| Pre-Hysterical Hare | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card. | |
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Produced by | John Burton, Sr. |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Dave Barry (uncredited) |
| Music by | John Seely |
| Animation by | Character animation: Ted Bonnicksen Warren Batchelder Tom Ray George Grandpré |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | William Butler |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 7 minutes |
| Language | English |
Pre-Hysterical Hare is a 1958Warner Bros.Looney Tunes cartoon directed byRobert McKimson and written byTedd Pierce.[1] The short was released on November 1, 1958, and starsBugs Bunny andElmer Fudd.[2] The two are in their usual hunter-and-bunny antics, but set in theStone Age. The first half of the title is a play on "prehistorical".
This cartoon marks one of the few instances where Elmer Fudd is voiced by somebody other thanArthur Q. Bryan during the latter's lifetime, being voiced byDave Barry instead. The film contains footage from the 1950 short filmCaveman Inki directed byChuck Jones and animated by Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, Phil Monroe and Ben Washam.
The narrative beings Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in a contemporary setting, where Elmer persistently fires his gun at Bugs. Bugs momentarily breaks the fourth wall to comment on the perennial chaos of Rabbit Season. He then leaps over a stone dike and unexpectedly falls into what he surmises to be a cave of giant Indigenous Americans, deduced from a colossal powder horn labeled as a time capsule from 10,000 BC to be opened in 1960 AD.
Inside, Bugs discovers a film reel, which he takes back to his hole to view using hisfilm projector. The film depicts various anachronistic prehistoric scenes, including dinosaurs and mammals clashing, before introducing Elmer Fuddstone, a caveman version of Elmer, who declares his intent to hunt a sabre-toothed rabbit, a primitive incarnation of Bugs.
As Fuddstone engages in various slapstick hunting attempts, including a failed vine snare and a mishap with a poisonous berry, Bugs repeatedly outsmarts him. Bugs suggests the future invention of gunpowder and firearms, prompting Fuddstone to experiment with these ideas. His rudimentary gunpowder explodes, leaving him charred but determined.
Bugs then assists in creating a primitive firearm using a hollow stick and a taro root. When Elmer tries to use this makeshift gun, Bugs tricks him by reversing the barrel, causing Elmer to shoot himself in the face.
The film concludes with Bugs commenting that no "smart hunters" are a match for "us dumb rabbits", when a modern-day Elmer enters Bugs' hole and responds by saying "Oh that's what you think, Wabbit!", while inadvertently pointing his gun at himself and repeats his ancestor’s mistake. As Elmer accidentally shoots himself, Bugs remarks, "That's what I think", and imitates Elmer's trademark laughter.
This is one of six cartoons (and the only Bugs Bunny cartoon) scored by using stock music by John Seely ofCapitol Records from theHi-Q library because of a musicians' strike in 1958. The others areHook, Line and Stinker,Weasel While You Work,Hip Hip-Hurry!,Gopher Broke, andA Bird in a Bonnet.
| Preceded by | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1958 | Succeeded by |