Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
...and welcome to 'Day Twenty-Six' of "Abnor Mal's Guide To Creepy Cartoon Classics on Roku" where I aim to bring you another creepy cartoon classic from the plethora of spooky animated short films that have been released throughout the course of animation history - any of which can be streamed on TV via the magic of Roku players - so let's dim the lights, for more fun & frights! :-O
If you read my special hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - that I published twenty-six days ago, you will know I plan to post a Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, featuring one vintage cartoon classic with spooky overtones each and every time. With recommendations for thirty-one of the most spook-tacular shorts I can find, by the end of the month, this means you'll have plenty of great choices for your creepy cartoon viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring lots of laughs & screams come October 31st! :-D
Likewise... if you read my previous post on 'Day Twenty-Five' of this month-long blogathon, you may recall it featured a doctor - or "man of science" / "scientist", if you will - who produced a potion that was capable of transforming anyone who consumed it into their monstrous alter-ego (a "monster" in every sense of the word). By way of coincidence, today's creepy cartoon classic also features both an "Evil Scientist" and a "Monster"... although, in this case, they are not one and the same. We know this because the "Monster" in this story is kept behind a locked door, while the "Evil Scientist" seems to spend much of his time observing others on a television monitor in his lab. That said... he does stop what he's doing, now and again, to feed his "little one" things like "a nice tender little rabbit"! :-O ;-)
Released on 25th May, and directed by "Chuck" Jones (as Charles M. Jones), this 'Merrie Melodies' cartoon, like so many others, featured the voice characterisations of Mel Blanc, as well as the musical direction of Carl W. Stalling. It was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., prior to it's 1946 release, but the 'MCMXLV' copyright date suggests it was actually completed in 1945, i.e. the year before:-
As the story begins we hear 'Bugs Bunny' singing-away to himself, as the "camera" pans through a wooded area at night. When it comes to rest, we see a rabbit hole in the ground, while 'Bugs' sings:
Back in the woods, just as 'Bugs' is saying: “You know, I could’ve sworn I was being watched. Yeah, but I guess it was just my imagination!”, we see the mechanical bunny in the background. She comes up to 'Bugs' but departs almost immediately and, when 'Bugs' starts to disappear back down the hole, it looks like he may not even have noticed her. Anyway... you can call it natural instincts, or whatever you like, but 'Bugs' is soon back up out of the hole and giving chase to the buxom bunny. He "tails" her (if you'll pardon the pun) all the way up a long and winding road that leads to an enormous castle, complete with a big red neon sign that reads "Evil Scientist", not that he's bothered by that at all! ;-)
As 'Bugs' follows the buxom bunny into the castle, we see the 'Evil Scientist' lying in wait... and he is quick to slam the door shut behind them, before then barring, bolting, and locking it to ensure that the
"tender little rabbit" doesn't get away. He need not have worried, though, because 'Bugs' comes right back to him and says: “You don’t need to lock that door, Mac! I don’t wanna leave!”, before returning to his love interest. Once he catches-up to the buxom bunny, he begins to kiss her from her fingertips, to her hand, and then all the way up her arm to her neck... at which point, she is ready to explode and (what do you know) that's exactly what she does - leaving 'Bugs' to surmise: “Dat’s the trouble wit’ some dames. Kiss ‘em and they fly apart!”. Then, sensing his night of passion is over, 'Bugs' decides it would be best if he were to leave. The 'Evil Scientist', however, is keen for him to stay and prevents 'Bugs' from leaving by saying: “Uh, just a minute... I have another little friend who’d like to eat - uh, meet you!” and this seems to have the desired effect, renewing the interest of 'Bugs' once more!
