Pre-Hysterical Hare
Encyclopedia
Pre-Hysterical Hare is a 1958 Looney Tunes
cartoon by Warner Bros.
featuring Bugs Bunny
and Elmer Fudd
(known in this cartoon as Elmer Fudd
stone
). These two are in their usual hunter-and-bunny antics, but with different items used in the Stone Age
.
, “Someday, they'll outlaw this annual madness known as Rabbit Season.” He hops over a stone dike, but either the ground on the other side is not firm enough to support him, or he lands with too much force. Elmer finally appears above ground and on the opposite side of the dike from Bugs wearing a frustrated expression (“Oh, dwat that bwasted wabbit! Where is he?”)
At the same time, Bugs is asking himself the very same question. He assumes that he has fallen into a cave possibly belonging to giant Native Americans
. This assumption comes from an item on the wall with odd writing on it which Bugs takes for a powder horn
. He says, “Must be Indian writing, but it's Greek to me.” (The writing briefly changes to English: reading “TIME CAPSULE — CIRCA 10,000 BC TO BE OPENED 1960 AD,” then reverts back to its original format as Bugs approaches it. He pulls on a stoppering item on the wide end that is nearly his own size, whereupon, much to his surprise, a reel of film pops out. This he transports (off-camera) back to his hole and views through his own film projector
. This film is described as “A Micronesia
n Film Documentary in Breathtaking Cro-Magnon
scope. Color by Neanderthal
Color.” Then the narration begins.
“This is the year 10,000 B. C. This film has been made to preserve a record of our way of life. Here, good hunting defines good living.”
During the opening pronouncement, a variety of clashes take place amidst the palm trees and other tropical surroundings, i.e. dinosaurs fighting each other (an inaccuracy) and a tiger
and Pteranodon
battling. This sequence re-uses footage from the cartoon short Caveman Inki.
“Let us meet one of our most intrepid hunters. This is Elmer Fudd
stone
.”
Fuddstone emerges from his cave and utters: “Shhhhh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. Me hunt Sabre-toothed Wabbit” — an obvious less-educated version of the modern-day Fudd's “I'm hunting wabbits” catch phrase
. This statement shocks the modern Bugs, but when he asks “Sabre-toothed Rabbit?” the prehistoric documentary answers him directly via narrator:
“Yes. A Sabre-toothed Rabbit. His habitat
is deep in the lush jungle.”
A Sabre-toothed Rabbit hole now appears on the screen — albeit covered by a rock. Its inhabitant pushes it aside, grabs his ears and hops up out of the hole (which Bugs would occasionally do in previous cartoons), after which he munches on a carrot in Bugs' trademark fashion. The Sabre-toothed Rabbit looks very much like Bugs, but he has less-well-groomed fur and longer teeth. Bugs laughs off the possibility that he's related to him (“Get a load o' that snaggle-toothed Aboriginal
-e!”) but then asks the film directly if he is. The Sabre-toothed Rabbit also speaks like Bugs, as he answers: “Eh, could be.”
Elmer Fuddstone now appears, spear in hand, and huddles low to the ground, remarking, “Sabre-toothed Wabbit come this way.” He continues on, up into a tree, where he rips a vine off one branch and ties a loop in one end like a lasso
. The looped end he allows to fall to the ground, but when the prehistoric Bugs passes by, he pulls on the string and Elmer falls down.
Next, the prehistoric Elmer grabs a hollow stick, into one end of which he places a poisonous berry. He says that no rabbit can make a monkey out of him, but as he prepares to blow it at Bugs, he suffers the effects of the projectile's consumption as the rabbit blows it at him first (he turns red, green and a mainly brown tartan
pattern in quick succession before returning to his normal hues). Bugs asks him “What's up, Doc?” whereupon Elmer blasts the “tweachewous wabbit” for not allowing him to hunt him and thus provide his killer's family with clothes and food. Bugs feigns guilt and offers, “I'll help ya get me. Some smart-apple's gonna invent gunpowder someday and the gun will follow along.”
This entices Fuddstone to begin developing gunpowder almost at once, and shortly thereafter he demonstrates this to Bugs. He rubs a wooden stick in a small skin bag of gunpowder, which explodes (Bugs notes, “He did it — but he did it the hard way.) Elmer is now high in an old tree, ashen-faced and much the worse for wear, but he maintains a triumphant look upon his face (“NOW who has the wast waugh?”).
Bugs searches for items out of which to manufacture a gun, in the end settling on the hollow stick that previously contained the toxic berry Elmer swallowed by mistake for a gunbarrel, and “a taro
root for a stock.” Elmer grows impatient, but Bugs soon attaches the root to one end of the stick, pours in powder and pebbles, and hands the finished product (a “Genuine Imitation Squirrelly Rifle — Also Handy For Shooting Rabbits”) to his pursuer. He lights the fuse with an extremely primitive version of a cigarette lighter and tells him, “You may fire when ready.” But right before he fires, Bugs tells Fuddstone, “Oops, got this on the wrong end!” He removes the stock and plugs it into the other end of the barrel, causing Elmer to shoot himself in the face (See “Censorship” for details on this gag).
The film ends, and the present-day Bugs snickers, “And so it always has been. Those 'smart' hunters are never any match for us 'dumb' rabbits.” But right as he says this, Elmer Fudd (who finally takes the initiative to climb into Bugs' hole) appears next to him and sneers, “That's what YOU think, wabbit! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!” However, Fudd doesn't notice that he's holding his gun so that it points at him; so, repeating the 12,000-year-old mistake of his ancestor, he shoots himself. Bugs: “That's what I think! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!”
