. . . and being a nice (or subtle) meanie. This "Merrie Melodies" animated short, THE MILLION HARE, does an excellent job of doing just that. Daffy Duck, staying "on vacation" (From what? Quacking?) at "friend" Bugs Bunny's home in the far boondocks, deftly models what being a mean meanie is all about. He steals his host's motor boat. He sets off an avalanche in Bugs' path. For Daffy's big finale, he snatches Bugs off the top floor of a high-rise, and gets him all cut up in an antique glass shop. Meanwhile, Bugs' interactions with Daffy are far more subtle. He accidentally-on-purpose sabotages his own boat. He puts PES (Performance Enhancing Springs) on his feet. Daffy falls off two cliffs and a high bridge on Bugs' watch. So Bugs remains the "good guy," while playing the part of a nice meanie to the hilt. Forced by his HAREless devious nature into becoming the mean meanie, Daffy continually self-implodes, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at the very end. The moral of this story? Good guys may finish last, but bad guys pretending to be good will win most of the time.

Lesser Bugs & Daffy short, made during the DePatie-Freleng period and directed by Robert McKimson. The plot involves a TV game show called "Beat Your Buddy." The premise of the show is that the announcer draws the names of two buddies and the first one to make it to the studio wins a prize. Not surprisingly, the announcer draws the names of Bugs and Daffy, who are watching the show at home. The two race to the studio, sabotaging each other along the way. The animation is colorful but flat with a sketchy style that I don't care for. The music, by Bill Lava, is generic and uninspired. The voice work is solid but I would expect no less from the great Mel Blanc. None of the gags are particularly funny and, worse, there are no good lines for Bugs or Daffy. The final joke is just dumb. Really this feels very tired and forced. I mean, it's just six minutes of your life so what's the harm, but don't expect much.

I am a big fan of the Looney Tunes cartoons, and particularly of Bugs and Daffy. However, The Million Hare didn't entirely work out. Granted, there are worse cartoons(ie. Devil's Feud Cake, See Ya Later Gladiator), but The Million Hare is light years from being up there with the best. Bugs(not entirely sure about his greedy side though) and Daffy are both great, especially Daffy, and Mel Blanc's voices are excellent. The animation while not amazing was pretty decent particularly in the colours and the music has a good amount of energy. They're not the problems. It's the writing, story and pacing that bring The Million Hare down. The story is predictable and is never quite sure of what direction genre-wise it wants to follow, and the writing feels tired and flabby, at best there may be the odd amusing line but that's it, while the cartoon feels rather pedestrian in the pace. All in all, disappointing but watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny are sitting at home watching a game show on tv when their names are pulled out of the hat to take part in the million dollar mate race - a race between two friends to be the first to get to the studio and claim the prize. And so the race begins!Bugs and Daffy are two of my favourite characters and I do like that they have done a few cartoons together. Daffy is usually cast as cynical and bitter with Bugs, rather than the crazy duck that I actually prefer; but he's great in either role. Here he is the greedy duck and that sparks the race to the studio.The jokes are OK but they require Bugs to be as greedy as Daffy - something I didn't really buy in this cartoon, but it doesn't matter too much. The gags are based around one-upmanship between Daffy and Bugs and they are quite funny even if the material isn't that great.The cartoon is amusing and features two of the funniest characters from Warner Brothers. Even if it isn't the best example of what they can do it is still worth seeing and has a good punch line.