Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare

Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare is a 1964 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short directed by Robert McKimson.[1] The short was released on March 28, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil.[2]

Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare
Directed byRobert McKimson
Produced byDavid H. DePatie (uncredited)
Story byJohn Dunn
StarringMel Blanc
Music byBill Lava
Animation byTed Bonnicksen
Warren Batchelder
George Grandpré
Reused Animation:
Charles McKimson (unc.)
Layouts byRobert Gribbroek
Backgrounds byRobert Gribbroek
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
March 28, 1964 (1964-03-28)
Running time
7:00
LanguageEnglish

This marks the final pairing of Bugs and Taz, as well as the final appearance of Taz in the Golden age of American animation, and Bugs' final appearance in the Merrie Melodies series. It is also the only cartoon where Bugs and Taz both lose in the end.

Plot

The Tasmanian Devil approaches the Jungle. A woodpecker sees the Tasmanian Devil approaching and taps a warning on a tree which we see as a subtitle on the bottom on the screen: "Warning! Tasmanian Devil approaching at 9 o'clock!" Two giraffes hear this and end up running. Some beavers use their tails to beat out the message on the log that translates as "Take Cover! Devil is Coming! Take Cover! Repeat - Take Cover!". A bear and a moose fighting hear this and end up running. As a stampede of animals leave the jungle, Bugs is bathing in a nearby pond unaware that Taz has spotted him.

Disliking the taste of Bugs' soap, Taz washes it off and puts ketchup on Bugs. Bugs thinks it is blood and freaks out, telling Taz to find a doctor. Taz runs to an infirmary, only to find Bugs dressed as a doctor instead. After a few checkup procedures, Bugs puts spotted glasses on Taz and asks him if he sees spots on his eyes and Taz says he does. Then Bugs gives him nitroglycerine and puts an electric belly firmer vibrating belt on Taz and Taz explodes.

Then Bugs dressed as Sigmund Freud makes Taz lie on a couch and talk about his childhood. Taz talks about how he was a bad boy. Bugs declares closing time and folds Taz and the couch into a suitcase and puts it in a mailbox, which gets picked up by a mail truck. It comes back by a mail truck covered with stickers from all the countries he has been to. Taz chases Bugs and then end up in a hospital zone. Bugs rolls himself by on a gurney. Inside the hospital. Bugs is a nurse and congratulates Taz and gives Taz a bundle presumably a baby boy. Taz gives Bugs a cigar and unwraps the baby which is actually an exploding bomb. As Bugs walks away, the cigar that Taz gave him turns out to be an exploding cigar.

As Taz spins in, Bugs dressed as a surgeon calls Taz as his assistant. Bugs leaves the room and Taz looks at the patient. It ends up being a robotic Frankenstein's monster which then grabs Taz and beats up Taz offstage. Then in a backfiring moment, the robot heads for Bugs as the monster goes out of control. It ends with Bugs being beaten up by the monster, also off stage, and both the dazed Bugs and Taz staggering back onscreen, bruised and bandaged. Bugs then asks if there is a doctor in the house.

Home media

Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare is available, uncensored and uncut, on the Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinare DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen. It is also shown as uncensored, fully screened and uncut, on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 Blu-ray box-set.

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. 347. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
Preceded by
Dumb Patrol		 Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1964		 Succeeded by
The Iceman Ducketh
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