Watch Forward March Hare For Free

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

This is a 7-minute short film from over 60 years ago and like so many other it was directed by Chuck Jones, written by Michael Maltese and voiced by Mel Blanc. Still, I have to say this is not the best work from the trio, especially Maltese as I felt this one was not written really funny enough to make a memorable impact. Bugs Bunny gets a letter that was actually intended for somebody else and the letter says that he gets drafted. Lucky day for Daffy, Porky and Elmer as Bugs will get on somebody else's nerves this time. So when in the army, Bugs has a tough time running for miles with heavy luggage, but his commander seems to have an even harder time. And we find out that Bugs has the eyesight of an eagle it seems. Military-themed cartoons were far more popular during the days of World War II, but these were also really more motivational. This one here is exclusively comedic, but not as funny as I hoped it would be. Not recommended. Hundreds of superior Warner Bros. cartoons out there.

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!

Knowing that Bugs Bunny is usually the cleverest character in the cartoons, it's quite jarring to see him engage in the buffoonery portrayed in "Forward March Hare". True, he makes a living being irreverent, but his actions here border on the sorts of things that one would expect to see on "Gilligan's Island". But if we try to call him stupid, as a previous reviewer did, that gets countered by his super-vision.So why didn't he realize that the letter bore a slightly different name? Well, that was an honest mistake. But it does seem that he should have suspected something strange about suddenly getting a letter announcing that he's been drafted. Still, it's really funny to see him walk around with a deadpan expression, befuddling the X-ray man and getting the general angry at the sergeant.So, it's a funny cartoon, but kind of strange.

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.