However, rather than reveal any more of the storyline to you at this stage, I thought I'd leave it for you to discover whether or not 'Bugs' manages to escape the castle of the 'Evil Scientist', or becomes "dinner" for the 'Monster'. Suffice it to say there are some pretty hairy moments for all concerned as the story unfolds... but, in order to fully appreciate what happens, you'll need to press the "Play" button on the video below, if you'd like to enjoy today's creepy cartoon classic in it's entirety! ;-) :-D
Unlike many of the previous videos that I've shared in this series of posts, "Hair-Raising Hare" did not seem to be available via 'YouTube' or 'Vimeo' and, as a result, the version that I'm sharing with you today is hosted on the 'Dailymotion' website. Of course, in addition to watching the embedded video of this cartoon right here on my blog, you can also choose to stream it on your phone or tablet by using the 'Dailymotion' app(s) for both the iOS (Apple) plus Android platforms on your mobile devices. For those who prefer to watch on their big screen television, there is also a private channel for 'Daily Motion' which is available using the "Add channel with a code" option, that can be found in the 'Manage Account' section of the Roku website. Just use ACCESS CODE: dailymotion to install it
DAILY MOTION PRIVATE CHANNEL..........................................ACCESS CODE: dailymotion
*** N.B. this channel can not be found within the built-in channel store on Roku devices !! ***
HINT: If you are uncertain as to how you go about installing a private channel on your Roku device, you will find full instructions in my "SPECIAL MONTH-LONG BLOGATHON PREVIEW" post as to what needs to be done. For those who may be worried about things being too "tech-y", there's not really much to it... and, once you have signed-in to your Roku account via a desktop web browser, it is quite a simple procedure to type in the (above) access code and have the app automatically added to the selection of channels found under the 'Home' screen of your Roku device(s). Should you have any difficulty, and are unable to finish the process with the instructions from my blogathon preview, just leave a comment below - saying what stage of the process you are stuck on - and I'll do my best to offer some further suggestions as to where you may be going wrong. If you're unable to install the 'Daily Motion' private channel, for whatever reason, you can always just watch the cartoon here! :-D
EXTRA TIP: The built-in 'Search' function within the private channel for 'Daily Motion' is a fairly basic affair and does not permit you to search easily by 'Username' - in this case: "serijedomace04", also known as "FCS" - or the unique identifier (which is "x2fbvxv" for the video above) - so your best hope of finding this "Hair-Raising Hare" cartoon within the 'Daily Motion' private channel on your Roku device is to use the title provided by the uploader... so, in this case, you would need to type in all (or part) of the following text: "Bugs Bunny - (Ep. 49) - Hair-Raising Hare 2015" which is shown (in full) across the centre of the embedded video included in this post. Experience has taught me not all the video titles will be included within the 'Daily Motion' search results so, if you adopt the same method when searching for another video from their website, your chosen title may not show-up at all. That said, having personally tested this one myself, I can confirm that you will see it listed and that you should be able to stream it on Roku device(s) in it's entirety, without issues! :-)
On whichever platform you decide to watch this video, be sure to watch-out for the scene in which the 'Monster' takes a quick break from chasing 'Bugs', to look at himself in the mirror. As he does so, we see the reflection screaming... which, under normal circumstances, you might take as the reaction of the actual 'Monster' when seeing itself in the mirror. However, as the "reflection" turns around and runs away - while the actual 'Monster' stays put in front of the mirror - it becomes clear that it was the "reflection" which was scared of the actual 'Monster', and not the other way round - classic stuff! :-D
In terms of related memorabilia for this creepy cartoon classic, while I did fall short in my attempts to find an original poster for this spooky short - i.e. one that was in use at the time of it's initial release - there were several other items of interest, including two contemporary fan art posters that I propose to share with you, by way of rounding-off this article on "Hair-Raising Hare" (1946) by Chuck Jones:-
I'd also like to remind readers of this blog that there are now just five days left to go till Halloween !!
If you read my special hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - that I published twenty-six days ago, you will know I plan to post a Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, featuring one vintage cartoon classic with spooky overtones each and every time. With recommendations for thirty-one of the most spook-tacular shorts I can find, by the end of the month, this means you'll have plenty of great choices for your creepy cartoon viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring lots of laughs & screams come October 31st! :-D
Likewise... if you read my previous post on 'Day Twenty-Five' of this month-long blogathon, you may recall it featured a doctor - or "man of science" / "scientist", if you will - who produced a potion that was capable of transforming anyone who consumed it into their monstrous alter-ego (a "monster" in every sense of the word). By way of coincidence, today's creepy cartoon classic also features both an "Evil Scientist" and a "Monster"... although, in this case, they are not one and the same. We know this because the "Monster" in this story is kept behind a locked door, while the "Evil Scientist" seems to spend much of his time observing others on a television monitor in his lab. That said... he does stop what he's doing, now and again, to feed his "little one" things like "a nice tender little rabbit"! :-O ;-)
Released on 25th May, and directed by "Chuck" Jones (as Charles M. Jones), this 'Merrie Melodies' cartoon, like so many others, featured the voice characterisations of Mel Blanc, as well as the musical direction of Carl W. Stalling. It was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., prior to it's 1946 release, but the 'MCMXLV' copyright date suggests it was actually completed in 1945, i.e. the year before:-
As the story begins we hear 'Bugs Bunny' singing-away to himself, as the "camera" pans through a wooded area at night. When it comes to rest, we see a rabbit hole in the ground, while 'Bugs' sings:
“Goodnight, sweet dreams
Tomorrow’s a-nudder day
Till then, sweet dreams, sweetheart!”
