Monday, August 3, 2009

Slick Hare

It is often said that the character Bugs Bunny was based on Groucho Marx. Bugs used the carrot as a prop much like Groucho used his cigar, and Bugs used one of Groucho's lines from Duck Soup: "This means war!"

In the 1947 cartoon "Slick Hare," Bugs disguises himself as Groucho in one scene, in an attempt to avoid being served up as Humphrey Bogart's dinner. The cartoon is set in the Mocrumbo Club, a parody of the Mocambo Club in L.A. Cartoon versions of several stars, including Frank Sinatra, Ray Milland, and Bogart are dining and drinking in the club. When Bogart orders fried rabbit, waiter Elmer Fudd is in a panic, until he finds Bugs snacking on a crate of carrots in the kitchen. When Bugs realizes that Bogart wants him for dinner--not as a guest, but as an entree--he escapes the kitchen, and in the next scene is disguised as Groucho and sitting at a table with Harpo and Chico.

The next time he looks Harpo's way, he sees the real Harpo has been replaced by a cleaver-wielding Elmer Fudd in Harpo disguise. Elmer proceeds to hack away at Bugs' cigar with the cleaver.

For a full synopsis of the cartoon, I refer the interested reader to the Wikipedia entry "Slick Hare".

2 comments:

  1. I love Groucho references! Especially when you spot them in something you have already seen a million times.
    I (like all normal children) grew up with Disney films, and Aladdin was one of my favourite - but it was first when I in later years re-watched the classic Disney films that I realized that the Genie turns himself into Groucho Marx in You Bet Your Life for a short moment!
    The best thing with Disney - they turn both to kids and adults.

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