Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt

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Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
Directed byI. Freleng
Story byMichael Maltese
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
StarringMel Blanc
Music byCarl W. Stalling
Animation byGil Turner
Gerry Chiniquy
Manuel Perez
Cal Dalton
Richard Bickenbach
Herman Cohen
Color processTechnicolor
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • June 7, 1941 (1941-06-07)
Running time
7:30
LanguageEnglish

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.[1] Mel Blanc voiced all characters. This film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (cartoons). This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.[2] The short makes several direct references to The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Plot[]

Bugs is reading The Song of Hiawatha out loud to himself and the saga turns real as a pint-sized, Elmer Fudd-like Hiawatha (minus the speech impediment) turns up, paddling his canoe. Hiawatha is looking for a rabbit for his dinner. Hiawatha manages to trick Bugs into thinking he is preparing a hot bath for him. It is actually a cooking pot, which Bugs quickly vacates once Hiawatha casually mentions that he is having rabbit stew for supper.

Reception[]

The Film Daily called the short a "very funny cartoon", saying, "the result is a howl from start to finish. The serious-minded Indian's efforts to catch the screwball rabbit for stewing purposes makes a lively and comical race. Bugs Bunny gets better and funnier with every screen appearance."[3]

Home media[]

  • VHS - Bugs Bunny Cartoon Festival Featuring "Little Red Riding Rabbit" [4]
  • DVD - Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection
  • DVD - The Maltese Falcon 3-Disc Special Edition
  • Blu-ray - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3.
  • LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 2, Side 2

Notes[]

The European Dubbed Print Replaces 1941-1955 with the 1938-1941 MWRA

References[]

  1. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 117. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Reviews of Short Subjects". The Film Daily. 79 (119): 5. June 19, 1941. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-10-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

Preceded by Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1941
Succeeded by
The Heckling Hare
Retrieved from ""