The March Hare is a supporting character in Disney's 1951 animated feature film Alice in Wonderland. A wacky, mallet-carrying hare, he is a resident of Wonderland and the best friend of the Mad Hatter, with whom the Hare regularly engages in tea and "unbirthday" parties.
The Hare's home (which is separated from the rest of Wonderland with a hedge) is visited by Alice during her adventure. In his yard is a long table covered entirely by teacups, pots, plates and other utensils normally used during teatime. Above his yard is a string of multicolored lanterns, illuminating the premises. Both the Hare and the Hatter can be considered outcasts; they are always alone (sans the often dazed Dormouse), and the large number of empty seats indicates that they have few, or no friends apart from each other. Because of this, the Hare takes a liking to Alice and her compliments, though Alice quickly learns that the Hade and Hatter's isolation is likely a result of their overbearing natures.
Personality[]
The March Hare—just like everyone else in Wonderland—is mad. The Hare is best friends with the Mad Hatter and enjoys tea just as much as him. Although they are close and both insane, March Hare seems to be a bit more loud, eccentric, and energetic than the Hatter, who is a bit more gentleman-like. In relation to this, the Hare often carries around an oversized mallet with him. He also tends to start his sentences with an elongated, "Ah!", typically before making a proclamation. He also appears to be antisocial to some degree, as he loses his patience with Alice rather quickly. His biggest pet peeve seems to be talking before you think.
Besides the Cheshire Cat, the March Hare seems to be the only one not to have any true fear of the Queen of Hearts, being that he was capable of screaming in her face, "Nothing, whatever!". He did, however, show fear when the Queen wanted to behead whoever had embarrassed her during the Dormouse chase at the trial.
March Hare first appears in the middle of the film having tea with Mad Hatter and the Dormouse. After they sing "The Unbirthday Song", they are encountered by Alice who commented that she enjoys their singing, pleasing the hare. The March Hare explains to Alice the purpose of an unbirthday and she joins for tea. The March Hare continuously cuts Alice off as she tries to tell how she ended up in Wonderland. When the party is intruded again by the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter claims his watch is two days slow and, with the March Hare's assistance, fills it up with unnecessary things like jam, lemon juice, and tea. The watch then "goes mad" and the Hare smashes it with a mallet. After learning it was an unbirthday gift, the Hare and Hatter celebrate by tossing the White Rabbit out the party.
Later on, when the Queen of Hearts calls a trial upon Alice for the crime publicly embarrassing her majesty, the March Hare is one of the witnesses called forth to speak of the incident. However, when asked what he knows about the situation, he answers "Nothing whatever!". Moments later, he and the Mad Hatter celebrate the Queen's unbirthday after the King of Hearts mentions the day being such, distracting from the actual trial at hand. When the Cheshire Cat arrives at the party, though, the Dormouse goes into a panic, with the King trying to stop him with a mallet, accidentally whacking the Queen, instead. The Hatter and the Hare are able to escape her wrath, however.
Lastly, the Hare and Hatter are seen as Alice tries to escape the Queen and her card soldiers, briefly during the reprise of the caucus race, and at their tea party insisting that she stay in Wonderland for a cup of tea, only for her to escape. Finally, they unexpectedly join the chase sequence, until they soon vanish as the girl's entire adventure was nothing more than a dream.
The March Hare and Mad Hatter are recurring characters, living around the Hollywood sign and working as makeup artists under Bonkers D. Bobcat. He served as the more manic, and somewhat dim-witted half of the duo consisting of himself and the Mad Hatter.
The duo notably played a large role in the episode "In the Bag", where the Mad Hatter requested the services of Bonkers and Lucky to investigate the disappearances of their teacups. Sometime afterward, the duo is robbed again. Not only that, but the March Hare was also kidnapped, as well, with the Hatter following afterward. In the end, though, it's revealed they were taken by a hammer-space bag longing for their attention and friendship.
March Hare makes regular appearances in the show, often seen with Mad Hatter having tea as usual. During the opening theme song, he and the Mad Hatter are seen having tea using Mrs. Potts.
In the episode "Dennis the Duck", he comments on all the black-and-white characters, calling them an "animated bunch", and the Hatter responds, "Well, aren't we all?".
In the episode, "House of Scrooge", the March Hare was seen offering the Hatter a "Drink Me" bottle, after the latter mentioned how cartoonishly small the club's viewing screen was (having been replaced by a miniature television). In that same episode, near the end, the Hare and the Hatter were the only guests to remain after the cheapness of Scrooge McDuck drove most of them away.
The March Hare played a recurring role in the series, portrayed by Reece Holland. The March Hare is quite intelligent, and he often assists his best friend the Mad Hatter in inventing and scheming. Unfortunately, the Hare lacks common sense and is easily duped by others. The March Hare also usually serves the role of conscience among his friends; when a poor choice of judgment is reached, he is usually the one who questions the decision the most. He and the Hatter are best friends, but they annoy each other almost as much as they pal around.
The March Hare doesn't appear in the show. However, he appeared like an antagonist, linked with Jefferson's past into the comic Out of the Past.
In this version, he was an insane human hunter, residing in Wonderland and living a richly extravagant lifestyle, owning a large house and garden, protected by guards, while also indulging in tea parties. His name provides from the hat that he's wearing, which is made from the ears of all the hares he has hunted. He is feared for his reputation and is rumored to be madder than the Red Queen.
The March Hare never directly appears in the series; he and the Mad Hatter are trapped in a painting at their Tea Party Garden that offers small prizes for Sora and friends if they sit in the chair.
The Hare also makes an appearance as an active, physical character in the mobile game Kingdom Hearts χ.
The March Hare plays a minor role in the game, only seen at the Mad Tea Party section of the Alice in Wonderland mini-game. Here, the March Hare and the Mad Hatter are having tea with Alice when a stranger (the player) drops in. They invite the player to dance along with them as part of the party.
He is also mentioned by the Mad Hatter when he's talking to guests.[1]
The March Hare is an unlockable Mythical Hero and Support character added for the Peculiar Party event. The March Hare's abilities chain together in random and chaotic patterns, and he excels in spreading Helpful and Harmful effects across the battlefield. He can be unlocked through the Alice in Wonderland side campaign, and is required to unlock Alice.
The March Hare's likeness is featured throughout the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall dining area in Tokyo Disneyland. He also appeared during Alice's segment of the Once Upon a Time nighttime castle show, and currently makes daily appearances during the Dreaming Up! parade, alongside the Hatter.
In 2013, as part of the Disney Dreamers Everywhere! event, the March Hare returned as a meet-and-greet character in the park. He returned in 2016, where he joined rabbit characters from other Disney animated projects in the resort's Easter festivities.
He also has a quick-service area named after him in Disneyland Paris park.
In the original book, it was explained that the March Hare was mad because it was the month of May (and he's the March Hare) and Alice hoped he might be less mad as a result.
The Hare's appearance and mannerisms were modeled after his original voice actor, Jerry Colonna.
Keenan Wynn (son of Ed Wynn, who voiced the Hatter) and Phil Silvers were both considered to voice March Hare.
In the original novel, in the trial scene, which was based around the nursery rhyme "The Queen of Hearts made some tarts", Alice gave the testimony that she knew "Nothing whatever" about the events that took place when she was unexpectedly called as a witness. In the film, since Alice was the one on trial instead of the Knave of Hearts, her lines are given to the Hare.
References[]
↑Mad Hatter: The March Hare, ohh he's not here, he's playing croquet with the Queen