Hare Tonic

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.

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 is merrily on his way home with a rabbit in hi basket for stewing. When he gets home, Bugs easily escapes but decides to stay and have some fun with Fudd. Pretending that he has a contagious rabbit disease, he makes Elmer scared to be in the same room as him.

This film starts out very well with some classic banter between Elmer and Bugs about what is in the basket (`there's no rabbit in here doc' says Bugs `you've been robbed') but once Bugs decides just to wind him up with the disease, it does go downhill a little.

The material over the rest of the short isn't as strong as the start and isn't as funny. Only occasionally does Bugs really come across as strong in his japes and tricks, the rest of the time it is pretty basic. The end of the film resorts to that old chestnut of involving the audience – it's OK, but it doesn't work as well on TV.

Overall this is still worth seeing because Bugs is Bugs and is still fun to watch, however the promise of the material in the opening scene isn't met by the rest of the film.

I immensely enjoyed this cartoon, even though there were many Looney Tunes "cliches" involved and there was a predictable storyline, there were many clever verbal jokes, fast-paced and amusing slapstick jokes (there was not much slapstick, but what there was, was good) and the involvement with the audience (even for nowadays, as Bugs Bunny references to cinemas) works very well. I felt quite sorry for Elmer Fudd in this cartoon, but it made me like the cartoon more as often I do not feel particularly sympathetic for him, great character that he is.

The episode begins when Elmer is walking to his home with a basket full of carrots and a rabbit for his rabbit stew. Bugs Bunny does the traditional "what's in the basket?" joke, going out of the basket and making Elmer look inside it, then wondering where the rabbit has gone etc. Eventually, Elmer manages to take Bugs Bunny to his house and starts preparing the stew. Bugs Bunny pulls a fast one by faking a telephone ring with a bell within reach. While Elmer repeatedly says "hewo?" into the telephone, Bugs Bunny escapes, but then decides he wants to go back and earn revenge on Elmer...

I highly recommend this cartoon to any Bugs Bunny fan and to people who enjoy Looney Tunes in general. If you prefer slapsticky Looney Tunes episodes I do not recommend this so highly. Enjoy "Hare Tonic"! :-)

Elmer Fudd buys Bugs Bunny from a meat market as he anticipates a nice rabbit stew. Bugs climbs out of his basket to tell him he's been robbed: the rabbit's gone! Incredibly, Elmer believes him. The dope eventually catches on when Bugs shoves him into the basket and then carries it himself. Somehow Elmer manages to get Bugs home, but the wily rabbit easily escapes. But wait! Why waste a great opportunity? Bugs returns to "heckle that character." He fools Elmer, through a faked radio program, into believing that there's an epidemic of something called "rabbititus" going about. Through Bugs's trickery he sees spots, a coat on Bugs's tongue and his own rabbity image reflected at him in a "mirror" that's really just Bugs after the glass has been removed. Dr. Killpatient arrives to help, but he has a suspiciously fuzzy tail. But it's we in the audience who may prove Bugs's ultimate dupes.

This is a very good short, remarkably so from Chuck Jones, who had not yet hit his stride in 1945 and was frequently bringing out interesting failures or tepid successes. Elmer Fudd has never been stupider; the hilarious business on the telephone is reason enough to see this.

This cartoon is available on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume Three," Disc 1.