Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"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.
Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . a few years back, when patrons of a restaurant chain rhyming with "Baco Tell" began dropping like flies and the American Fast Food Foister first blamed onion greens and PERMANENTLY banned them from its already scanty stock of food ingredients WITHOUT DUE PROCESS (and NEVER reinstating them, even after admitting that the onion greens were perfectly nutritious, wholesome, healthy, tasty and edible all along--it was the cheap, lowest-bidder lettuce plucked from fields without Port-a-Johns by Unvetted alien saboteurs which doomed so many; lettuce, of course, stayed in Baco Tell's stew of offerings, since it costs a few cents less per pound than onion greens), Warner Bros. uses HARE TONIC to warn U.S. consumers of Baco Tell's upcoming shenanigans. A careful viewer of HARE TONIC will notice how its plot serves perfectly to provide a blow-by-blow report about Baco Tell's perfidy in besmirching the good name of onion greens. Bugs Bunny labels the symptoms of Baco Tell Lettuce Poisoning as "Rabbititus" in HARE TONIC, but all aspects of Baco Tell Lettuce Disease will be familiar to anyone who suffered and survived it back in the day. As Bugs says, first you see spots before your eyes. Next, the spots start whirling around. This is followed by tics, spasms, convulsions, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, fainting, and--in fatal cases--death with government-mandated cremation as "Toxic Medical Waste." I wish that I had seen HARE TONIC before I began eating at Baco Tell!
TheLittleSongbird
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
Akbar Shahzad (rapt0r_claw-1)
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.
AD
