Really Surprised!

Let's be realistic.

Amateur movie with Big budget

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

"Hare Tonic" is an 8-minute cartoon from 1945, so this one is already over 70 years old. And as this is another collaboration between Chuck Jones, Tedd Pierce and Mel Blanc for Warner Bros., you will certainly know already that it is another Bugs Bunny short. There are basically two stories in here, the first pretty generic one being about Elmer wanting to make rabbit stew and the second about Bugs tricking Elmer into thinking his house is contaminated with a rare illness named "rabbititus". But Titus kinda fits because Bugs is a real Satan's brew in here and you could almost feel sorry at times for Elmer. So yeah this one is all about cooking and contamination, even if both is of course not part itself of the story. It's more about the attempt for one and the phenomenon of the other. Elmer is pretty great in here (or I should say Blanc with his amazing voice acting once again) and he'd have deserved a better rating as it's one of the best I have seen him in. But sadly the two key stories are so forgettable and it's been a while since I watched a Bugs Bunny cartoon where I found him so forgettable. The breaking of the 4th wall does not make the dots plot any better, actually more repetitive only. The mirror reflection scene was fine, the coated tongue joke was a nice little play on words. But that's really all the positive here. Even the title is bad. Don't watch, this one gets a thumbs-down.

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

Clearly nothing was sacred to the Termite Terrace Crowd. In "Hare Tonic", Bugs Bunny tricks Elmer Fudd into thinking that the latter has a rampaging, deadly disease called "rabbit-itus", going so far as to paint dots all over the room to convince Elmer. How fun it would be to try that! Of course, Elmer - the sap that he is - believes just about anything, so maybe it wouldn't be so easy in real life.I have to say that beyond being just a wacky cartoon, this one brings up the issue - if inadvertently - about how our society is too afraid of diseases, and we focus on the wrong things. People do things like put toilet paper on the toilet seat; it turns out that there are more germs on a computer keyboard than on a toilet seat. And anyway, we should focus on fighting terrorism while protecting civil liberties.But I digress. It's a really funny cartoon.

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