Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

slymusic Directed by the great Tex Avery, "Tortoise Beats Hare" is a Bugs Bunny cartoon with a brilliant spin-off of the famous "Tortoise and the Hare" fairy tale. Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle prove they are not above a little cheating in order to win the race. How do they cheat? Well, you've gotta watch the cartoon and find out! My favorite moments from "Tortoise Beats Hare" include the following. At the very beginning, the egotistical Bugs walks onto the title screen and humorously mispronounces the names in the credits; of course, he hits the roof when he reads the picture's title. Composer Carl Stalling briefly utilizes a strumming guitar & muted trumpet to humorously accentuate Bugs hopping on all fours.Again, "Tortoise Beats Hare" is a fine Tex Avery-directed Bugs Bunny cartoon. Footage from this short was later used in a sequel, titled "Tortoise Wins by a Hare" (1943).

ackstasis Despite not being terribly well-versed in American animated shorts, I have already seen and enjoyed Wilfred Jackson's 'The Fox and the Hare (1934),' an amusing adaptation of Aesop's classic fable, in which cockiness leads to defeat, and perseverance proves invaluable ("slow and steady wins the race"). This Disney Silly Symphonies short was spoofed in 1941 by Tex Avery at Warner Bros., in a film titled 'Tortoise Beats Hare,' featuring Bugs Bunny and (in his cartoon debut) Cecil Turtle. The short opens in an interesting fashion, as Bugs – while chomping down on a carrot – ambles into the opening credit screen, casually mispronounces the name of each crew member, and splutters the title of the film. Determined to prove his superiority to as sluggish a creature as a tortoise, Bugs tears away the credit screen and stamps towards Cecil's home, and the tortoise agrees to a race in his own lazy drawl.This, however, is where Avery turns the fable on its head. Not content with playing it fair – and recognising, no doubt, that his opponent is not stupid enough to fall asleep underneath a shady tree – Cecil calls up a few of his identical-looking friends and sets about baffling and humiliating an increasingly-exasperated Bugs. With tortoises positioned at periodic intervals along the racetrack, the zippy rabbit finds himself unable to outrun his dawdling opponent, and is driven crazy trying to understand how the tortoise keeps turning up ahead of him. Interestingly, in a break from the typical story, both racers exhibit a considerable amount of arrogance, and the harmless-looking Cecil, having implemented his cunning plan, at one point turns to the audience and remarks "we do this kinda stuff to him all through the picture!" With a suitably cynical outlook on sporting ethics, Avery appears to be telling us that "slow and steady" can't guarantee a gold medal, but cheating certainly can.Mel Blanc, as usual, provides the voices for each of the film's characters, though his characterisation of Bugs Bunny is slightly different to what I remember – I can't quite put my finger on it, but the disparity is there. However, this only being Bugs' third appearance (following 'A Wild Hare (1940)' and 'Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)'), I can certainly appreciate that both Avery and Blanc were still toying about with ideas and details in order to perfect the character. Though not a perfect animated short – I think I prefer the corresponding Silly Symphony in comparison – 'Tortoise Beats Hare' is an enjoyable alteration of a predictable formula, and Bugs Bunny, rather than being the character who dishes out the pranks, is given a healthy dose of his own medicine. I wonder if he managed to get his ten dollars back?

ccthemovieman-1 Right away, we some innovation in this early Bugs Bunny cartoon as Bugs reads - with his mouth full - the opening credits, mispronouncing the names! That was very funny. He gets angry when he sees the title of this 'toon, so he rips off the credits and the scenery is behind it, beginning the story.Bugs goes looking for "the stupe," meaning Cecil Turtle. (Bugs went on to race Cecil two other times in future cartoons.) Although it's longtime voice man Mel Blanc, Bugs' voice sounds a bit lower and with slightly more of a Brooklyn accent. He also is taller, has bigger ears and a more oblong-shaped head.Bugs bets Cecil ten bucks he can beat him in a race, and we go from there with the normal cocky Bugs sarcastically calling him opponent "Seabiscuit" and the normal ending. How they got there, though, was fun to watch as Cecil gets his buddies to play mind games on Bugs.Once again, kudos to the restoration team on these Looney Tunes Golden Collection discs that made this cartoon, which 66 years old, look fantastic. The scenery and the colors are amazing.

Lee Eisenberg Aesop's fable gets brought to life in the first pairing of Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle. I guess that you could say that Bugs Bunny has a tendency to let his ego get in the way of everything, especially since Cecil has friends in high - and low - places. A previous reviewer said that Tex Avery helped bring Bugs to his fullest potential here. I don't know whether I fully agree with that, but there's no doubt that Avery (or, as Bugs pronounces it: a-vary) had some neat ideas.Anyway, the title explains how it ends. Some scenes in "Tortoise Beats Hare" were shown in the sequel "Tortoise Wins by a Hare". I suppose that no matter what happens, that'll never be all, folks. At least not for the Looney Tunes.