phantom_tollbooth Review of Hare Remover

Hare Remover (1946)

Cleverly plotted but scuppered by poor timing and a lack of decent gags

[2/10 · 3 November 2008]

Frank Tashlin's 'Hare Remover' is a cleverly plotted cartoon which is scuppered by many little problems. Chief amongst these problems is the uncharacteristically poor timing. Several promising gags are neutered by awkward character performances and abrupt cuts. The character designs are also a little off. Bugs Bunny looks OK but Elmer Fudd looks sloppily drawn and animated and the one-shot bear character is completely lacking in any kind of charisma or aesthetic appeal. Elmer also seems miscast as a mad scientist when his role could easily have been filled by a new creation. All these elements aside, 'Hare Remover' puts far too much stock in its clever mistaken-identity scenario and forgets to insert any decent jokes. The best sequence, in which Bugs willingly allows himself to be caught in a primitive rabbit trap, occurs early on in the cartoon and it's all downhill from there. Tashlin made many great cartoons in his years at Warner Bros. but he dropped the ball with 'Hare Remover'.