Frigid Hare (1949) User Reviews

He IS This Penguin's Keeper

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 3 February 2007]

Bugs must be some digger. He digs a hole through the earth and pops out with his sun tan, lotion, bathing suit, beach umbrella, etc., thinking he's reached his destination: Miami Beach.

Unfortunately, he's at the South Pole which he doesn't discover until he takes a plunge into the icy waters. Within seconds he almost gets run over by a little penguin whizzing by, followed by a huge Eskimo. Later, the little penguin comes by while Bugs is ready to go back in his hole and try again for Miami Beach. He dresses the penguin up with a top and tie to go with the rest of his looks. When Bugs dives back, the penguin follows. This happens several times. Apparently, he has made a new friend, but Bugs wants none of that. He boots the penguin down an icy sloop but watches as the Eskimo captures him in his burlap bag.

Oh, well, says Bugs, who walks back to his hole. "It's none of my business. I'm not my penguin's keeper." However, in a flash he pops back up, his conscience obviously getting the better of him, and goes back to rescue the little guy. Bugs stops for a second, turns to the camera and speaks to us: the audience, admonishing us for thinking Bugs wouldn't do the right thing!

Bugs then dons a disguise, gets the Eskimo's attention....and the chase is on. From that point on, there's some pretty funny stuff, visually and dialog-wise with Bug's wisecracks

A warm-hearted cartoon in a cold climate

[phantom_tollbooth · 8/10 · 18 August 2008]

Chuck Jones's 'Frigid Hare' is a great little cartoon which introduced the seldom used character of the tiny penguin in formal wear. Perhaps a little too cutesy to ever have become a star alongside the more anarchic characters, the penguin nevertheless proves a great foil for Bugs Bunny. When Bugs takes yet another wrong turning on the way to Miami beach and ends up at the South Pole, he quickly becomes implicated in the chase between a sweet little penguin and a big, dumb Eskimo. While its possible that the Eskimo stereotype may offend some, everything else about this cartoon is so warm (despite its setting) that only the most hard-hearted of critics would deny its appeal. The interplay between Bugs and the penguin is beautifully executed and there's a fantastic chase sequence between Bugs and the Eskimo brought about by what is perhaps Bugs' most convincing drag routine of all time! It all leads to a clever and unpredictable punch line that'll make you laugh and go "awww" in equal measures.

Cutesy penguin

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 25 October 2004]

Not the Danny DeVito penguin I assure you.

Bugs is on his way to Miami beach but, like usual, he cannot read a map to save his life (it must be kinda tough to do underground I guess) and ends up in the South Pole.

After inadvertently saving the life of a cute little penguin from an Eskimo hunter (in the south pole?) the penguin becomes too attached to Bugs to let him leave. Though Bugs cannot bear to look into the Penguin's sad little eyes he shoves him away to get back to his vacation to Miami.

Only the little Penguin falls right into the hands of the hunter again and Bugs must use his old tricks of outsmarting and extreme cunning to save his life again.

Funny? Yes. Cute? Yes. But still not as many laughs as you're used to getting from Bugs.

Cute and enjoyable.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 1 June 2014]

I have the "Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection" and this is one of many cartoons in the set. However, before seeing this one in the set, I can't recall having seen it for decades. IMDb explains that the way that the Inuit native is shown in this one was seen as offensive--and it was removed from circulation. Well, apparently it's not longer that politically incorrect and was included in the set.

The film begins with a familiar scene--with Bugs tunneling to one place but ending up in another by mistake. While he's headed to Miami, somehow he's ended up near Antarctica (where there are NO Inuits!). Soon he sees a cute little penguin being chased by the hungry native and Bugs decides to intervene. However, he does NOT want to adopt a penguin and soon leaves the creature--but returns when the native is about to eat the bird. So, Bugs pulls out his usual set of tricks (including dressing up as a woman) and gets the better of the dumb Inuit hunter...who should be living near the Arctic!

As with any Bugs Bunny cartoon from this era, the animation is exceptional and the film is full of laughs.

