Slick Hare is a 1947 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng.{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=179}} The film was released on November 1, 1947, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/60/mode/2up |pages=60–61}} It parodies the Mocambo nightclub in Los Angeles—in the cartoon referred to as "The Mocrumbo". Mel Blanc voices Bugs, Arthur Q. Bryan voices Elmer Fudd and impressionist Dave Barry portrays Humphrey Bogart. The title is a pun on "hair", from an era when hair slicked down by oil was a popular fashion style for men.

Plot

The cartoon commences with a satirical portrayal of 1940s Hollywood luminaries (among them Frank Sinatra) indulging in culinary extravagance at the Mocrumbo club, replete with exaggerated antics and whimsical nods to Hollywood celebrities.

Amidst the glamorous milieu, Elmer Fudd, cast as a hapless waiter, encounters the formidable Humphrey Bogart, whose demand for fried rabbit sets off a chain of absurd events. Elmer's frantic quest for a rabbit leads him to an unwitting Bugs Bunny ensconced amidst crates of carrots, igniting a miscommunication that sees Bugs fleeing from the impending dinner invitation.

Bugs' escapades unfold in a series of comedic encounters, from disguising himself as Groucho Marx to a frantic pursuit through the eccentricities of a showbiz setting, including personal encounters with Carmen Miranda and Sydney Greenstreet.

As the tension mounts, Bugs' typical quick-witted antics and Elmer's hapless endeavors culminate in a chaotic climax, with mistaken identities and pie-slinging antics punctuating the farcical proceedings. Ultimately, Bugs' comedic prowess prevails, as he willingly assumes the role of Lauren Bacall's main course.

Cast

Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny, Waiter, Bartender and Ray Milland
Arthur Q. Bryan as Elmer Fudd (uncredited)
Dave Barry as Humphrey Bogart (uncredited)
Carmen Miranda as herself (uncredited)

Production

Background artist Paul Julian visited the kitchen at the Mocambo, and based this cartoon's kitchen backgrounds on the unhygienic things he observed, later commenting in an interview: "I was so bloody revolted by it that I came back and made a documentary out of it!"{{cite video|people=Michael Barrier |title="Slick Hare" on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 (Region 2 DVD release) |medium=DVD commentary |time=5m41s |quote=Paul Julian actually did research for the backgrounds of this cartoon by going to the kitchens of the real Mocambo and reproducing in the film some of what he saw there, which evidently ruffled some feathers as Paul explains in this interview with my colleague Milton Gray: "...{{nbsp}}I went and looked at the back kitchen at the Mocambo, and I almost got my ass in a sling because in the film I reported what I saw! Fingerprints and disgusting puddles oozing out from under crates of food stacked in the corner... greasy fingerprints, all kinds of... just unbearable! I was so bloody revolted by it that I came back and made a documentary out of it!"}}

Reception

Cartoon voice actor Keith Scott writes, "One of the last of Warner Bros.' topical caricature cartoons, Slick Hare is much more accessible to a modern audience than some other entries in the movie-star parody genre. This is because Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd carry the comedy. With these two strong personalities in the foreground, the throwaway movie-star gags are more like the icing on a cake."{{cite book |editor1-last=Beck |editor1-first=Jerry |title=The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons |date=2020 |publisher=Insight Editions |isbn=978-1-64722-137-9 |page=172}}

Home media

This cartoon can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2.
The short is also an extra on the DVD release of the 1947 Humphrey Bogart film Dark Passage, available individually and as part of the Bogie & Bacall: The Signature Collection DVD boxed set.