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoon by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
featuring 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...
and Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
(known in this cartoon as Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
stone
STONe
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Sin-Ichi Hiromoto. Kodansha released the two bound volumes of the manga on April 23, 2002 and August 23, 2002, respectively.The manga is licensed for an English-languague released in North America be Tokyopop...
). These two are in their usual hunter-and-bunny antics, but with different items used in the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
.
Plot
The opening scene depicts Bugs and Elmer in the modern day, with Elmer's gun blasting at Bugs repeatedly. Bugs finally pauses long enough to tell the audienceFourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, “Someday, they'll outlaw this annual madness known as Rabbit Season.” He hops over a stone dike, but either the ground on the other side is not firm enough to support him, or he lands with too much force. Elmer finally appears above ground and on the opposite side of the dike from Bugs wearing a frustrated expression (“Oh, dwat that bwasted wabbit! Where is he?”)
At the same time, Bugs is asking himself the very same question. He assumes that he has fallen into a cave possibly belonging to giant Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. This assumption comes from an item on the wall with odd writing on it which Bugs takes for a powder horn
Powder Horn
Powder Horn may mean:* Powder Horn , the device for carrying gunpowder*Powder Horn , the Venturing training program offered by the Boy Scouts of America...
. He says, “Must be Indian writing, but it's Greek to me.” (The writing briefly changes to English: reading “TIME CAPSULE — CIRCA 10,000 BC TO BE OPENED 1960 AD,” then reverts back to its original format as Bugs approaches it. He pulls on a stoppering item on the wide end that is nearly his own size, whereupon, much to his surprise, a reel of film pops out. This he transports (off-camera) back to his hole and views through his own film projector
Vitascope
Vitascope was an early film projector first demonstrated in 1895 by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. They had made modifications to Jenkins patented "Phantoscope", which cast images via film & electric light onto a wall or screen...
. This film is described as “A Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
n Film Documentary in Breathtaking Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
scope. Color by Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
Color.” Then the narration begins.
“This is the year 10,000 B. C. This film has been made to preserve a record of our way of life. Here, good hunting defines good living.”
During the opening pronouncement, a variety of clashes take place amidst the palm trees and other tropical surroundings, i.e. dinosaurs fighting each other (an inaccuracy) and a tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
and Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
battling. This sequence re-uses footage from the cartoon short Caveman Inki.
“Let us meet one of our most intrepid hunters. This is Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
.”
Fuddstone emerges from his cave and utters: “Shhhhh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. Me hunt Sabre-toothed Wabbit” — an obvious less-educated version of the modern-day Fudd's “I'm hunting wabbits” catch phrase
Catch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
. This statement shocks the modern Bugs, but when he asks “Sabre-toothed Rabbit?” the prehistoric documentary answers him directly via narrator:
“Yes. A Sabre-toothed Rabbit. His habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is deep in the lush jungle.”
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
-e!”) but then asks the film directly if he is. The Sabre-toothed Rabbit also speaks like Bugs, as he answers: “Eh, could be.”
Elmer Fuddstone now appears, spear in hand, and huddles low to the ground, remarking, “Sabre-toothed Wabbit come this way.” He continues on, up into a tree, where he rips a vine off one branch and ties a loop in one end like a lasso
Lasso
A lasso , also referred to as a lariat, riata, or reata , is a loop of rope that is designed to be thrown around a target and tighten when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the American cowboy. The word is also a verb; to lasso is to successfully throw the loop of rope around something...
. The looped end he allows to fall to the ground, but when the prehistoric Bugs passes by, he pulls on the string and Elmer falls down.
Next, the prehistoric Elmer grabs a hollow stick, into one end of which he places a poisonous berry. He says that no rabbit can make a monkey out of him, but as he prepares to blow it at Bugs, he suffers the effects of the projectile's consumption as the rabbit blows it at him first (he turns red, green and a mainly brown tartan
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
pattern in quick succession before returning to his normal hues). Bugs asks him “What's up, Doc?” whereupon Elmer blasts the “tweachewous wabbit” for not allowing him to hunt him and thus provide his killer's family with clothes and food. Bugs feigns guilt and offers, “I'll help ya get me. Some smart-apple's gonna invent gunpowder someday and the gun will follow along.”
This entices Fuddstone to begin developing gunpowder almost at once, and shortly thereafter he demonstrates this to Bugs. He rubs a wooden stick in a small skin bag of gunpowder, which explodes (Bugs notes, “He did it — but he did it the hard way.) Elmer is now high in an old tree, ashen-faced and much the worse for wear, but he maintains a triumphant look upon his face (“NOW who has the wast waugh?”).
Bugs searches for items out of which to manufacture a gun, in the end settling on the hollow stick that previously contained the toxic berry Elmer swallowed by mistake for a gunbarrel, and “a taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
root for a stock.” Elmer grows impatient, but Bugs soon attaches the root to one end of the stick, pours in powder and pebbles, and hands the finished product (a “Genuine Imitation Squirrelly Rifle — Also Handy For Shooting Rabbits”) to his pursuer. He lights the fuse with an extremely primitive version of a cigarette lighter and tells him, “You may fire when ready.” But right before he fires, Bugs tells Fuddstone, “Oops, got this on the wrong end!” He removes the stock and plugs it into the other end of the barrel, causing Elmer to shoot himself in the face (See “Censorship” for details on this gag).
The film ends, and the present-day Bugs snickers, “And so it always has been. Those 'smart' hunters are never any match for us 'dumb' rabbits.” But right as he says this, Elmer Fudd (who finally takes the initiative to climb into Bugs' hole) appears next to him and sneers, “That's what YOU think, wabbit! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!” However, Fudd doesn't notice that he's holding his gun so that it points at him; so, repeating the 12,000-year-old mistake of his ancestor, he shoots himself. Bugs: “That's what I think! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!”