SQUARE-DANCING WITH BUGS BUNNY

Here is one of my go-to remedies when feeling dismayed or depressed or just crappy in general–the square dance scene in Bugs Bunny’s ‘Hillbilly Hare’. The cartoon provoked both controversy–cuts for violent content were required when it first appeared on television– and rapturous responses like the one below. Enjoy the funniest three minutes of your day.

(From Wikipedia Entry)

Animation historian Mike Mallory writes, “With Hillbilly Hare, director Robert McKimson, story man Tedd Pierce, and composer Carl Stalling combined to create a comedic perfect storm: the picture without the soundtrack is funny; the soundtrack without the picture is funny; and the music by itself is funny…What elevates Hillbilly Hare to the top rank of Looney Tunes cartoons is its second half: a relentless, hilariously insane square dance called by Bugs (channeling the Western swing musician Bob Wills). The rabbit’s instructions are religiously carried out by the hillbillies, who bludgeon each other senseless in the process. This three-minute crescendo of slapstick is one of the greatest sustained pieces of comedy ever drawn.”

 

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