Forward March Hare (1953)

Memorable, crazy movie

Great Film overall

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

A different kind of Bugs Bunny short from the great team of Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Bugs accidentally gets someone's draft notice and thinks it was meant for him. He shows up for Army training and causes all kinds of mischief. The reason why I said this is a different kind of Bugs short is that here we have Bugs being a bit of an oaf. Instead of being the witty character who gets the best of everyone, he's basically a moron for the sake of the plot he had no business being involved with in the first place. I don't know the backstory to this cartoon but I wouldn't be surprised if this was originally meant for another character and Bugs was substituted at the last minute. It just doesn't feel like a Bugs short and the Jones/Maltese combo certainly knew Bugs by this time. Now, all of that being said, it's not a bad cartoon. The animation is crisp and colorful with well-drawn characters and backgrounds. Carl Stalling's music is lively as ever. The voice work from the incomparable Mel Blanc is flawless. There are laughs to be had, including the "Sergeant Porky Pig" bit, but most of the gags are corny slapstick. Worth a look for Bugs fans but don't expect a classic.

I adore Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny, and while I loved Forward March Hare as a kid I only like it now. I also think that the story is rather silly, the idea of not being able to tell the difference between a human and a rabbit is rather hard to swallow, and instead of the arrogant, intelligent and sharp-witted personality that he is so famous for he is rather obtuse and somewhat of a buffoon, messing things up a lot of the time and not realising. However, the animation is wonderful especially in the beautiful silhouetted opening sequence, though the fluidity and lavish colours are apparent also in the military sequences. The music score is terrific, characterful and enhances the action brilliantly, and the dialogue is fresh and witty, "So they're inducting rabbits" is just one of the jewels. Not all the gags work, but there are a fair few that do, the sequence with the eye-chart shows briefly Bugs in the persona we know and love, and Bugs knocking all the soldiers over, the sergeant exploding and Bugs running around with a baseball bat are just as effective. The Sergeant is a great character, while Mel Blanc's voice work is brilliant. All in all, decent but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs Bunny mistakenly receives a draft letter from the United States Armed Forces. Seeing his patriotic duty, he immediately complies. But with Bugs wearing an ill-fitting uniform, you can be sure that there are some good laughs to come in "Forward March Hare", directed by Chuck Jones.Here are my two favorite sequences from this cartoon. First, Bugs does an about-face and knocks over all the other soldiers like bowling pins. The hot-tempered sergeant does a wonderful silent take and then explodes, after which Bugs exchanges dialogue with the sergeant and the colonel regarding some Looney Tunes characters. And second, Bugs is hilarious as he runs with a baseball bat in order to silence the "bugler".One final point I must make: The next time you watch "Forward March Hare", do yourself a favor and pay close attention to Carl Stalling's music score throughout the film. It is terrific!

This is a very funny short which plays on a series of coincidences and misunderstandings to put Bugs Bunny in position to be inducted into the United States Army. Because I want to discuss some details, this is a spoiler warning: The short opens with an induction notice being delivered to one "B. Bonny", only the notice winds up in Bugs Bunny's hole in the ground and he mistakenly assumes it's for him. Thus, we now go off to the physical.The physical is hilarious, with reactions ranging from the nonchalant "So they're inducting rabbits" through nervous laughter to incredulous shock, as when Bugs takes the eye exam and reads the whole chart, fine print included. Bugs obviously passes the physical, because we next see him in boot camp for basic training.His Sargeant looks and sounds like the construction worker Bugs did battle with in a couple of other shorts and he fares about as well here as he did there. Bugs first causes headaches in general for the Sargeant and then gets him into hot water with a Colonel who clearly didn't care much for the Sargeant even before all the problems with Bugs develop. Bugs bowls the colonel over during drill, bathes in the colonels helmet, dresses chickens for the Officer's mess (he dresses them in tuxedos) and hammers a nail into the wall using a live shell! With each passing incident, the Sargeant loses a little more rank, until he's a private.It's at this point that the former Sargeant realizes that Bugs is a rabbit, as it slowly dawns on him that Bugs really isn't "just like all the other guys". Watching the fog start to lift on the erstwhile Sargeant's comprehension is great! A compromise of sorts gives Bugs a job at a munitions plant, with a finale that I won't spoil here. This short is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 4 and is well worth seeing. Recommended.