[above: lyrics to"Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart" by Ted Koehler]
Then a beam of light shines out of the rabbit-hole and up towards the night sky. It soon becomes clear that this light has come from a lit candle which is being carried by 'Bugs', who emerges from below the ground wearing his night-cap and gown. As he looks around, he inquires of the audience: "Erm... I dunno, but did ya ever have the feelin’ you was bein’ watched?” and, no sooner has he asked, the "camera" pulls back to reveal that - just as 'Bugs' suspected - he is being watched, on the monitor of some large piece of equipment labelled "Televisor", by someone who is manipulating the controls clad in red rubber gloves. This turns out to be a lookalike of Peter Lorre (an old horror film star) who responds to 'Bugs' with: "Heh-heh-heh... being watched, he says?”, as his (and our) thoughts are then interrupted by a loud growling noise and lots of banging. This turns-out to be coming from a nearby room, fronted by a door with the word "Monster" written across it, and as the ferocity of the noises increases inside the room... we see the metal door begin to strain outwards while being pushed from within. The 'Peter Lorre' lookalike, whom I'll refer to from now on as the 'Evil Scientist', attempts to calm the "Monster" by saying: “Patience little one... your dinner will soon be here: a nice tender little rabbit!”. Meanwhile we see him putting together a "Mechanical Rabbit Lure” from out of a box on the floor nearby. Once fully assembled, this takes the form of a clockwork bunny in a red dress with a shapely figure - presumably to "lure" an unknowing 'Bugs' to the lair of the 'Evil Scientist' as "dinner" for his "little one" - offset by a large wind-up key in the middle of her back. With a gentle pat, he sets her on her way... and it's only a matter of time before 'Bugs' falls victim to her womanly wiles! :-O
Bugs: "Erm... I dunno, but did ya ever have the feelin’ you was bein’ watched?”
Viewer: "What Do You Mean? Like On A 'Televisor' Monitor, For Example!?!!"
Evil Scientist: "Heh-heh-heh... being watched, he says?”
Evil Scientist: “Patience little one... your dinner will soon be here: a nice tender little rabbit!”
Viewer: "That Mechanical Rabbit Lure Looks Like A Right Wind-Up To Me!"
Back in the woods, just as 'Bugs' is saying: “You know, I could’ve sworn I was being watched. Yeah, but I guess it was just my imagination!”, we see the mechanical bunny in the background. She comes up to 'Bugs' but departs almost immediately and, when 'Bugs' starts to disappear back down the hole, it looks like he may not even have noticed her. Anyway... you can call it natural instincts, or whatever you like, but 'Bugs' is soon back up out of the hole and giving chase to the buxom bunny. He "tails" her (if you'll pardon the pun) all the way up a long and winding road that leads to an enormous castle, complete with a big red neon sign that reads "Evil Scientist", not that he's bothered by that at all! ;-)
The 'Mechanical Rabbit' Does Her Bit To "Lure" Her Intended Victim...
And, Sure Enough, 'Bugs' Follows Her All The Way Back To The Castle Of The 'Evil Scientist' !!
As 'Bugs' follows the buxom bunny into the castle, we see the 'Evil Scientist' lying in wait... and he is quick to slam the door shut behind them, before then barring, bolting, and locking it to ensure that the
"tender little rabbit" doesn't get away. He need not have worried, though, because 'Bugs' comes right back to him and says: “You don’t need to lock that door, Mac! I don’t wanna leave!”, before returning to his love interest. Once he catches-up to the buxom bunny, he begins to kiss her from her fingertips, to her hand, and then all the way up her arm to her neck... at which point, she is ready to explode and (what do you know) that's exactly what she does - leaving 'Bugs' to surmise: “Dat’s the trouble wit’ some dames. Kiss ‘em and they fly apart!”. Then, sensing his night of passion is over, 'Bugs' decides it would be best if he were to leave. The 'Evil Scientist', however, is keen for him to stay and prevents 'Bugs' from leaving by saying: “Uh, just a minute... I have another little friend who’d like to eat - uh, meet you!” and this seems to have the desired effect, renewing the interest of 'Bugs' once more!
Bugs: “You don’t need to lock that door, Mac! I don’t wanna leave!”
Bugs: “Dat’s the trouble wit’ some dames. Kiss ‘em and they fly apart!”
