Praga de Coelho

HARE TONIC is one of the best Bugs Bunny vs. Elmer Fudd shorts out there. Bugs convinces Elmer Fudd that "rabbititus", an epidemic of doomsday proportions is sweeping through the nation. He creates this illusion in Mr. Fudd's eyes by painting the walls a sickly color and dressing up as the bearded, and very dangerous Dr. Killpatient. Viva Bugs!

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.

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.

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

In this cartoon, Bugs faces off against his old friend, Elmer Fudd. There are efforts along the way to get him, but her routinely escapes. The best part is when Elmer calls a doctor to treat Bugs. Of course, Bugs has already escaped and now is paying Doctor Killpatient. Elmer is made to see spots because he may have "rabbititus." There are some nice little sight gags with the erstwhile hunter getting it from all sides.