Hare Remover

Hare Remover has a lot going for it, I agree the ending is somewhat abrupt, but everything else worked for me. The animation is really good, the characters are drawn very well and the backgrounds and colours are lush. The music by Carl Stalling is rousing and bounces along nicely, and Hare Remover is filled to the brim with razor sharp dialogue and plentiful sight gags such as the mistaken identity gag and any part involving the bear. Bugs is still arrogant and rascally, Elmer is still dim-witted yet lovable and the bear is suitably ferocious. Another strong asset is the brilliant voice acting of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan. In conclusion, maybe not quite classic status, but very funny and hugely enjoyable. 9/10 Bethany Cox

No doubt we're totally used to Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits and ducks, but I never envisioned him as a demented scientist. But that's just what he is in "Hare Remover". I wouldn't quite say that he gets creepy, though you gotta admit that he looks just a little bit scary as a devil. Anyway, he creates a multi-color potion, presumably along the lines of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. When his experiment animals all run away, he finds a rabbit hole and sets a trap...and Bugs Bunny figures that someone went to all the trouble to set it up, so why not get trapped? But what happens after Elmer forces Bugs to drink the potion is one of the craziest instances of mistaken identity that I've ever seen.

OK, so this one wasn't the greatest cartoon that they ever made (to be certain, 1946 also saw the releases of "Hair-Raising Hare" and "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery"). I mostly just like the sight of what befalls Elmer whenever he goes after Bugs; and in this case, neither character could have predicted what was going to happen! It's one that you're sure to like. As for the issue of whether or not Spencer Tracy did it better, let's just say that both guys put their own spin on it.

Elmer is mixing chemicals in his little junior chemistry set "trying to make a normal character into a devilish fiend." We then see his head change in shape to a devil-like one with pointed ears. (I always suspected Fudd was a sadistic, evil punk!)

The first clever gag involves a test tube with his solution and the wild colors it turns, including plaid and barbershop rings, etc. "Rover," his experimental dog, must drink the stuff. Rover is chained up so bad this would have animal-right activists on his back in no time today. Fudd forces the liquid down the dog's throat. (Man, is this guy plain evil or what?)

When the dog freaks out and smashes through the front window and runs away, Elmer goes looking for another experimental animal. Who-know-who winds up (voluntarily) in his laboratory. And.....you know who turns the tables? Along the way, we get two cases of mistaken identity, and that turns out to be the big joke of the cartoon.

I enjoyed Bugs' line referring to the Spencer Tracy film version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Overall, this is "fair," clever in the one "identity" gag but annoying at times, too, with Fudd's abrasive and stupid laugh and carrying-on.

Classic Bugs Bunny short directed by Frank Tashlin. Elmer Fudd is a mad scientist (!) with a very cool-looking laboratory. Elmer's trying to create a Jekyll & Hyde formula but needs a guinea pig to test it out on. Enter unwitting test subject Bugs. What a fun cartoon. Great voice work from Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan. Energetic music from Carl Stalling. The animation is excellent with dynamite action and well-drawn characters and backgrounds. Beautiful Technicolor is always a plus. Lots of funny bits and lines in this one. Bugs and Elmer are in top form. The bear's a hoot, too. The only real flaw is that it ends rather abruptly.

If it weren't for the presence of Bugs and Elmer, you might think this one came from the Disney or Hanna/Barbera stable instead of Warners'. This is a subtle, almost believable take on the Jekyll and Hyde story in which only the characters imaginations run wild. There is no Peter Lorre, no scary castle, just Elmer using the Junior size Chemical set at home. He is looking to create "the formula that will take a normal charactew into a devilish being". But come on... it's Elmer! All he manages to brew up is a potion that makes the dinker go to plaid (and that's the most far out thing that happens).

After his dog Rover proves an uncooperative guinea pig, Dr. Fudd takes out an old fashioned wabbit trap and Bugs, always the sentimental type, indulges him. The rest of the film is just a lot of misunderstandings, made worse by the convenient involvement by a bear who uses queue cards. The visual gags are really quite subtle and even Bugs remains good natured throughout, referring to Elmer as 'Doc' much more than usual (and not as a catchphrase either). However For a couple of more inspired takes in true Loony fashion, watch Friz Freling's "Hyde and Hare" (1955) or "Hyde and Go Tweet" (1960) instead.

4 out of 10