. . . in Yosemite Sam's Looney Tunes debut, HARE TRIGGER. Sam and Bugs Bunny appear to be the ONLY passengers on the Multi-car "Super Chief" Amtrak Western Excursion Train, particularly during their early drawn-out dueling scene. However, when Bugs opens the door to the "Club Car," Live Action Dance Hall Gals appear on a distant stage, separated from the wily hare by a large Real Life audience. Clearly, the Looney Tuners are anticipating Science's upcoming discoveries in Quantum Physics, especially String Theory, with this glimpse of Another Dimension. A few minutes later, Bugs opens the Club Car door again for another peak, which reveals an on-going Live Action bar room brawl. America's favorite hare gives Sam the bum's rush into this action (while remaining aloof from it himself). Sam soon emerges, worse for wear, prompting Bugs to try to trick him off the train by using Black Voice. Sam sees through Bug's Racist Ploy, leaving HARE TRIGGER to close in that Cartoon Limboland beyond the so-called Fourth Wall.

So far, this is my favourite Yosemite Sam + Bugs Bunny cartoon for the following reasons:1. It has very intelligent humour that works very well with the usual roles of Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. 2. Partly because this is his first episode ,Yosemite Sam is portrayed in a way contrary to the other episodes I have seen on him and Bugs Bunny (as being particularly small). This portrayal of his minuteness works very well and adds a good deal of humour to the beginning of the cartoon. 3. It is not quite so slapsticky as the following YS + BB cartoons. I know this might be a disadvantage of this episode to some people, but personally I prefer a witty Looney Tunes joke to a slapstick one (generally).Anyway, in this episode, we see Bugs Bunny on a train in the mail carriage, playing a banjo and being very relaxed. Unfortunately for him, a small but dangerous gangster, played by Yosemite Sam, invades the carriage and takes everything of value, including Bugs. The bunny soon puts Yosemite Sam to the test, will Bugs Bunny receive his revenge..?I recommend this episode to people who like the old Bugs Bunny, to people who love/like Yosemite Sam and to people who enjoy Looney Tunes in general. Enjoy "Hare Trigger"! :-)8 and a half out of ten.

Introducing Bugs Bunny's newest nemesis - YOSEMITE SAM! A villain with a large, droopy moustache, a harsh, fiery temper, and an exceedingly short stature, Sam turned out to be a perfect foil for Bugs, thanks to director Friz Freleng, who simply hated the stupid Elmer Fudd. In "Hare Trigger", Sam attempts to hold up a train, on which Bugs just happens to be a passenger.My favorite scenes: At the very beginning of the cartoon, the train's whistle blows "Yankee Doodle", complete with some great sound effects by Treg Brown. Sam gives Bugs one second to "draw" a gun, so Bugs whips out a pad & pencil; Carl Stalling's musical accompaniment of this scene is hilariously PERFECT! Sam introduces himself with such adjectives as "rip-roarinest" and "Edward Everett Horton-est"."Hare Trigger" can be found (finally) on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 Disc 1. One question that has existed in my mind for quite awhile: Was director Friz Freleng Yosemite Sam? Many say Friz was, but he denied it. We may never know the answer.

And thus was born the self-proclaimed rip-roaringest, Edward Everett Horton-est hombre what ever packed a six-shooter. Friz Freleng created Yosemite Sam because he didn't consider the dim-witted Elmer Fudd a formidable opponent for Bugs Bunny. So, he created the smallest man possible and gave him the loudest voice possible. "Hare Trigger" stresses Sam's diminutive stature by having the train pass right over him, and then he has to use a staircase to board his horse.It's worth noting that Sam is sort of a composite of a few previous characters. There was Cottontail Smith in "Super-Rabbit", the southern sheriff in "Stage Door Cartoon" and Red Hot Ryder in "Buckaroo Bugs" (that last one is usually considered Sam's definitive prototype, albeit without the mustache or loud voice). Whatever Sam's origin was, you can't deny that with his loose cannon personality, he is truly one of the funniest of the Warner Bros. animated characters. And it all started with this cartoon three score and three years ago. Thank you Friz Freleng!