Mad as a Mars Hare
1963 film
- October 19, 1963 (1963-10-19)
Running time
Mad as a Mars Hare is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble.[1] The short was released on October 19, 1963, and stars Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian.[2] The cartoon's title is a play-on-words of the famous phrase to be "mad as a March hare". This is Marvin's final appearance in the Looney Tunes shorts during the Golden Age of American Animation.
Plot
Marvin the Martian observes Earth from Mars through a telescope, witnessing a rocket launch. To his dismay, the rocket careens into his observatory, leaving Marvin shaken but resilient. Subsequently, a lone Bugs Bunny emerges from the rocket, having been unwittingly sent to Mars as an expendable "astro-rabbit." Bugs, upon landing, symbolically claims Mars for Earth with a flag-bearing metal carrot, provoking Marvin's vehement objection to relinquishing his planet.
Marvin's initial attempt to eliminate Bugs with a disintegrating pistol backfires, resulting in his own disintegration and subsequent reintegration. Undeterred, Marvin employs a Time-Space Gun to project Bugs into the future as a subservient laborer. However, a misfire transforms Bugs into a formidable Neanderthal rabbit, who effortlessly overpowers Marvin. Defeated once again, Marvin retreats for regeneration, lamenting his perpetual struggle.
Bugs, unfazed by the ordeal, addresses the audience, musing about surprising Earth's hunters upon his return, before nonchalantly consuming the metal carrot.
Crew
- Co-Director & Layouts: Maurice Noble
- Story: John Dunn
- Animation: Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Bob Bransford & Tom Ray
- Backgrounds: Bob Singer
- Effects Animation: Harry Love
- Film Editor: Treg Brown
- Voice Characterizations: Mel Blanc
- Music: Bill Lava
- Produced by David H. DePatie
- Directed by Chuck Jones
Home media
Mad as a Mars Hare is available on the Bugs Bunny: Hare Extraordinare DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen. The full-screen version is available on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 Blu-ray box set and its DVD edition.
References
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 344. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
- Mad as a Mars Hare at Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by The Unmentionables | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1963 | Succeeded by Transylvania 6-5000 |
- v
- t
- e
Bugs Bunny in animation
short films
short films
- Any Bonds Today? (1942)
- Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979)
- The Fright Before Christmas (1979)
- Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
- Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1991)
- Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas (2004)
| Theatrical |
|
|---|---|
| Direct-to-video |
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- Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1995)
- Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
- The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013)
- New Looney Tunes (2015–2020)
- Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2023)
- Bugs Bunny Builders (2022–present)
- Tiny Toons Looniversity (2023–present)
- Carnival of the Animals (1976)
- Easter Special (1977)
- Bugs Bunny in Space (1977)
- Howl-oween Special (1977)
- Thanksgiving Diet (1979)
- Looney Christmas Tales (1979)
- Bustin' Out All Over (1980)
- The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special (1980)
- Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988)
- Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)
- The Earth Day Special (1990; cameo)
- Overtures to Disaster (1991)