Weeping ice cubes

[slymusic · 20 May 2009]

Directed by Chuck Jones, with a passing reference made to Jack Warner, "Frigid Hare" is a Warner Bros. cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and a cute little penguin who wants to be his friend. Yes, the cartoon is funny in certain places, but I am quite sentimental about that poor little penguin, particularly when he reveals his sad face to Bugs. Of course, it's also very pleasing to see the penguin smile and jump and clap his wings together.

Here are my favorite scenes from "Frigid Hare". When Bugs first arrives in Antarctica (believing it's Miami Beach) and takes a dive into the water, watch his reaction! Bugs is also quite funny in his sexy female Eskimo disguise (to the familiar musical accompaniment of "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby") as he whacks a lusty Eskimo in the face with a fish.

A helpless little penguin may not seem like much for Bugs Bunny to play off of, but Bugs establishes a friendship with the little tyke while still managing to give us a few laughs along the way.

Frigid Hare is a cute and amusing Bugs Bunny cartoon

[tavm · 8/10 · 8 January 2008]

Frigid Hare is another Bugs Bunny cartoon in which he should have taken a "left turn at Albuquerque" and ends up at the South Pole. It's here that he meets a little penguin who he saves from a hunter who wants to capture him. When he tries to get back to Miami Beach, however, the penguin wants to follow him. Bugs pushes him on his way but the little snow-bird ends up in the man's bag. So the rabbit now has to outsmart him...This is both a cute and funny cartoon made by a man who knows how to make that combination work: Chuck Jones. Supposedly, this cartoon was banned recently because of the way the man in this short was drawn and depicted in characterization. While there might some traces of a stereotype here, I don't think any harm was intended. Anyway, I highly recommend Frigid Hare. It's on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 1.

"Mr. Warner gave me just two weeks vacation and I've already lost enough time."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 20 December 2015]

Having once again taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque, Bugs Bunny tunnels to Antarctica in this entertaining Chuck Jones short. The story has Bugs trying to help a little penguin being hunted by a very unpleasant Eskimo. The big selling point to this one is the adorable penguin, whose little waddle will make even the most cold-hearted among us smile. The scene where the penguin rescues Bugs from a fall is something only Chuck Jones could think of. There are laughs to be had, for sure, but this is one of those shorts that's heavy on the cute factor. The animation is great with well-drawn characters and backgrounds and nice colors. Carl Staling's music is lively and fun. Mel Blanc's voice work is flawless. It's a good cartoon but not something everybody will enjoy. If you don't like cartoons with cute characters like Tweety and Pussyfoot, you probably won't like this.

This is adorable!

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 27 October 2010]

In my opinion, Frigid Hare is not quite one of Looney Tunes' best, but it is one of my personal favourites regardless and it sure is one of the cutest cartoons I have seen. The animation is simply beautiful, with all the characters drawn well and the Antarctic landscapes beautifully realised. The music as always is lovely, it still has energy but it is a little more poignant this time. The dialogue is witty and the story is well paced and is never dull. The characters are great too; the Eskimo is good enough and it was a wise decision not to use him too much while making him important to the plot-line. However Bugs is much better, with all the hilarious dialogue and rascally yet likable persona, and he is brilliantly voiced by Mel Blanc. Even better than Bugs is the little penguin, he is simply adorable, as he clapped with joy and cried icicles you couldn't help but feel for him. Overall, an adorable and lovely little cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs saves a really cute penguin

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 20 July 2012]

This Bugs Bunny short sees him getting some time off which he decides to spend in sunny Miami Beach... but thanks to a wrong turn in Albuquerque he ends up at the South Poll. He intends to turn round and head back the way he came but after helping little penguin that is being chased by an Eskimo hunter (presumably he took a wrong turn too!) feels obliged to keep helping him. After the conflict with the hunter we get a surprisingly funny and cute ending.

There are some fun gags here; Bugs dresses the penguin in a bow-tie and top hat which makes him even cuter; especially when he cries and his tears freeze into glittering ice crystals; Bugs disguises himself as a woman to distract the Eskimo, something he has done in other shorts but it is still funny and, a personal favourite; the moment the penguin saves Bugs as he and the Eskimo plunge downwards on a falling icicle in a way that I won't spoil. If there is a weakness it is the Eskimo; he just isn't funny... what Bugs does to him is funny but he isn't funny himself, despite this it is still worth watching if you are a Bugs Bunny fan.

