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A Hare Grows in Manhattan

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A Hare Grows in Manhattan
Directed byI. Freleng
Story byMichael Maltese
Tedd Pierce
StarringMel Blanc
Music byCarl Stalling
Animation byVirgil Ross
Gerry Chiniquy
Manuel Perez
Ken Champin
Layouts byHawley Pratt
Backgrounds byPhilip DeGuard[1][2]
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation[1]
Release date
  • March 22, 1947 (1947-03-22)
Running time
8:20[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Hare Grows In Manhattan is a Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, released on March 22, 1947.[4]: 429  It was produced by Edward Selzer[1][2] and directed by I. Freleng. The short features Bugs Bunny.[5]

Plot

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Hollywood gossip columnist Lola Beverly engages Bugs Bunny in a fictionalized biographical account. Bugs narrates his purported upbringing in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, illustrated through tap-dancing sequences and renditions of period songs.

Central is Bugs' recurrent encounters with a street gang of stray dogs, led by a dim-witted bulldog resembling Hector. The narrative unfolds amidst recognizable New York City landmarks, including the Automat and a stylized rendition of the Stork Club. As Bugs navigates the urban landscape, he employs humorous tactics to evade the pursuing canines.

Bugs thinks he has dispatched the dogs, saying "That's thirty for today!" He goes back to his tap-dancing and singing, and suddenly finds himself in a blind alley next to a newsstand. The gang of dogs reappears and marches in on Bugs menacingly. Enraged, Bugs grabs a book and threatens to hit them with it in his "last stand". The dogs' eyes open wide when they see the book, and they turn around and race to, and across, the Brooklyn Bridge. The puzzled Bugs looks at the book and sees that it is the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Bugs says to himself, in a rare quiet and reflective moment, "Ya know, maybe I oughta read dis t'ing!" As the underscore reprises an instrumental bar of "Rosie O'Grady", Bugs walks away toward the city's skyscrapers, while reading the book and humming along.

Voice cast and additional crew

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Production notes

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The short was originally based on a short autobiographical piece of the same name that was published in the December issue of Coronet magazine in 1945.[7] In the autobiography, Bugs recounts his rise and only briefly mentions his days on the streets of Manhattan which he describes as "simple and carefree". He would spend his days throwing rocks at his pals, stealing carrots from local pushcarts, and dealing with thugs using his "rabbit punch" technique.[8]

The story continues in which Bugs reveals that his name was given to him by his family for his funny antics.[9] In time he would land a job at a place called the Palace where he would serve as the rabbit in the hat of the magician the Great Presto.[10] Eventually he would leave for Hollywood, much to the sadness of his parents, to become a star. Which he boasted that he "arrived just in time to save the movies from the hams who was overrunning it".[11]

Analysis

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Andrea Most notes that this short has Bugs Bunny trying to escape his pursuers through constantly changing "costumes, voices, accents, and characters".[12] She also points that throughout the Looney Tunes series, characters would change their "shape, size, character, gender, costume, and performance style" to either outwit or seduce others. She theorizes that the artists of Warner Bros. Cartoons, "mostly Jewish" in origin, were using a trope of transformation and escape which had deeper origins.[12] She finds that many 20th-century comedies with Jewish creators share the theme of escaping through reinventing one's self.[12]

This theme can be found in vaudeville comedy, where the comedians changed roles/identities with simple disguises. It can be found in Whoopee! (1928) and its film adaptation (1930), where Eddie Cantor's Jewish character transforms to "a Greek cook, a black errand boy, and an Indian chief". It can be found in the talent of Fanny Brice for "imitations". It can be found in Girl Crazy (1930), where Willie Howard transforms himself "to a woman, to a variety of famous performers..., to a western sheriff, to an Indian chief." One example is the film To Be or Not to Be (1942) where a mixed company of actors uses their skills in adopting roles to survive in Occupied Poland.[12]`

Home media

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Sources

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  • Most, Andrea (2013), "The Birth of Theatrical Liberalism", Theatrical Liberalism: Jews and Popular Entertainment in America, New York University Press, ISBN 978-0-8147-5934-9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Webb, Graham (2011). The Animated Film Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to American Shorts, Features and Sequences (1900-1999) (Second ed.). McFarland & Company Inc. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7864-4985-9.
  2. ^ a b c d "A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947): Cast". The Big Cartoon DataBase. Retrieved 8 November 2021.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ "A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947): Main". The Big Cartoon DataBase. Retrieved 8 November 2021.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice And Magic: A History Of American Animated Cartoons (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Plume. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
  5. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  6. ^ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. Orlando, FL: BearManor Media. ISBN 979-8887710105.
  7. ^ Bugs Bunny (December 1945). "A Hare Grows in Manhattan". Coronet. Chicago, IL: David A. Smart: 8–14.
  8. ^ Bugs Bunny (December 1945). "A Hare Grows in Manhattan". Coronet. Chicago, IL: David A. Smart: 8. Me early days was simple and carefree——throwing rocks at little pals, snitching carrots from pushcarts. But it was not entirely no bed of roses. In them days I perfected me famous "rabbit punch" which earned me the respect of the neighborhood.
  9. ^ Bugs Bunny (December 1945). "A Hare Grows in Manhattan". Coronet. Chicago, IL: David A. Smart: 8. It was not for nothin' me contemporaries called me "Bugs." I was born actor. I panicked the crowd with side-splittin' antics with ladies hats. The future looked bright.
  10. ^ Bugs Bunny (December 1945). "A Hare Grows in Manhattan". Coronet. Chicago, IL: David A. Smart: 10. Well, Doc, it wasn't long before I made the "big time" ——ten weeks at the Palace pushing a magician's hand out of a silk hat. The crowds was mystified. "Bugs" Bunny was a hit!
  11. ^ Bugs Bunny (December 1945). "A Hare Grows in Manhattan". Coronet. Chicago, IL: David A. Smart: 10. Me mother wept in her sewin' basket, me father wept in his soup, but Hollywood called and I answered. I arrived just in time to save the movies from the hams who was overrunning it.
  12. ^ a b c d Most (2013), p. 64-75
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Preceded by Bugs Bunny Cartoons
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