Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is a June 7, 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. This was Bugs' first encounter with a Native American. This is a parody of the Silly Symphonies cartoon Little Hiawatha. In fact, the character is a parody of the legendary Disney animator, Ward Kimball.

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
Directed byI. Freleng
Produced byLeon Schlesinger
Story byMichael Maltese
StarringMel Blanc (uncredited)
Music byCarl 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
Running time
7:30
LanguageEnglish

The cooking-pot sequence from this cartoon would be directly incorporated three years later in the 1944 Bugs Bunny cartoon What's Cookin' Doc?, although Bugs' facial appearance had subtly changed in the interim. The central joke in that film is Bugs losing the Oscar to fellow Warner actor James Cagney. Showing clips specifically from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt provides some context to that storyline. In 1995, Turner Entertainment restored the original titles of the short for its American and European Turner "dubbed" versions. This cartoon was one of the 12 Bugs cartoons pulled out of the Cartoon Network June Bugs marathon in 2001 because of racial stereotypes (in this case, the Native American hunter).

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.

As with Elmer, Bugs spends the rest of the cartoon tormenting his would-be devourer, who finally breaks his arrows in anger and disgust, and paddles his canoe away while Bugsy finishes his reading of the poem. However, in the closing gag, the miffed-looking Hiawatha suddenly returns to the foreground where Bugs is reading the narrative, and after a second of wordless staring at each other, Hiawatha gives Bugs the "insulting kiss" that the Bunny usually bestows on others. Hiawatha then paddles away again, as Bugs "spits out" the kiss.

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 video

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)
Preceded by
Tortoise Beats Hare		 Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1941		 Succeeded by
The Heckling Hare
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