Bugs Bunny has always been one of animation's best, funniest, most interesting and most iconic characters. Bob Clampett is perhaps not as famous as the likes of Chuck Jones, Fritz Freleng or Tex Avery, but he was a very interesting and very good animation director in his own right with a quite unique visual style.
'Hare Ribbin', to be honest, is not one of the best from either. It's interesting, it's amusing and it's very well made, but in the case of both Bugs and Clampett 'Hare Ribbin' is a contender for their strangest, and the weirdness did get in the way at times.
There is definitely plenty to like. Clampett's visual style is immediately distinctive and is not just beautifully rendered but the imagination and wonderful exaggeration put into it makes it eye-popping. The colours are vibrant, the backgrounds very meticulous in detail and the drawing fluid and very smooth.
Carl Stalling never disappoints and one of my favourite composers in cartoon history, 'Hare Ribbin' does nothing to change that perception. Anybody expecting luscious orchestration, characterful rhythms, clever use of instrumentation and sounds and the ability to elevate gags to a greater level rather than just adding to it will find all of those aplenty.
Regarding the writing, it does have freshness and wit, more so from Bugs than with the Russian dog. Just don't look for logic and sense, they're cast to the wind here, not that you should expect that in cartoons but they are replaced by a bizarre weirdness that doesn't always feel right. Bugs' mermaid and French waiter disguises are especially a lot of fun though.
As for the darker and more violent ending for a Looney Tunes cartoon, it is definitely not a bad thing to take risks (personally applaud risk-taking when done right, and tend to appreciate the effort if it doesn't quite come off, much less so if it badly fails at it), but the ending does feel like a cop out and is at odds with the rest of the cartoon.
No complaints can be made with Bugs, he's still as funny and smartly likable as ever. Was less keen on the Russian dog, who is not one of our favourite rabbit's best foils, a bit dull and more dumb than funny. Mel Blanc does characteristically wonderfully as Bugs, Sam Wolfe however didn't do much for me due to an inconsistent accent that never seemed sure what it was meant to be.
Overall, well-made and amusing but has a strangeness that doesn't quite work. 7/10 Bethany Cox
