TheLittleSongbird I have loved Looney Tunes since childhood, and to this day I really like, love even, a vast majority of the cartoons. Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt is not one of the best, nor is it one of my least favourites. The story is on the routine side, and there are stereotypes that are far from subtle that you can understand why some will be offended. These aside, there are many reasons to like about Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt. The animation is just great, with lots of colour and fluidity. The character designs are also well done, though I do prefer Bugs' look later on. The music is lively and beautifully orchestrated, bringing an infectious energetic flavour to the proceedings. The cartoon is crisply paced, has some witty dialogue and some clever gags such as Bugs climbing into the boiling pot mistaking it for a bathtub, very Bugs Bunny behaviour but you love him for it. The scenes on the river and the poetic beginning and end are delightful too. Bugs is great here, smart, arrogant and still likable. I do like that when he does make mistakes and I think he makes at least one in every cartoon he's made while perhaps not learning from them he at least realises he makes them. Mel Blanc's voice work is impeccable, no surprises there. Overall, not one of Freleng's(a promising start by the way) and Bugs' very best but an interesting and enjoyable cartoon regardless of whether it was banned or not. 8/10 Bethany Cox

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This comes on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of The Maltese Falcon, as part of the Warner Night at the Movies portion. Back then, they would show films with stuff like this(remember, no one had TV's at this time). Bugs looks odd, not the look we know for him... he sounds exactly the way we're used to, though. I should perhaps say that I'm not really a fan of these. They didn't particularly amuse me when I was a kid, and I've only become less into cartoony violence(or any other kind of it where it's meant to be funny). I've never heard of Hiawatha, but I'll wager a guess that he's a historical(or legendary) figure. Given when it was made, it's no surprise that this is racially insensitive to Native Americans. The animation is great, no complaints there, it doesn't feel like any corners were cut and there are a couple of very nice visuals. This syncs up to the music used here and there, and the timing is good on the mild slapstick. There is a routine or two that you've heard of(even if you haven't watched one of these; they're part of pop culture, and at least one has been seen in another of these shorts), and the jokes and gags are reasonable, if this comes to a close so abruptly that you can tell they merely ran out of material. This keeps to a fine pace, if there could be more laughs for 8 minutes of running time. I recommend this to fans of the intrepid rabbit. 6/10

Lee Eisenberg Understanding the racial stereotypes in "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt", it's got some funny stuff, as Bugs Bunny avoids getting trapped by the eponymous Native American. As I understand it, this cartoon is a parody of a Silly Symphony from Disney, but I've never seen that one. I first saw clips from this cartoon in "What's Cookin', Doc?", in which Bugs submits this cartoon for an Oscar nomination. Watching the later cartoon in "Bugs Bunny Superstar" as a little boy was the first time that I'd ever heard of the Academy Awards.Anyway, it's an OK cartoon. The tricks with the river are the best part. The cartoon even has a little twist at the end.PS: This was the first time that Friz Freleng directed Bugs Bunny, and also the first time that Gerry Chiniquy helped animate Bugs.

Robert Reynolds This short, nominated for an Oscar, is a good, not great, cartoon. It does introduce a bit of Longfellow and any Bugs Bunny is a good cartoon and worth watching. There just isn't anything terribly funny or special about this particular cartoon besides the poem sections read at the beginning and end. But it is worth watching. It runs periodically on Cartoon Network.