Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941) Scenery

 

Here's a less-known Bugs Bunny cartoon called Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941). I remember liking how calm and mellow this short was. Definitely not one of Bugs's best of the early 40s, but I still enjoy it.

What made me talk about this cartoon in the first place was from Tralfaz's recent posts whereas he talks about the zany animation at the start, but for me I absolutely love these backgrounds! Upon researching, Lenard Kester painted the backgrounds for the most part since he was on Freleng's team in the early 40s.

The color scheme is just natural and nice. Nothing else to say really.

What I also have to mention is that Hiawatha is a caricature of a Native American. I personally have nothing wrong with them being in an animated film. Back in 1937, Disney made a cartoon starring a much younger Hiawatha. At least it wasn't done by sheer malice. He's kinda funny to be honest.

This is my favorite scene below.

I tend to prefer more realistic backgrounds in animated films because it allows the fictional character to react to real life situations. I absolutely love this final scene of Bugs and the sunset. 

Here's what lead to inspiring this post anyway.

https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-forest-rabbits.html?m=1