Hare Ribbin'

                                                                                                                                                                               

At first glance Hare Ribbin' appears to be your typical Bugs Bunny cartoon. The plot features Bugs' conflict with a red-haired hound dog, whom the rabbit sets out to evade and make a fool of using one-liners, reverse psychology, disguises and other tricks. It was released in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 24, 1944.

This cartoon has a very interesting history. First off, Hare Ribbin' holds the distinction of having two different endings, both of which are too violent by today's standards to be shown on children/family-friendly television in America.

In the original ending after thinking he has killed Bugs, the dog wishes that he were dead. Bugs asks, "Do you mean it?" and hands the canine a gun. The dog then proceeds to shoot himself in the head. As the cartoon is ending the dog gets up and says this shouldn't even happen to a dog. This ending was once played in theaters to a general audience, but now commonly cut from television versions. It has only appeared on tv unedited three times on an episode of Cartoon Network's The Bob Clampett Show and two appearances on Cartoon Network's New Year's Day Looney Tunes marathons in 2009 and 2010.

The "directors cut" ending has the dog wishing he was dead. Bugs asks, "Do you mean it?" Bugs obliges by pulling out a gun and shooting the dog through the mouth. This scene did not make it passed the censors and thus was never seen by audiences when the short was originally released in 1944. It has also never been shown on tv. In the early 1990s, historian Jerry Beck discovered that film collector Phil Johnson owned a 35mm Technicolor nitrate print of the alternate version. This print was subsequently released on volume five of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes laserdisc set in February 1997 and on volume five of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series in October 2007.

The dog in this short has a Russian accent. The accent is a play on The "Mad Russian" character originated by comedian Bert Gordon that was popular on radio at the time (the voice here is provided by Sammy Wolfe).
The dog sniffing Bugs' armpit, and saying "B.O." was inspired by radio commercials for Lifebuoy soap. This is sometimes called the "Underwater Short." Early in the short Bugs is chased into a lake by the dog and the rest of the cartoon takes place at the bottom of the lake. This may be to set up a long gag in which Bugs diguises himself as a sexy mermaid. In any case, the action remains underwater for the rest of the film.