Hare Tonic

Chuck Jones's 'Hare Tonic' is a brilliant but little known cartoon. Deliciously sick, 'Hare Tonic' involves Bugs Bunny convincing the hapless Elmer Fudd that he has caught the dreaded Rabbititus! Taking place almost entirely in Elmer's suburban home, 'Hare Tonic's' success is entirely down to Bugs's inspired heckling. He is never in any real danger (he forfeits an easy escape early on in the cartoon in order to have some fun torturing Elmer) and is therefore free to carry his devilish bluff to the extreme, convincing Elmer that he is trapped quarantined with an infectious rabbit. In contrast with cartoons in which Bugs heckles his opponent in a variety of different ways, 'Hare Tonic' simply extends one routine across the whole seven minutes and it works fantastically, right up to the great fourth-wall breaking climax. While it doesn't quite weigh in with Jones's all time classics (and bear in mind the level of quality that involves), 'Hare Tonic' is still a lesser known piece of sheer brilliance that I would recommend to anyone.

Yes I agree that the story is predictable, but Hare Tonic is still thoroughly enjoyable regardless. It starts off wonderfully with classic witty banter between Bugs and Elmer, and everything else is fast-paced slapstick jokes including Bugs dressing up a doctor and tricking Elmer into thinking he has "rabbititus" and one at the end involving the audience. And you know what, all of them jokes. The animation is colourful and lively, and the music is very strong. And the dialogue ranges from good to hilarious. As for the characters, here you have Bugs at his most sadistic and arrogant and Elmer at his stupidest and you have a perfect pair. Both characters are on top form, and are superbly voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan. Overall, very enjoyable, maybe not quite a classic but great all the same. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Elmer Fudd buys a rabbit from the market for his rabbit stew. Bugs Bunny climbs out of the basket and he is ready to talk his way out of the situation. It could never be so simple as running away.

After the recent events, this takes on a whole new meaning. At a base level, this is good fun trickery from Bugs and Elmer Fudd is a fine target. Bugs has good reason and all that works well. As for the disease paranoia, the panic is real. That may take some of the light humor out of this short. That does hold back the laughs a little, but I can't blame the cartoon. Real world events have overtaken it.

This is a funny cartoon, and one of the better early Bugs Bunny films. It's very good entertainment.

The plot is new and original, and a little bit deeper than the rest of the cartoons. This is not just any chase. Elmer thinks he has "rabbititus" and is scared to death of his prey and quarantined inside his own house.

The animation is good, though Bugs is basic, but the use of color and spots is excellent.

You can get a lot of laughs just by watching with the sound off. Bugs's "fits" are hilarious, and the classic mirror gag and dance are all there.

The script is great, what with the rabbititus report and the gags about Elmer's water bill. It's very memorable.

Bugs's tricks in this cartoon are great and original, which makes this cartoon stand out from the rest.

So, all in all, this is an excellent, funny cartoon, an original story with original gags and the old classics. Great entertainment.

Elmer Fudd returning home after getting Bugs Bunny from the grocery store, with every intention of making him into rabbit stew. But Bugs soon has Elmer thinking that he will catch Rabbititus from being around rabbits. This cartoon is hilarious and is among the funniest pairings of Bugs and Elmer out there. I enjoyed the playing with the audience aspect of the short as well, making me wish I had been alive way back when to see this one in the theaters as it was originally intended for. This animated short can be found on Disk 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 set.

My Grade: A