Hare-um Scare-um

Hare-um Scare-um is a 1939 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton, and first released on August 12, 1939 by Warner Bros.. It marks the fourth appearance of Happy Rabbit and the first time he, thanks to a redesign by Charlie Thorsen, appears as a grey rabbit instead of a white one. The title is a homonym with an old nonsense expression that has nothing to do with rabbits as such.

plot
It opens to a man reading a newspaper that they blocked him from stores. He then tells his dog He is going Hunting for Rabbit's. A Rabbit lays a trap for the dog, the dog gets scared of the sound. The Bunny ( who's named Happy Rabbit) then plays Guess who to the dog, all that comes out is a bark. The hunter then sees Rabbits, he aims his gun, he then ran over where it was, when he got there, there was a spin whell with rabbit signs. The Hunter then see's Happy sleeping the hunter starts spraying salt on him when he quickly got up and the Hunter was now putting salt on an Cucumber. Happy Starts eating it and say's "Sqarict, Mighty fine nerve hight, Boy have got'in nerve". Happy runs in a cave, the hunter runs after him. Before he reach's the cave a Elevator forms and the hunter smacks it. Happy then opens it and says "Main floor, Whethergoods, Poetery, Washing Machines and asstrumah going Up" and closes it as the elevator goes up. The elepator floor goes back down and Happy then opens it and says "You don't have to be crazy to do this um, buts it's your help's" and close's it and the elevator goes down. Happy then dresse's in a girl dog drag. The dog then see's the drag. He then think's it is a dog when he notices its Happy. Happy then pretend he's a Police man only silly. He then sings the same song as below.The hunter then finds Happy. Happy explanes to the Hunter how poor he is. He then shocks the Hunter falls to the ground. He then tells Happy he can whip him and his whole family then see's alot of Rabbit's as Happy's family. Then they attack the hunter and his dog then see's backrounded two heads, the hunter and the dog rolling down. Iris out.

songs
The goofy song the rabbit sings starts something like this :
 * I'm going cuckoo, woo-woo!
 * Here comes the choo-choo, woo-woo!
 * I'm so gooney Looney Tuney, touched in the head
 * Please pass the ketchup, I think I'll go to bed
 * etc.

Eight years later, the song will be varied somewhat and reprised by Bugs Bunny in Easter Yeggs:
 * Here's the Easter Rabbit, hooray!
 * The happy Easter Rabbit, hooray!
 * I am getting Looney Tuney, touched in the head
 * This whole thing is gooney, I should have stayed in bed.
 * etc.

Bugs again sings a song familiar to these in The Big Snooze.
 * The Rabbit's are'a comin Horray Horray
 * The Rabbit's are comin horray
 * etc

Censorship

 * When the hunter says he can whip Happy and his whole family a bunch of rabbits that look like Happy pop up. The picture then fades to black rather abruptly. This is said to have been deleted: all of the rabbits attack the hunter and his dog, the smoke of the hostilities clears, and the viewer sees two heads, the hunter's and the dog's, rolling down a roadway into the sunset as the iris closes to end the cartoon. There is some question as to whether the cartoon in its original form ends here or immediately after the fighting causes the cloud of smoke.

Cultural influence
It is a special feature in the Happy Feet DVD, possibly because the plot is similar to that of Happy Feet.

Link
Hare-um Scare-um video |