Truly Dreadful Film

Really Surprised!

hyped garbage

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

. . . but maybe what he MEANT to say was that there was nothing NUDE in broad daylight. Bugs Bunny disproves this adage in MISSISSIPPI HARE, as a Promenade Deck Costume Malfunction exposes his nether regions to a Southern Gentleman Admirer and, to quote the Warner star, "Oh well, we almost had a romantic ending." Bugs is either Transgendered or Transvestite in MISSISSIPPI HARE, but the North Carolina legislature cannot say which. However, the buxom bunny is sporting D cups at the very least, and he's already smooched Col. Shuffle full on the kisser. Warner uses MISSISSIPPI HARE to urge the sexually confused American South to "Go jump in the lake!" (or is it "Go leap in the river of fudge-hued sludge"?). Col. Shuffle Takes the Plunge four times, with a cremation thrown in there somewhere. Bugs' Gentleman Admirer also is last seen splashing in the drink, leaving Bugs as Last Mammal Standing. Since Bugs is baled into a giant wad of cotton as this episode begins, only a touch of serendipity (there's a hint of that Great Emancipator Abe Lincoln freeing Bugs below deck of the "Southern Star paddle-wheel steamship) bails him out. Join the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, in boycotting the South, Bugs seems to be saying here on behalf of Warner Bros.

"Mississippi Hare" is quite a decent Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. In the days of cotton plantations and riverboat gamblers in the 19th Century, Bugs matches wits with Colonel Shuffle, perhaps the most hot-tempered, trigger-happy gambler who ever set foot on a riverboat.My favorite scenes from "Mississippi Hare" include the following (DON'T read any further if you have not yet seen this cartoon). At the opening of this film, the plantation workers harmonize "Dixie" as they pick cotton; what really makes this scene funny is how the tempo of the song suddenly speeds up as Bugs' tail is accidentally plucked out of the bush and Bugs gets bagged, sucked upward, transported on a conveyor belt, and baled. During the poker game, Bugs consistently has a wryly humorous expression on his face as he eventually wins all of Colonel Shuffle's stacks of chips and finally shows him six aces; the colonel is then hilarious as his face turns red and he blows a fuse! Bugs does a nice tap dance as he sings "Camptown Races" to the accompaniment of Colonel Shuffle's banjo. Shuffle is quite funny as he jumps around while his butt is ablaze; Bugs protracts the colonel's pain by stalling to give him spare change for a cup of water. Plus, I must praise Carl Stalling's music score for this cartoon; in addition to "Dixie" during the opening cotton-picking scene, "Camptown Races" can be heard during the poker game; a snippet of "Beautiful Dreamer" at the start of the duel; "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" as Bugs (in drag) asks a Southern gentleman to protect him (her) from Colonel Shuffle; a distorted version of "Dixie" as the colonel's rear end is on fire; and then, interestingly enough, "Merrily We Roll Along" (one of the familiar opening themes for the Warner Bros. cartoons) as the emblazed colonel requests some spare change from Bugs.In closing, I must also praise Mel Blanc and Billy Bletcher for their vocal characterizations in "Mississippi Hare." Blanc provided the voice of Bugs (and a few other minor characters), while Bletcher supplied the voice of Colonel Shuffle. Blanc could have easily provided the fiery-tempered colonel's voice - he did Yosemite Sam's voice, after all - but Bletcher adds another dimension to the vocal characterizations that is just brilliant. Too bad he didn't receive screen credit, huh?

This is a short which I haven't seen in ages, as it was declared off-limits by Ted Turner when Turner acquired the rights to the shorts. While I can understand his trepidation, I'm grateful to finally see the short again, because it has one of the funniest scenes I remember from watching these close to 40 years ago. As I want to talk about the short in a bit of detail, this is a spoiler warning: The short starts with a scene which likely helped pull it from circulation for years-blacks working in the cotton fields, one of whom grabs Bugs's "cotton" tail and tosses him in the sack. We then watch Bugs make his way from field-sack to cotton bale bound for the Southern Star, a paddle-wheel on the Mississippi, bound for all sorts of ports, including "Cu-cka-mong-a" (an old inside joke Mel Blanc has fun with in quite a few shorts).Bugs happens to observe what happens to stowaways on board and so "borrows" a gentleman's suit (and presumably his ticket as well). This scene is hilarious. Bugs then winds up in a card game with Colonel Shuffle (think Yosemite Sam with a Southern accent). Bugs puts up $100, which buys one half of a white chip, Col. Shuffle deals and the scene fades out. The fade in shows Bugs with a mountain of chips and Shuffle with half a white chip. Bugs wins the hand, with both players cheating. Shuffle contrives to be insulted and challenges Bugs to a duel. A few very funny bits later, Shuffle winds up in the Mississippi River to start a running gag and the chase is on.In a short with some very funny bits, my personal favorite comes after Col. Shuffle has set his pants on fire in the ship's furnace. He races to a water dispenser which takes only pennies and turns to Bugs, asking in very courtly speech if he might have change for a "tenspot", adding that "I would prefer a profusion of pennies!". Bugs slowly checks the bill over (he bites it at one point) and slowly begins counting change. When he reaches $1.21, Shuffle grabs the change, thanks him, tells him he can keep the rest and buys a cup of water and finally puts himself out.Bugs disguises himself as a Southern belle and begins whacking Shuffle with an umbrella, with Shuffle apologizing abjectly (and futilely) until he discovers it's Bugs. Bugs as a belle persuades a Southern gentleman to kick Shuffle off into the river again. When the gentleman realizes the "belle" is a bunny, he exits jerkily, stage right, into the river himself. The closing line is perfect.This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 4 and is well worth seeing. Recommended.

One of the better Bugs shorts, although not seen much today due to its depiction of blacks picking cotton and parodies of Uncle Tom's Cabin. If you can forgive those misgivings, then this is a definite must see short. Bugs takes on a Mississippi Colonel on a riverboat.