Tex Avery created an array of famous characters, including Daffy Duck and Droopy the dog, and in this wacky short film he invites us to enjoy the misadventures of a hunting dog tormented by a rabbit who refuses to become his prey. In order to exhaust the dog the night before the hunt, the wily rabbit devises a whole range of visual and auditory ploys to exaggerate or mimic the buzzing of a mosquito, the flickering of a lightbulb, the bluster of a storm and the persistent dripping of a tap! In this way the rabbit becomes like a film director, using sound effects, lighting and tricks to achieve his goal.
This entertaining setting of one story within another is one of the director’s hallmarks, along, of course, with the exploration of absurd humour in many different forms. These includes, among other things, the anthropomorphisation of objects (like equipping a telephone with a tongue) or the repudiation of the law of physics (our hero swallows and digests a lightbulb, puts a pillow into one ear and pulls it out of the other one and, on another occasion, suddenly sprouts a big hump on his back that disappears as quickly as it grew). Yes, Tex Avery was a cartoon genius who dreamt up lots of hilarious inventions that continue delighting young and grownup viewers to this day!
