Hare Splitter

Hare Splitter is a 1948 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng. 
== Title ==
The title is a play on "hair splitter", one who focuses on fine details, and on how Bugs, a hare, tries to "split up" Casbah and Daisy so that he can date her himself.
== Plot ==
Bugs and Casbah are getting dressed up to go visit Daisy.
The fighting for Daisy begins as soon as they exit their rabbit holes. Bugs and Casbah both leave their holes with flowers for Daisy. Seeing each other's gifts, they try to outdo each other with bigger and better gifts. Bugs finally throws a weight on Casbah's head to dispose of him.
When Bugs arrives at Daisy's home, he finds a note on her door saying she will be back shortly. Bugs sees Casbah coming and dresses up as Daisy. He lures Casbah over to the porch swing and starts flirting with him. When Casbah isn't looking, Bugs hits him over the head, puts a mouse trap down, and gives him an explosive carrot.
In addition to tricking Casbah on the swing, Bugs pretends to kiss Casbah by using a plunger and hitting him on the head. He continues tricking Casbah by painting a bomb to look like Daisy. Casbah is so excited by explosion of the bomb, he runs into the house.
Once again, Bugs tries to trick Casbah by pretending to be Mr. Daniel Cupid and shooting him with an arrow. Casbah figures out it's Bugs. "You're that screwy rabbit!" he shouts, clearly not realizing this description applies just as well to himself and begins chasing him. Casbah chased Bugs into the house and Bugs slammed the front door on him.
Suddenly, Bugs sees Daisy and runs around the side of the house in horror. Casbah sees Daisy coming up the porch and thinks it is again Bugs dressed up as her. When Daisy enters the house, Casbah hits her upside the head with a vase. Daisy proceeds to beat up Casbah and kick him out of her home.
The cartoon ends with Bugs showering Daisy with compliments and kissing Daisy after she has eaten an explosive carrot. Both Bugs and Daisy think the explosive effect the carrot lends to the kiss is due to the other's romantic capabilities ("What a man!"/"What a woman"), and they enthusiastically kiss each other again.
== Availability ==
StarsOfSpaceJam Bugs.jpg|(1996) VHS Stars of Space Jam: Bugs Bunny
Bumper06.jpg|(1996) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 6)
Spacebugs.jpg|(1997) LaserDisc Japanese Looney Tunes LaserDiscs Bugs Bunny
lt don juan.jpg|(2007) DVD Adventures of Don Juan (same print as Stars of Space Jam: Bugs Bunny VHS, but with ending card removed)
lt sosj bb dvd.jpg|(2018) DVD Stars of Space Jam: Bugs Bunny (PAL audio)
lt sosj cv1.jpg|(2018) DVD Stars of Space Jam Collection Volume 1 (PAL audio)
lt roths blu.jpg|(2020) Blu-ray Romance on the High Seas (restored with original titles)
Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.jpg|(2020) Blu-ray Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection, Disc 1 (restored with original titles)
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (restored with original titles)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - ) (restored with original titles)
== Censorship ==
* When this short aired on ABC's The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, the part where Casbah (the big brown rabbit) punches Bugs in the face after Bugs asks him, "You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would ya'?" (even though the punch was off-screen) was cut (along with Bugs' line, "Ya' know? I believe he would!").http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-h.aspx
* When Cartoon Network aired this cartoon as part of the infamous 2001 June Bugs special that banned 12 cartoons for having racial and ethnic stereotypes in them, a rather innocuous part (possibly for time reasons) where, after the novelty-carrot-induced explosive kiss between Bugs and Daisy Lou, Daisy Lou responds with "What a man!" while Bugs responds with "What a woman!" was edited out and immediately went to the scene of them happily jumping around the room before the iris-out.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwCBqnZiPFwhttps://archive.org/details/junebugspart2/June+Bugs+Part+1.mp4 On Cartoon Network's other installment shows (such as The Looney Tunes Show and Bugs and Daffy) and current airings on Boomerang, the "What a man!"/"What a woman!" scene was left intact.https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x569xnj
== Notes ==
* The cartoon was the first to be reissued in the 1957–58 season, evident from the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC". both with dots and blue Color Rings red background. The 1958–59 season was the same rings but no dot after BROS and INC so it would be "WARNER BROS PICTURES INC", without the dot.
