MartinHafer
Although IMDb indicates that Warner Brothers pulled this one from circulation because of the way it portrayed Indians, it IS available from at least two sources--as an extra with "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) as well as on "Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Award-Nominated Animation: Cinema Favorites" (which is how I saw it).The film is pretty much like a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon except that instead of Elmer, you have a cute American Indian character that is a lot like Elmer. Whether folks actually find this offensive, I have no idea at all. However, ALL of Bugs' foils look stupid--so I don't think Looney Tunes was singling out Indians.This cartoon, by the way, marks the second year in a row that this brand-new character, Bugs, was nominated for an Academy Award. Previously he was nominated for "A Wild Hare". And, like "A Wild Hare", the animation in "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" is exquisite--much nicer than the later Bugs cartoons.
Michael_Elliott
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941) *** 1/2 (out of 4) This is one of the best known Merrie Melodies shorts as Indian Hiawatha goes out looking for a rabbit and unluckily for him he runs into Bugs Bunny who makes his life one misstep after another. Of all the early incarnations of Bugs, this here is probably one of the most popular and it's easy to see why because the rabbit is given a perfect co-star and the two really work well together. Yes, some might object to some of the stereotyped humor but I tend not to let these things bother me. The film works so well because of the way Bugs manages to drive Hiawatha crazy and one of the best sequences is when Bugs jumps into his water for a bath and even helps him put a log onto the fire. Another funny joke involves a cliff but I won't even think about spoiling the gag. The two characters here are given quite a lot to do and they work so well together that you can't help but have a smile on your face the entire time. There's plenty of nice laughs and just as many good action scenes. If you're a fan of animation then this here is a must see.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
This comes on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of The Maltese Falcon, as part of the Warner Night at the Movies portion. Back then, they would show films with stuff like this(remember, no one had TV's at this time). Bugs looks odd, not the look we know for him... he sounds exactly the way we're used to, though. I should perhaps say that I'm not really a fan of these. They didn't particularly amuse me when I was a kid, and I've only become less into cartoony violence(or any other kind of it where it's meant to be funny). I've never heard of Hiawatha, but I'll wager a guess that he's a historical(or legendary) figure. Given when it was made, it's no surprise that this is racially insensitive to Native Americans. The animation is great, no complaints there, it doesn't feel like any corners were cut and there are a couple of very nice visuals. This syncs up to the music used here and there, and the timing is good on the mild slapstick. There is a routine or two that you've heard of(even if you haven't watched one of these; they're part of pop culture, and at least one has been seen in another of these shorts), and the jokes and gags are reasonable, if this comes to a close so abruptly that you can tell they merely ran out of material. This keeps to a fine pace, if there could be more laughs for 8 minutes of running time. I recommend this to fans of the intrepid rabbit. 6/10
Robert Reynolds
This short, nominated for an Oscar, is a good, not great, cartoon. It does introduce a bit of Longfellow and any Bugs Bunny is a good cartoon and worth watching. There just isn't anything terribly funny or special about this particular cartoon besides the poem sections read at the beginning and end. But it is worth watching. It runs periodically on Cartoon Network.
AD
