From Hare to Heir

Fromhairtoheir2.jpg
Fromhairtoheir.jpg
From Hare to Heir is a 1960 Merrie Melodies short directed and written by Friz Freleng.
== Plot ==
At Bedlam Manor, in 17th-century England, Sam, Duke of Yosemite finds out from his big-nosed servant that his uncle, the King, has decided to cut off his allowance. Sam punishes the servant for this message, accusing him of "not having the books balanced," by giving him the nose-in-the-book penalty, slamming a heavy book on the servant's big nose. Sam is desperate for money. Bugs Bunny comes to his door offering one million pounds to a mild-tempered person. Whenever Sam loses his temper, a small fraction of the one million pounds will be deducted, the size of the fraction depending on what Bugs thinks it suits. Sam welcomes Bugs into his home, anxious to receive the one million pounds.
Bugs is an annoying house guest; this naturally provokes Yosemite Sam to lose his temper and losing more money. First, Bugs asks Sam for multiple items at dinner, first salt, then pepper, and later olives, all while sitting at the opposite end of a very long dining room table. Each time he is asked for something, Sam loses his temper, and cusses and shouts out phrases like "Rackin' Frackin' Varmint Rabbit." Each time Sam loses his temper, he loses money as well. This makes him even madder, causing him to lose his temper over and over again. Going into a closet to rant and rave does not help, as Bugs can hear him, causing Sam to lose his first three hundred pounds, then four hundred when Sam shouts, "Three hundred pounds?!", so Sam has to run outside to rant and rave.
That night, Bugs keeps provoking Sam by playing the piano and singing his version of "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" obnoxiously while Sam is trying to sleep, only for him to say "Stop that music, ya crazy rackin', frackin', varmint rabbit!" After Bugs deducts some more money for Sam losing his temper, Sam asks Bugs to sing him to sleep by playing "Brahms' Lullaby". Bugs then becomes a one-man band and ticks off Sam even more, though Sam pretends that he likes it.
Next morning, Bugs hogs the bathroom and when Sam knocks on the door and demands him to "Get out of there!", Bugs opens it quickly and accidentally smashes Sam between the door and the wall. When Sam shouts at him to get out, Bugs deducts even more money, four hundred pounds and thirty-five shillings this time. Already furious, Sam pounds his head on the piano, making Bugs think Sam's playing a song. Realizing he's not going to have any money left if the temper-money deductions keep up, Sam gets an idea to kill Bugs in order to receive all of the one million pounds, planning to make it look like an accident.
Each time Sam tries to kill Bugs, it backfires, causing Sam to fall into his own trap and get injured. First, he saws a hole in the floor outside the bathroom door, covers it with a rug, and tries to get Bugs to come out by telling him somebody wants to see him, but Bugs orders Sam to tell whoever it is to come back the next day as he'll be in the bathroom all day. This makes Sam mad enough to bust into the bathroom and push Bugs out, only to fall through the very same hole into the river below, all the while cursing. When Sam returns and Bugs tells him he's done with the bathroom, Sam rushes at him, but falls through the hole and into the river again, cursing the entire way down.
Later, Bugs climbs up a really long staircase saying, "The Alps have got nothing on these stairs for climbing." At the top, Sam, dressed in a suit of armor, tries to chop off Bugs' head with a double-bladed axe, but Bugs ducks and Sam falls down the stairs. While falling down the stairs, Sam continues to rant, curse and rave, and Bugs continues the deductions.
Finally, the next day, Sam gets control of his temper. He tries to show Bugs this by having his servants physically abuse him repetitively by kicking him, throwing pies in his face, and hitting him with a rolling pin. Bugs says, "I haven't got the heart to tell him he's used up all the money." 
== Availability ==
Jlaser-bnm.jpg|(1998) LaserDisc Bugs and Marvin: Martian Mayhem (1997 dubbed version) (only in PAL regions)
Bumper08.jpg|(1998) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 8)
SuperStars Bugs.jpg|(2010) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars' Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinaire (cropped to widescreen)
lt ss3p.jpg|(2013) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars 3-Pack, Disc 1
lt ssfm.jpg|(2014) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars Family Multi-Feature, Disc 1
Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.jpg|(2020) Blu-ray Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection, Disc 3 (restored in full screen)
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022)
Lt max.jpg|Max (2024 - )
== Censorship ==
* The ABC version of this cartoon shortens the part at the end where Yosemite Sam shows Bugs that he "...don't get mad no more" and lets his servants kick him, hit him in the head, and slam a pie in his face (before Bugs asides that he does not have the heart to tell Sam that he lost all his money).http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-e-f.aspx
== Goofs ==
* When Bugs sings "Brahms' Lullaby" in a loud and irritating manner near Sam's room, his mouth does not move.
* During the bathroom scene, the bathroom door is inconsistently open inward and outward in certain shots.
== Notes ==
*The background of the chasm where Yosemite Sam falls off of was later reused in "Devil's Feud Cake".
* This cartoon was included in the 1983 compilation film Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island as the final cartoon for Sam's wish.
* The foreign dubbing tracks done over the Bugs and Marvin VHS in 1997 have its original 1959-64 Merrie Melodies theme replaced with 1945-55 one.https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6v93dx
* Beginning with this cartoon, several changes have been made to the opening/closing titles of the Looney Tunes cartoons for the early-1960s until the closure of the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio in 1964;
**The title cards credits now have a different text font, only being permanent after "Cannery Woe".
** After the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies card it now fades to black instead of cross-fading to the cartoon titles. However, this practice is inconsistent and isn't used in the cartoon, only becoming permanent after "Mexican Boarders".
** The end cards now have either "A Vitagraph Release" (Looney Tunes) or "A Vitaphone Release" (Merrie Melodies) underneath the "A Warner Bros. Cartoon" byline.
== Gallery ==
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FromHaretoHeirCredits2.png
FromHareToHeirLC.jpg|Lobby card
Screenshot 2021-01-12 at 9.38.28 AM.png|Lobby card
== References ==
 
Category:1960
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Yosemite Sam Cartoons
Category:Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons written by Friz Freleng
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Tom O'Loughlin
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:DVD Widescreen Cropped Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by John W. Burton