* This cartoon was featured in the beginning of Bugs Bunny's Valentine.
* The fact that Daisy lives in a house instead of a rabbit hole like Bugs or Casbah is an oddity that goes unmentioned.
* The question of whether or not any of the girls in the audience have to put up with what was going on in a scene was previously used in "The Big Snooze".
* Theatrically released in the New York City with Rope.
* The short has been remastered by Warner Archive and is available on HBO Max. This new copy restores the original opening titles.
* This is the first cartoon directed by Friz Freleng to be in the post-1948 Warner Bros. package.
== Goofs ==
* When Bugs first dresses like Daisy, he wore just a green dress. Later Bugs has shoes and pantyhose on him, but they disappear in the next scene.
* In the close-up shot of Daisy's photo on Bugs' dresser, her eyes are open, she is facing left and wearing a sweater and it reads "Love, Daisy." In the wide shot, her eyes are closed, she is facing the camera directly, it reads "with love, Daisy" and she appears to be wearing nothing at all like Bugs and Casbah. The close-up and wide shots of the photo on Casbah's dresser also do not match.
* Between the time that Bugs slams the door on Casbah and Daisy walks into the house, the direction the door opens changes a couple of times.
* When Bugs' stocking fall down, they are attached by one garter each. But when he reaches down the top of the front of his dress he grabs 5 or 6 garters to pull up his stockings.
* When the cartoon opens, and the scene zooms in to Bugs' hole, there is only one rabbit hole, with an angled fence behind and to the right. When Bugs and Casbah exit their respective holes, their holes are suddenly merged, and a straight fence is behind and to the left.
* When Casbah rings the doorbell, he is carrying a carrot in a clear box, with a crossed ribbon and bow.. After Bugs (in Daisy's clothes) calls to him, the box and carrot disappear. When Casbah lands on the sofa, he has the boxed carrot again, but the ribbon with a bow only runs lengthwise on the box.
* When Bugs asks Casbah, "You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would ya'?", his mouth moves to the words "would ya'" twice, even though he could only be heard saying that line only once.
== Gallery ==
HareSplitterCredits1.png
HareSplitterCredits2.png
File:Hare Splitter (1948) - Getting Ready.jpg
HareSplitterInterlacing.png|Version used on the Romance on the High Seas Blu-ray (interlaced video)http://www.intanibase.com/forum/Posts/m30159-New-Warners-Restorations#post30159http://www.dohtem.com/bugs/news/
HareSplitterNoInterlacing1.png|Version used on HBO Max (restored, no interlacing)
HareSplitterNoInterlacing2.png
HareSplitterRestored.jpeg|Cropped screenshot of 2020 restoration
File:Daisy Lola 1.jpg
File:Daisy Lola 2.jpg
File:Daisy lola 3.jpg
File:Daisy Lola 4.jpg
File:Daisy lola 5.jpg
File:Daisy lola 6.jpg
File:Dasiy lola 7.jpg
File:Dasiy 8.jpg
File:Dasiy 9.jpg
File:Hare Splitter (1948) - Kiss.png
File:Dasiy 11.jpg
File:Daisy 10.jpg
Hare-Splitter-600.jpg|Lobby card
File:Paul Julian back 1.jpg|Paul Julian background #1
File:Paul Julian back 2.jpg|Paul Julian background #2
File:Paul Julian back 3.jpg|Paul Julian background #3
== References ==
== External links ==
* Hare Splitter on the SFX Wiki
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:1948
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Paul Julian
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by June Foray
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist