to the joke that Bugs, while tunneling underground, did indeed turn wrong somewhere inNew Mexico, usually by not taking a left turn atAlbuquerque. This cartoon is the first time Bugs says the popular catchphrase "Iknew I shoulda made dat left toin at Albakoikie!"[5]) The other is Bugs asks Göring about the directions toLas Vegas, oblivious to his location. Göring is almost tricked into going to Las Vegas, but then quickly realizes, "Las Veegas? Why, there is no Las Veegas in Germany!" before he fires his musket at Bugs. Genuinely alarmed by his mistaken destination, Bugs hightails it. Göring chases after the rabbit, trying to suck Bugs out of his hole with his musket as a plunger.
A few chase gags go by in which Bugs insults the integrity of Göring's medals by bending one with his teeth. Suckered into bending one himself, Göring declares them ersatz and mumbles all sorts of anti-Hitler sentiments ("Oh, do I hate that Hitler swine, that phony fuehrer, that…").[6] Bugs masquerades asAdolf Hitler after smearing on some mud, and faces the surprised Göring. Göring disappears off-screen in a flash to change into his Nazi uniform adorned with all sorts of medals. After the usualNazi salute, Bugsberates him infauxGerman as he rips all of the medals off Göring's uniform ("Klooten-flooten-blooten-pooten-meirooten-tooten!"), quickly followed by his belt. Göring "kisses" in reverence, saying, "Look! I kiss mein Fuehrer's hand. I kiss right inDer Fuehrer's face!'". Afterwards, Göring exclaims "Oh, I’m a badflooten-boy-glooten!", a variant on Warner Bros. cartoons' frequently-citedLou Costello-type catchphrase: "I'm a bad boy!".
Later, when the jig is up, Bugs rides in on a white horse, dressed asBrünhilde—fromWagnerian opera, to the tune of the "Pilgrims' Chorus" fromTannhäuser. Entranced, Göring responds by dressing up asSiegfried. The two dance and the music changes toWiener Blut, before Bugs once again makes a fool of Göring and escapes.[7]
Eventually, Göring gets a hawk to capture Bugs. Bugs, standing next to Göring asks, "Do you think he'll catch me, doc?" to which Göring replies, "Do I think he'll catch you? Why, he'll have you back here before you can say Schicklgruber." (Schicklgruber was the original surname of Hitler's father Alois.) Bugs runs off and jumps into his rabbit hole, but as he falls down the hole, the hawk, which imitatesJimmy Durante, catches Bugs in a bag, capturing him. Göring brings the bag to Hitler, who playssolitaire in front of a map depicting the decline ofFortress Europe.[6] Göring identifies the captive in the bag as "Bugsenheimer Bunny" (as opposed to "Weisenheimer", or "wise guy") toDer Fuehrer.[a] As Herr Hitler talks of the great rewards he is going to pile upon Göring for this act of heroism, he peeks inside the bag and is shocked ("Ach!! Himmel!"). Göring goes and looks inside the bag as well, to be shocked as well (again, "Ach!! Himmel!"). Out of the bag comes Bugs dressed asJoseph Stalin—complete with an enormous pipe and a large moustache—staring back at them.[6] As the cartoon ends, Bugs glances back at the camera and asks, in aRussian accent: "Does your tobacco taste different lately?", citing an ad slogan of that era for theSir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco manufactured by the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company.[6]
The Lobby cards creditsLeon Schlesinger as the producer of the short, however the cartoon itself credits Warner Bros. Cartoons rather than crediting Schlesinger. This could imply the short entered production prior to Schlesinger's departure from the studio.
Bugs dresses as Hitler to assert control over his German opponent. This is a repetition of a scene fromBugs Bunny Nips the Nips, in which Bugs dresses up as a Japanese general.[8]
Daniel Goldmark cites the cartoon as a significant precursor toWhat's Opera, Doc? (1957) and a source for its visual imagery. After running off, Bugs re-enters the scene dressed asBrünnhilde. The costume includes a blonde wig with braids and a Viking-style helmet. Bugs rides on a white horse, visually based on theClydesdale horse. Musically, the scene is accompanied by the "Pilgrim's Chorus" from theTannhäuser (1845).[7]
In response,Hermann Göring changes clothes. His lederhosen is replaced by a long brown loincloth. He wears a horned-type Viking helmet. The horns grow in size as if erect, as he lustfully gazes at "Brünnhilde". The duo dances to the tune of two waltzes byJohann Strauss II: "Vienna Life" and "You and You", the latter originating inDie Fledermaus (1874).[7]
The entry of Bugs and his white horse into the scene is repeated inWhat's Opera, Doc?. The dance with the male suitor is, however, changed from aslapstick-rendition of thewaltz to a refinedballet.[7] The motivation of the dancers also changes. Göring is "lost in the moment" and follows his partner's lead. In the latter, the dance is part of an artistic performance.[7]
Both cartoons were written byMichael Maltese, which may account for the similarities. In the older short, the musical references were intended as a criticism of Germany,Richard Wagner serving as "a suitable musical backdrop". The second short makes Wagner and opera itself its targets.[7]
Like other American animated cartoons,Herr Meets Hare was available toGerman prisoners of war in the United States, some of whom did not like it; Hans Goebler said: "You saw Hermann Göring standing there full of decorations, then all of a sudden a rabbit showed up and took all the decorations off, and stuff like that. And we didn't care for that."[9]
The cartoon saw limited broadcast on a special one-hour episode ofToonHeads about cartoons from World War II. It has also appeared onTurner Classic Movies'Cartoon Alley as recently as January 20, 2007.
In 2008, it was released to DVD on the setLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6.