Knight-mare Hare
Encyclopedia
Knight-mare Hare is a 1955 animated cartoon
short
released by Warner Bros. Cartoons
in the Merrie Melodies
series, directed by Chuck Jones
and written by Tedd Pierce
. The cartoon stars Bugs Bunny
in medieval times. It was released theatrically on October 1, 1955.
's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
, begins with Bugs Bunny reading a book
on the Knights of the Round Table under a hairdryer. While reading, an apple
falls and hits his head and he is somehow transported to the times of King Arthur
. When he wakes up, he finds himself at the pointy end of a knight
's lance. Bugs asks him, "What's up, Duke
?" and the knight commands Bugs to surrender as prisoner of his lance. The knight identifies himself as "Sir
O of Kay
, Earl
of Watercress
, Sir Osis of The Liver
, Knight of the Garter
, and Baron
of Wooster-cester-shister-shyster-schuster-shister-sister-shire...sher
." Ready to take Bugs' challenge to tilt with him for the insult of Bugs' friends Duke of Ellington
, Count of Basie
, Earl of Hines
, Cab of Calloway
and Satchmo of Armstrong
after Bugs peers down into the knight's helmet, who are called "upstarts and rogues", the knight offers Bugs a too heavy sword, then begins to charge at him, during several comedic attempts by Bugs to get the sword off the ground. At the last second, Bugs puts his leg out tripping the knight's horse. The horse falls and the knight pole vault
s on his lance over the castle
wall and into a high window of a castle tower, falling loudly to the bottom inside the tower.
Bugs is later chased by a fire-breathing dragon
. He manages to defeat it by spraying seltzer into the dragon's mouth. With its fire lost, the powerless dragon whimpers and flees.
Bugs later goes to another castle, the residence of a warlock named Merlin of Monroe
. Merlin changes Bugs into a pig with some "magic powder" -but Bugs simply unzips the "costume" into his normal self. He later tricks the warlock into becoming a donkey. Merlin tries to change himself back to normal by also "unzipping" - but ends up with the same donkey appearance, no matter how many times he unzips the costume. To try to return to the present, Bugs Bunny throws an apple in the air to hit him on the head ("Well, why not? After all, they laughed at the man when he discovered penicillin"). He is successful in this attempt, and walks down the country road, thinking that his adventure was just a dream...until he hears a farmer call his donkey "Merlin".
DVD box set.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
released by Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
in the Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
series, directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and written by Tedd Pierce
Tedd Pierce
Tedd Pierce , was an American animated cartoon writer, animator and artist. Pierce spent the majority of his career as a writer for the Warner Bros. "Termite Terrace" animation studio, working alongside fellow luminaries such as Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Pierce also worked as a writer at...
. The cartoon stars Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
in medieval times. It was released theatrically on October 1, 1955.
Plot
The cartoon, loosely based on Mark TwainMark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled A Yankee in King Arthur's Court...
, begins with Bugs Bunny reading a book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
on the Knights of the Round Table under a hairdryer. While reading, an apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
falls and hits his head and he is somehow transported to the times of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. When he wakes up, he finds himself at the pointy end of a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
's lance. Bugs asks him, "What's up, Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
?" and the knight commands Bugs to surrender as prisoner of his lance. The knight identifies himself as "Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
O of Kay
Okay
"Okay" is a colloquial English word denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, or acknowledgment. "Okay" has frequently turned up as a loanword in many other languages...
, Earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
of Watercress
Watercress
Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings...
, Sir Osis of The Liver
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
, Knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, and Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
of Wooster-cester-shister-shyster-schuster-shister-sister-shire...sher
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
." Ready to take Bugs' challenge to tilt with him for the insult of Bugs' friends Duke of Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Count of Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Earl of Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
, Cab of Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
and Satchmo of Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
after Bugs peers down into the knight's helmet, who are called "upstarts and rogues", the knight offers Bugs a too heavy sword, then begins to charge at him, during several comedic attempts by Bugs to get the sword off the ground. At the last second, Bugs puts his leg out tripping the knight's horse. The horse falls and the knight pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
s on his lance over the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
wall and into a high window of a castle tower, falling loudly to the bottom inside the tower.
Bugs is later chased by a fire-breathing dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. He manages to defeat it by spraying seltzer into the dragon's mouth. With its fire lost, the powerless dragon whimpers and flees.
Bugs later goes to another castle, the residence of a warlock named Merlin of Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
. Merlin changes Bugs into a pig with some "magic powder" -but Bugs simply unzips the "costume" into his normal self. He later tricks the warlock into becoming a donkey. Merlin tries to change himself back to normal by also "unzipping" - but ends up with the same donkey appearance, no matter how many times he unzips the costume. To try to return to the present, Bugs Bunny throws an apple in the air to hit him on the head ("Well, why not? After all, they laughed at the man when he discovered penicillin"). He is successful in this attempt, and walks down the country road, thinking that his adventure was just a dream...until he hears a farmer call his donkey "Merlin".
Facts
- This was the first film in which the director was credited as Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
, rather than Charles or Charles M. Jones. - Merlin later appeared in the video game Bugs Bunny: Lost in TimeBugs Bunny: Lost in TimeBugs Bunny: Lost in Time is a Looney Tunes video game for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation, released in 1999. Aditionally, a sequel, Bugs Bunny and Taz: Time Busters was made for the same consoles.-Plot:...
.
Gags
- Another cartoon of Bugs Bunny vs Knight Sir O of Kay {Called Sir Pants a Lot} in King Arthur's time is the 1948 Knights Must FallKnights Must FallKnights Must Fall is a 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Friz Freleng that spoofs King Arthur. The title of the cartoon itself is a pun on the 1937 film Night Must Fall.- Plot :Bugs stands in line with several knights, chewing a carrot...
- Bugs "Bonks" the gullible Sherriff of Nottingham as "Sir Osis of the Liver" and "Sir Loin of Beef" {from Knighty Knight Bugs} in 1949 Rabbit HoodRabbit HoodRabbit Hood is a 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon which parodies the Robin Hood story.In the cartoon the Sheriff of Nottingham catches Bugs eating the King's carrots and is about to arrest him, when Little John shows up and tells them that Robin Hood is on his way.The cartoon ends with the appearance of...
. - Sir Osis of the Liver and a fire breathing dragon are also in 1958 Bugs Bunny cartoon Knighty Knight BugsKnighty Knight BugsKnighty Knight Bugs is a 1958 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and released by Warner Bros....
(although this Sir Osis of the Liver is a cowardly knight afraid to fight the "Black Knight" aka Yosemite SamYosemite SamYosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
) - Sir Pantsalot of Dropseat Manor (from Knights Must Fall), the Sheriff of Nottingham (from Rabbit Hood) and Sir Osis of the Liver (all who Bugs defeats) are all Medieval antagonists and all three have black hair and black moustaches.
Availability
The cartoon is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on November 14, 2006...
DVD box set.
External links
- Knight-mare Hare at the Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....