Thank God for loopholes!

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 21 December 2006]

"Frigid Hare" probably seemed a little funnier before most people could have understood that it was making rather negative stereotypes about Eskimos ("Eskimo" isn't even the accurate name; they're called "Inuit"). Other than that, it's pretty funny as Bugs Bunny ends up in Antarctica ("I knew I shoulda taken a left toin at Albakoikee!") and has to protect a baby penguin from a hunter. Aside from the probably racist undertones, overemphasis on cuteness, and geographic inaccuracies - the Inuit live in the North Pole, not South Pole - it's a pretty funny short cartoon. Bugs does his usual stuff, and the last line would make anyone thank God for loopholes.

"F's" in Geography, Anthropology, Heterosexuality, and Math . . .

[oscaralbert · 5/10 · 28 January 2016]

. . . probably pushed FRIGID HARE to within a snowflake's width of making Looney Tune's infamous Censored Eleven an even dozen. FRIGID HARE opens with Bugs Bunny taking a wrong turn and burrowing to a vacation in the Arctic instead of his intended destination, Miami Beach. Bugs is greeted near the NORTH Pole by a penguin. Problem is, penguins are only found in Anarctica, near the SOUTH Pole, making for a flunking mark in Geography. Soon an Eskimo of the Arctic becomes the first of his tribe ever to capture a penguin. Only the Warner Loons have drawn this indigenous gentleman with the features of a Kenyan. Score an "F" for Anthropology, as well. Next, Bugs easily bamboozles this gentleman of uncertain race that he--Bugs--is of the female persuasion. There goes the possibility of the MPAA grading service awarding a passing letter for Heterosexuality, one of their most crucial subjects. Finally, this short was copyright in 1948, and Bugs says that though he has just four days left of his Warner Bros. Vacation Time, a quartet of six-month-long Arctic Days will stretch his idyll until July, 1953(?!). You know what this means: chalk up a zero for FRIGID HARE in Math, as well.

Isn't he cute?

[griffin84 · 23 November 2003]

Ahh, the first appearance of what has to be Warner Bros.'s cutest cartoon creation: the tuxedo-wearing penguin. Who can't help but gush when that adorable little bird stars crying ice cubes? Bugs takes yet another wrong turn at Albuquerque and ends up in the South Pole, just in time to save said-penguin from an eskimo. However, when he leaves the little penguin to continue his vacation, it gets caught by the same eskimo, and Bugs feels obligated to help out the poor little bird, even though it will no doubt cut into his vacation. I find it interesting that we never find out what the eskimo wanted the penguin for (we assume it's for food, but you never know). Though Bugs is up to his old tricks and gives us an impressive show, the star is still the little penguin. Warning: don't watch this if you have an thing against cuteness, or if the person next to you has a tendency to gush all over cute things ("Awww! I just wanna pinch his wittle cheekies!"); you'll get sick before the cartoon is over.

hard to warm to this one

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 24 November 2004]

Bugs Bunny accidentally ends up at the South Pole while trying to vacation in Florida. Where he meets a little penquin, which he tries to save from an Eskimo. This short tries and the penquin is adorable, but in the end it's a bit too light in the laughs department. The Eskimo isn't really that great of a foil for Bugs and I just seen a lot better Bugs Bunny cartoons frankly, even other shorts when he's paired with other unknown antagonists. So I can't in good conscience recommend this one. However it is nice to see it in it's uncut form. This cartoon is on Disk 3 of the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1"

My Grade: C

Nice Short

[Michael_Elliott · 19 April 2009]

Frigid Hare (1949)

*** (out of 4)

Jack Warner gives Bugs Bunny two weeks vacation so the rabbit begins digging for Miami Beach but takes a wrong turn and ends up at the South Pole. Once there he gets involved with a small penguin who is being hunted by an eskimo. Some will probably be offended by the nature of the Eskimo because of how he's drawn and some of the dialogue thrown at him but we must remember the times that this was made. With that out of the way, this remains a cute and charming short but it's certainly not a classic. The relationship between Bugs and the penguin is pretty cute and there are plenty of laughs to keep the thing moving. The action sequences aren't as violent as you might expect and the final gag is a good one.