The Old Grey Fudd

I suppose the change from a 19th century agrarian society to one of growing cities and suburbs is the reason old folks sounded like hayseeds in popular culture in the ’30s and ‘40s. Jack Benny, for example, used the same old-folks voice for both rubes and seniors in sketches on his radio show.

The plot of The Old Grey Hare (1944) shoves Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny way into the future—the year 2000. Bugs doesn’t sound just old; he sounds like a yokel. Dry brush and perspective are used as Bugs swats away Elmer’s gun.



Director Bob Clampett employs few frames to get Bugs to push Elmer up a tree to choke him.



Here’s the extreme.



Mike Sasanoff’s story puts the two in the past, present and future; I don’t know if any other Warners cartoon did the same. I remember thinking when I first saw it how far away the year 2000 seemed.

Bob McKimson is the credited animator. Rod Scribner, of course, is here, too.