Hare-Way to the Stars
Hare-Way to the Stars | |
---|---|
Directed by | Chuck Jones |
Story by | Michael Maltese |
Produced by | Edward Selzer John W. Burton |
Starring | Mel Blanc |
Music by | Milt Franklyn |
Animation by | Richard Thompson Ken Harris Abe Levitow Harry Love (special animation effects) |
Layouts by | Maurice Noble |
Backgrounds by | Philip De Guard |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 minutes |
Language | English |
Hare-Way to the Stars is a 1958 American animated science fiction comedy short film directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese.[1] The short was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on March 29, 1958 as part of the Looney Tunes series, and stars Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian.[2] The title is a play on the song "Stairway to the Stars."
Plot[]
The cartoon starts when Bugs Bunny, feeling the effects of mixing radish juice with carrot juice the night before, unknowingly climbs out of his hole and into a rocket ship that is about to be launched into space. He realizes what has happened once he screws open the tip of the ship, and is immediately hit by the satellite Sputnik and lands on what appears to be a space station. While there, Bugs meets Marvin the Martian who is trying to blow up the Earth with his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator (which is actually a stick of dynamite) because "Earth obstructs his view of Venus".
Bugs quietly steals Marvin's explosive, and Marvin quickly discovers what happened. He creates Martians who somewhat resemble the Martians of A Martian Odyssey and Jumpin' Jupiter by adding water to "10,000 INSTANT MARTIANS Just add water" pills. The Martians all leave to capture Bugs. Bugs gets on a rocket scooter and is pursued by a Martian. After noticing it mimics his every move to catch up with him, Bugs mimes driving out of the space station, causing the Martian to actually do that. He is then pursued by the Martians and hides behind a door so that he can chase them. The Martians use the same trick to get behind Bugs and chase him, but he uses the same trick again to make the Martians run into a trapdoor and make them fall out of the space station. Bugs then steals a UFO and when Marvin attempts to make more Martians, Bugs swaps the lit Space Modulator for the bottle of "10,000 INSTANT MARTIANS Just add water" pills. The Modulator explodes in Marvin's hand just after he finishes saying its name, destroying his space station. Standing amid the shattered remains, Marvin concedes defeat and that it is "back to the old drawing board" for his plans to destroy the Earth. Bugs arrives on Earth in the UFO, but crashes into a construction site warning sign and finds himself and the bottle of "Instant Martian" pills falling into the sewer and splashing all the pills. The ground shakes as Bugs climbs out of the sewer, frantically replaces the manhole cover and warns the audience "Run for the hills folks, or you'll be up to your armpits in Martians!", before proceeding to take his own advice as Martian antennas poke out of the cracks appearing in the ground.
Crew[]
- Story: Michael Maltese
- Animation: Richard Thompson, Ken Harris & Abe Levitow
- Layouts: Maurice Noble
- Backgrounds:
- Effects Animation: Harry Love
- Film : Treg Brown
- Voice Characterizations: Mel Blanc
- Produced by Edward Selzer & John W. Burton
- Directed by Chuck Jones
Home media[]
The cartoon was featured on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 Blu-ray box set (released November 15, 2011) with the cartoon restored and in high definition. This cartoon was also made part of the feature film The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (sometimes known as The Great American Chase).
References[]
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 307. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60-62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links[]
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- 1958 films
- English-language films
- 1958 animated films
- 1958 short films
- 1950s American animated films
- 1950s animated short films
- 1950s science fiction comedy films
- 1950s Warner Bros. animated short films
- Looney Tunes
- American films
- Short films directed by Chuck Jones
- Films scored by Milt Franklyn
- Animated films about extraterrestrial life
- Films set in outer space
- Mars in film
- Films featuring Bugs Bunny
- Films featuring Marvin the Martian
- Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese