Fresh Hare

Fresh Hare is a 1942 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.
== Title ==
The title is a typical Warner Bros. pun on "fresh air" that has little or nothing to do with the plot, other than being set in the crisp, frigid air of a Canadian winter.
== Plot ==
Elmer Fudd is a mountie who is trying to catch the "wanted" Bugs Bunny. He lays a carrot on the snowy ground for Bugs to grab before cuffing him. Then Bugs locks Elmer to the bomb that Elmer was trying to get Bugs in. It explodes while Bugs pretends to look for the keys. Elmer gets angry, but Bugs fools him as being the guard after taking his hat, while Elmer's clothes then are removed, even his underwear. A chase through the snow happens, including a part where Bugs' ears split around a tree, but Elmer hits it. The impact causes all the snow to fall off the tree, which reveals Christmas decorations, and Elmer emerges from underneath with snow on his face that gives him a Santa Claus appearance. The song Jingle Bells plays in the background, and Bugs says to the astonished Elmer, "Merry Christmas, Santy!" and burrows his way out of Elmer's path.
Bugs then talks to a snowman that is supposed to be Fudd, saying that Elmer can't catch Bugs, let alone catch a cold, and even threatening to punch the mountie square in the nose. When he finishes making his fist, he turns around and strikes Elmer. Bugs then pretends to be Elmer's shotgun, making noises. The chase continues through the snow, forth and back, until Bugs makes a painting of himself on a rock, and Elmer runs into the icy wall.
Elmer gives up trying to catch the rabbit, sobs in tears, and then says that he's a disgrace to the regiment for failing to catch Bugs. Bugs comforts Elmer and promises to give himself up and lets Elmer take him in. Just before Bugs is sentenced to death by a firing squad, Elmer tells Bugs that he can make one last wish before he dies. Bugs then stars singing "(I Wish I Was In) Dixie", which inexplicably turns into a blackface minstrel performance of "Camptown Races".
== Caricatures ==
* Adolf Hitler - doodled on Bugs' wanted poster
* Veronica Lake - silhouette
*Bing Crosby
== Transcript ==
For a complete transcript, go here.
== Availability ==
Lt bugs v elmer.jpg|(1990) VHS Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs VS Elmer
Bugs Bunny Collection VHS 7.jpg|(1991) VHS Here Comes Bugs
Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-2-F.jpg|(1992) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 2, Side 
Lt clouds.jpg|(2007) DVD Captains of the Clouds (USA 1995 Turner print, uncut)
== Censorship ==
* The end of this cartoon, where Bugs proclaims his last wish in a chorus of "I Wish I Were in Dixie", which segues into Bugs, Elmer Fudd and the Mounties all in blackface singing "Camptown Races" has been edited on nearly every recent American airing, including versions shown on the Ted Turner-owned networks: Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TBS, and TNT.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-e-f.aspx
** The 1995 Turner "dubbed version" that has aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang American feed censors the scene using a fake fade-out to black to the altered circa 1937-1938 "That's all, Folks!" ending card.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uAspO-VNoshttps://archive.org/details/Toonheads_218_The_Year_Elmer_Fudd_Got_Fat This same edit was also done on the Latin American Turner-owned channels. This short has since been phased out on the American version of Cartoon Network and Boomerang after Cartoon Network pulled Looney Tunes cartoons from its programming, and the cartoon seldom airs nowadays.
** The old a.a.p. prints that used to air on TNT censored this scene with a fake iris-out. This same edited version was also used on Cartoon Network's American channel prior to the debut of its 1995 Turner "dubbed version" print on television in the late-1990s.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uAspO-VNoshttps://archive.org/details/CartoonNetworkTapeComplete
** TBS replaced the actual scene of Bugs, Elmer, and the Mounties in blackface with looped footage of Bugs dancing to "I Wish I Were in Dixie" while the audio played as normal.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uAspO-VNos
** Some edited versions of "Fresh Hare" even go as far as to delete the entire final scene and have the cartoon end with Bugs surrendering to Elmer to keep him from crying and saying, "Okay, Doc. Let's go" after Elmer lets Bugs handcuff him.
** Some public domain video versions of this short also edit the blackface minstrel show ending, either by cutting off after Bugs starts singing "Dixie" (similar to the Cartoon Network and Boomerang versions) or poorly blurring out Bugs, Elmer, and the Mounties in blackface.
== Goofs == 
* The display of "Wanted" signs near the beginning are out of order, and the music cues do not seem to match the display.
* After the scene where the bomb, which is handcuffed to Elmer, explodes off-screen when Bugs pretends to look for the keys, Elmer re-appears in the next scene stopping Bugs with his rifle completely fine, not battered and burnt, as if the explosion didn't affect him at all.
* As Bugs rips apart elements of Elmer's uniform bit-by-bit as he fools Elmer by being the guard, in the next shot showing Elmer in full view of his girdle and underwear, his uniform shirt appears to be completely fine and intact in one piece on the ground, evident when Elmer picks up his shirt to put the uniform back on.
== Notes ==
* A scene of "Fresh Hare" can be seen in the title sequence gag of the Futurama episode "I Second That Emotion".
* This short fell into the public domain in 1970 when United Artists, the copyright owner to the Associated Artists Productions package at the time, failed to renew the copyright in time.
* This cartoon marks the fifth and final appearance of the fat Elmer Fudd which previously appeared in "Wabbit Twouble" (1941), "The Wabbit Who Came to Supper" (1942), "The Wacky Wabbit" (1942) and the propaganda film "Any Bonds Today" (1942). Beginning with "The Hare-Brained Hypnotist" (1942), the original "slim Elmer" design first seen in "Good Night Elmer" (1940) had returned permanently, presumably due to theater audiences at the time disliking the "fat Elmer" design. 
* Bugs is wanted for a series of crimes he had committed in this cartoon (as corrected here for Elmer's rounded-l-and-r speech):
** Resisting an officer
** Assault and battery
** Trespassing
** Disturbing the peace
** Miscellaneous misdemeanors
** Public nuisance
** Traffic violations
** Going through a boulevard stop
** Jaywalking
** Triple parking
** Conduct unbecoming to a rabbit
** Violating traffic regulations (repeat mention of crime #7)
* Clips from the fully restored version of this cartoon (as pictured in the gallery below) appear in the documentary King Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution as part of Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 Blu-ray release's bonus features and in the documentary as part of Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection, but the complete version of it has yet to be released on any home media format or video sites online.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=III4mVWV_2I&t=2205shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6XgqzP6OD4&t=1230s
== Transcript ==
For a complete transcript, click here.
== Gallery ==
156.jpg|Lobby card
Fresh Hare Ending.png|The minstrel show ending that is often edited on TV and some public domain videos
Vlcsnap-2020-03-03-08h08m13s135.png
Vlcsnap-2020-03-03-08h09m26s164.png
Vlcsnap-2020-03-03-08h09m07s668.png
Vlcsnap-2020-03-03-08h08m45s495.png|Adolf Hitler cameo
File:Bugs Bunnys 80th Whats Up Doc-umentary.m2ts 20231018 171846 - Trim.mov 20240401 193458.757.png|Opening color rings from the unreleased restored version
File:King-Size Comedy Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution.mkv 20231018 171939 - Trim.mov 20240401 193509.736.png|An image from the unreleased restored version.
File:Leon Schlesinger The Merrie Cartoon Mogul.mkv 20231018 171959 - Trim.mov 20240401 193515.637.png|An image from the unreleased restored version.
File:Bugs Bunnys 80th Whats Up Doc-umentary.m2ts 20231018 171826 - Trim.mov 20240401 193540.854.png|An image from the unreleased restored version.
File:Bugs Bunnys 80th Whats Up Doc-umentary.m2ts 20231018 171826 - Trim.mov 20240401 193857.481.png|An image from the unreleased restored version.
== References ==
es:Fresh Hare
fr:Le Lapin frais
Category:1942
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Public domain films
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Shorts
Category:Elmer Fudd Cartoons
Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Owen Fitzgerald
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package