Directed by Charles M. "Chuck" Jones, "Hare Tonic" is a fine Warner Bros. cartoon that once again pits Bugs Bunny against his favorite nemesis: Elmer Fudd. Fudd brings Bugs home for a rabbit stew, and Bugs easily escapes. But get this: Bugs actually comes to his senses and realizes that if he leaves Elmer's house, there'd be no cartoon! So he rushes back and invents a gigantic whopper about a disease knows as "rabbititus", which scares Elmer out of his wits. Things get even screwier when Bugs poses as a bearded, bespectacled doctor.Here are my favorite moments from "Hare Tonic". I always enjoy hearing cartoon characters singing, as Elmer does at the beginning of this film with his version of "Mamie's Wittle Baby Woves Wabbits" while he carries Bugs home in a basket. Bugs then childishly begs Elmer to let him take a peek at the rabbit, after which Bugs stuffs Elmer in the basket and takes over the singing! (Bugs can't seem to get the song out of his head, since he later sings it while sitting in Elmer's cooking pot slicing carrots.) And when "Dr. Gilpatient" (Bugs) tests Elmer's reflexes, Elmer goes into a familiar Russian kick dance, and Bugs decides to join him in a busby hat and boots; the subsequent "heys" are hilarious! "Hare Tonic" is a fun cartoon in which Elmer Fudd has somewhat of a different look than usual, but who cares? Bugs Bunny realizes the need for his audience to be entertained, so he sticks around and makes the most of his "victimhood".

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 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.

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.