John T. Ryan IF IT WEREN'T for one particular extended gag, this could very well have been indistinguishable from so many of the Bugs Bunny pictures of its day. That's not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable and worthwhile 8 minutes well spent, for it would have been Any BB Cartoon of this period is pigeon holed in this manner.UP TO THE point of which we speak, it was typically a "aren't we smarter than those hicks, hayseeds and ridge-runners. It's the same premise that spawned and sustained THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES for so many seasons, a one joke comedy extended to the nth degree.THIS ONE GAG that we're raving about is when Bugs becomes the Square Dance Caller. It lasts for a good 2 1/2 minutes or so and is really a Tour de Force for Voice actor, Mel Blanc.THIS ROUTINE ALONE should put Mel into Animators Heaven as swell as their Hall of Fame (if there is one!).

phantom_tollbooth Robert McKimson's 'Hillbilly Hare' is probably the director's best loved short and I'd have to concur with the majority. 'Hillbilly Hare' is an absolutely fantastic piece of work and one of the few Robert McKimson cartoons which really stands up alongside the best work of his contemporaries. Pitting Bugs against a couple of stereotype hillbillies, 'Hillbilly Hare's' first half features some decent heckling but the halfway mark is the turning point as Bugs drags up and uses his sex appeal to tempt the two hillbillies into a square-dancing rehearsal. This leads to an extended climactic square-dance sequence which is one of my favourite routines in cartoon history. The success of this sequence is down to several contributors. Writer Tedd Pierce has written a fantastically funny set of lyrics which are delivered with astonishing comedic brilliance by Mel Blanc in one of the highlights of his long and distinguished voice-over career. McKimson creates the perfect visual accompaniment for this astonishing sequence. While 'Hillbilly Hare' might take a few minutes to really get going, its extended musical climax is one of the greatest moments in cartoon history. It never fails to have me roaring with laughter and it elevates the cartoon to the status of a true classic.

sglacker One of Bob McKimson's best, and further proof that he's perpetually under-rated compared to the "Big 4" WB directors (Avery, Clampett, Jones, Freleng).Personally, I find his short features more watchable than either Avery's or Clampett's, although part of that has to do with the fact that both the art form and the characters were further evolved by the time McKimson was directing with his own production unit. But don't discount McKimson's animation as being a BIG part of Clampett's successes either.I would rate this, along with "Boobs in the Woods" as two of McKimson's best. Both hold their own in comparison to the best of Freleng and Jones' cartoons.

rbverhoef 'Hillbilly Hare' is a Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs is on vacation in the Ozarks. He meets two hillbillies, not that smart, with long beards. They are brothers and looking for some animals to shoot. Of course Bugs talks a lot before the two hillbillies will take a shot at him and of course he will not be the one who gets shot. It is the usual stuff here.The second part though is terrific. Bugs dresses up as a lady and asks the two brothers for a dance. The lyrics tell the dancing characters what to do so at one moment Bugs pulls the plug from the juke-box and takes over the singing. Now the lyrics make the two hillbillies do some crazy stuff which is pretty funny. The song is very good too, I must admit!