Devil May Hare

Devil May Hare, a 1953 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon was released on June 19th, 1954. This theatrical cartoon was directed by Robert McKimson and starred Mel Blanc playing the voices of Bugs Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, and the turtle (thought to be Cecil Turtle, who'd been shelved years earlier, in 1947). This short is featured on Looney Tunes – The Spotlight Collection Volume 1 (Premiere Edition). It is the only Taz cartoon in the series.

Plot
In this cartoon, Bugs Bunny is doing a bit of spring cleaning, getting rid of carrot heads. He ducks into his hole when a small bird (Bugs refers it as a low-flying plane) zooms past. He then sees a deer jump over him, and wonders what's going on. Then a whole stampede of animals appears, and Bugs tries to query them to find out what's going on, all of which go unanswered. He manages to stop a turtle by putting a shovel in front of him. Bugs asks the turtle what was happening, with the turtle explaining that "the Tasmanian Devil's on the loose! Run! Run! Run for your life!". Bugs then goes back into his hole and looks in the encyclopedia to find this character in it. This cartoon, in fact, is the Tasmanian Devil’s first appearance in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes cartoons. Bugs Bunny gets himself into this situation because he offers to help the disheveled Tasmanian Devil find his dinner.

The following quote illustrates Bugs’ realization that Tas is in fact a threat and danger to him: "Q..R..S..T, Tasmanian ... Here it is! 'A strong, murderous beast, jaws powerful as a steel-trap &mdash; has ravenous appetite &mdash; eats tigers, lions, elephants, buffaloes, donkeys, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, giraffes, octopuses, moose, ducks," the Tasmanian Devil then appears next to him and interjects, "Rabbits" and handwrites it into the encyclopedia.

This is when Bugs Bunny realizes that he is in danger and that the Tasmanian Devil could in fact potentially attack and eat him. He then convinces Taz that he (Bugs) would not satisfy his appetite. He tells him that groundhogs would do so; Bugs hands him a shovel and ends up burying him. Just when Bugs thinks he's done with him, the Tasmanian Devil asks: "What for you bury me in the cold, cold ground?" Taz then attacks him, Bugs then feigns smelling chicken nearby which excites Taz. Bugs makes the chicken from liquid bubble gum and baking soda which Taz immediately devours. He then starts hicupping and creates a giant bubble and begins to drift away. Bugs takes out a slingshot and shoots Taz down causing him to become entangled in the gum caught in a tree branch.

Next Bugs makes a pig out of an inflatable raft. Taz swallows it and Bugs pulls the string causing the raft to inflate inside of him. Then Bugs creates a deer out of wood. He then sees the Tasmanian Devil after him and climbs up a tree, which Taz chomps down on causing it to become smaller with each bite. Bugs diverts his attention to the crudely made wooden deer ("N-n-now, devil, control yourself. That's no way to act. Now, now, take it easy, I can explain everything, doc. Uh, I just rounded up something very extra special for ya, a nice, fat deer!") and tells him to knock it out with a giant slingshot ("Not so fast, you'll scare him away! Foist knock hm out with this slingshot, then go get him."). As Taz pulls down on the slingshot, Bugs saws down the tree that is used for the slingshot causing Taz to go flying off and crash.

As Bugs laughs at Tazmanian's misfortune, a real fawn (resembling Bambi) appears next to him. He warns the fawn of the Tasmanian Devil (making some insulting comments in the process), not knowing that Taz is right behind him. "Flattery will get you nowhere", Taz says, "and you can't fool me again". Bugs attempts to convince him that the fawn is made of straw. Taz replies: "But you're not!" He starts to chase him, devouring everything he comes across. Bugs hides in a tree hole and calls a delivery service for the lonely Female Tasmanian Devil whom Taz immediately falls in love with. Bugs pretends to be a minister and pronounces them "Devil and Devilish". The couple then ride off in the airplane that the Female Tasmanian Devil comes on. Bugs ends the cartoon with the line: "All the world loves a lover, but in this case I'll make an exception".

Video
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