However, rather than reveal any more of the storyline to you at this stage, I thought I'd leave it for you to discover whether or not 'Bugs' manages to escape the castle of the 'Evil Scientist', or becomes "dinner" for the 'Monster'. Suffice it to say there are some pretty hairy moments for all concerned as the story unfolds... but, in order to fully appreciate what happens, you'll need to press the "Play" button on the video below, if you'd like to enjoy today's creepy cartoon classic in it's entirety! ;-) :-D
Unlike many of the previous videos that I've shared in this series of posts, "Hair-Raising Hare" did not seem to be available via 'YouTube' or 'Vimeo' and, as a result, the version that I'm sharing with you today is hosted on the 'Dailymotion' website. Of course, in addition to watching the embedded video of this cartoon right here on my blog, you can also choose to stream it on your phone or tablet by using the 'Dailymotion' app(s) for both the iOS (Apple) plus Android platforms on your mobile devices. For those who prefer to watch on their big screen television, there is also a private channel for 'Daily Motion' which is available using the "Add channel with a code" option, that can be found in the 'Manage Account' section of the Roku website. Just use ACCESS CODE: dailymotion to install it
DAILY MOTION PRIVATE CHANNEL..........................................ACCESS CODE: dailymotion
*** N.B. this channel can not be found within the built-in channel store on Roku devices !! ***
HINT: If you are uncertain as to how you go about installing a private channel on your Roku device, you will find full instructions in my "SPECIAL MONTH-LONG BLOGATHON PREVIEW" post as to what needs to be done. For those who may be worried about things being too "tech-y", there's not really much to it... and, once you have signed-in to your Roku account via a desktop web browser, it is quite a simple procedure to type in the (above) access code and have the app automatically added to the selection of channels found under the 'Home' screen of your Roku device(s). Should you have any difficulty, and are unable to finish the process with the instructions from my blogathon preview, just leave a comment below - saying what stage of the process you are stuck on - and I'll do my best to offer some further suggestions as to where you may be going wrong. If you're unable to install the 'Daily Motion' private channel, for whatever reason, you can always just watch the cartoon here! :-D
EXTRA TIP: The built-in 'Search' function within the private channel for 'Daily Motion' is a fairly basic affair and does not permit you to search easily by 'Username' - in this case: "serijedomace04", also known as "FCS" - or the unique identifier (which is "x2fbvxv" for the video above) - so your best hope of finding this "Hair-Raising Hare" cartoon within the 'Daily Motion' private channel on your Roku device is to use the title provided by the uploader... so, in this case, you would need to type in all (or part) of the following text: "Bugs Bunny - (Ep. 49) - Hair-Raising Hare 2015" which is shown (in full) across the centre of the embedded video included in this post. Experience has taught me not all the video titles will be included within the 'Daily Motion' search results so, if you adopt the same method when searching for another video from their website, your chosen title may not show-up at all. That said, having personally tested this one myself, I can confirm that you will see it listed and that you should be able to stream it on Roku device(s) in it's entirety, without issues! :-)
On whichever platform you decide to watch this video, be sure to watch-out for the scene in which the 'Monster' takes a quick break from chasing 'Bugs', to look at himself in the mirror. As he does so, we see the reflection screaming... which, under normal circumstances, you might take as the reaction of the actual 'Monster' when seeing itself in the mirror. However, as the "reflection" turns around and runs away - while the actual 'Monster' stays put in front of the mirror - it becomes clear that it was the "reflection" which was scared of the actual 'Monster', and not the other way round - classic stuff! :-D
In terms of related memorabilia for this creepy cartoon classic, while I did fall short in my attempts to find an original poster for this spooky short - i.e. one that was in use at the time of it's initial release - there were several other items of interest, including two contemporary fan art posters that I propose to share with you, by way of rounding-off this article on "Hair-Raising Hare" (1946) by Chuck Jones:-
Hair-Raising Hare (1946) - 16" x 12" Limited Edition Giclee On Paper
From Warner Brothers (Taken From An Original 1946 Lobby Card) [Screenshot Image] (Colour)
Hair-Raising Hare (1946) - 16" x 12" Limited Edition Giclee On Paper
From Warner Bros. (Taken From Original 1946 Lobby Card) [Screenshot Image] (Black & White)
Hair-Raising Hare (1946) [Contemporary Fan Art Poster #1]
Hair-Raising Hare (1946) - Merrie Melodies (Warner Brothers) [Cartoon Snipe]
Hair-Raising Hare (1946) [Contemporary Fan Art Poster #2] (by Michael De Pippo)
Hair-Raising Hare (1946) [Alternative Lobby Card] (Black and White)
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Anyhow, that's all I've got time for today... but do remember to come back again tomorrow, for my next creepy cartoon recommendation from the archives of animated film history, when I will suggest another spooky short for 'Day 27' of "Abnor Mal's Guide To Creepy Cartoon Classics on Roku" that you can stream right here on this blog - as well as through the equivalent channel on your Roku player(s). Meanwhile... please be sure to visit the "Countdown To Hallowe'en" website and show your support for this annual online Hallowe'en extravaganza PLUS don't forget to use the links you find there and check out all the other 'Cryptkeepers' taking part this year. I know they'll appreciate it, if you visit their blogs and share your thoughts on the contribution(s) they've made.
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ONE LAST THING, BEFORE I GO: Don't forget that, aside from the Hallowe'en / Horror-themed ghastliness going on around these parts for the next month, you can also keep up with the UK Roku action (as it happens) by checking-out my regular 'Weekly RoundUp' posts each weekend where you will find up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku-related is posted on a weekly basis (well, almost).
Until the next time, then...
That's all folks !!
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