Mightyzebra With a likable animation style that happens to crop up in a few good Looney Tunes cartoons, Hyde and Hare is, for myself, one of the better episodes. What I like about the cartoon is that it combines the traditional wild, slapstick WB themes and the rarer Disney-type themes that can run in Looney Tunes. Based on Jekyll and Hyde, Bugs Bunny lives contentedly in a park, every day looking forward to meet the man who feeds him. One day, when Bugs goes up to retrieve a carrot from the man, he decides that he would like to just live with him and be done with it. The man seems to be very gentle, kind and quite delicate and takes to the (talking) rabbit, bringing him to his house. We later find out that the man is a doctor and has an evil potion that can temperamentally turn him into a monster. Cartoon confusions commence...Expect a traditional Looney Tunes ending, as the first half is the Disney-type stuff. It is not all sweet and fluffy, but it is no big issue.I recommend this episode to people who like "turning worms" Looney Tunes episodes, to people who like Bugs Bunny (he is very good in this episode) and to people who have a vague idea (or a big idea!) of the Jekyll and Hyde story. Enjoy "Hyde and Hare"! :-)

phantom_tollbooth Friz Freleng's 'Hyde and Hare' is a tedious and ugly cartoon which I've disliked from the first time I saw it. Adopted by Dr. Jekyll, Bugs Bunny encounters the psychotic Mr. Hyde. Attempting to save himself and Jekyll, he gets into a confusing chase in which he can't understand how Hyde keeps breaking down his defences and where Jekyll keeps disappearing to. It's a one joke cartoon executed with no real pizazz and so it just becomes extremely repetitive. The character designs and backgrounds are awkward, angular and garish. Mr. Hyde is particularly disappointing as he represents a missed opportunity for a really creative and frightening design. Instead, he is just a slightly ugly green man with long, dragging hands. Freleng directed a better take on the Jekyll and Hyde story five years later with the Tweety and Sylvester short 'Hyde and Go Tweet', which worked better thanks to the two way chase between the characters. With no real motivation to do anything but escape, Bugs has very little to do here but panic and hide, panic and hide, again and again. The result is a cartoon that never even threatens to come alive right up until its predictable, half-hearted climax.

ccthemovieman-1 "It's shameful; but it's a living," shrugs Bugs before he goes into his "timid little rabbit routine" so he can get his daily carrot from his "benefactor" at the park. Bugs plays it to the hilt, jumping into the man's arms and suggesting he adopt him as his pet and could feed him in bed every time. The quiet, unassuming little man is thrilled and carries Bugs to his home. The shock is that the man is "Dr. Jekyll!" It turns out both Bugs and "the doc" are not what they seem! This, then, was a two-joke cartoon the first part on the nice old man, the second on Bugs.I enjoyed the funny bits with Bugs imitating Liberace and then Dr. Jekyll's quick transformations back and forth to Mr. Hyde. That was not overdone, only went for a couple of minutes and was entertaining. The ending was the only weak part, too predictable and not funny. I still liked this cartoon, which was included in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2 DVD.

slymusic Directed by Friz Freleng, "Hyde and Hare" is virtually a one-gag cartoon. Bugs Bunny is adopted by a kindly scientist appropriately named Dr. Jekyll, who repeatedly transforms into a hideous green, long-armed, long-haired, red-eyed monster simply because of a formula that Jekyll cannot resist drinking. The brilliant Carl Stalling's musical accompaniment greatly enhances the back-and-forth transformation between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I actually find it quite astonishing that the usually sharp Bugs Bunny just can't seem to figure out that Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same.Some of the funnier gags in this short include the following (don't read on until after you have seen it): One particular Jekyll/Hyde transformation occurs while Bugs and Jekyll are hiding inside a dark closet; the sight of Jekyll's eyes turning red is hilarious. Bugs plays Chopin's Minute Waltz on the piano, adapting a Liberace voice saying, "I wish my brother George was here" (this Liberace gag also appeared in other Warner Bros. cartoons such as "Wideo Wabbit" [1956] and "Three Little Bops" [1957]); when Hyde then approaches Bugs from behind, Bugs' terrified facial expression and distorted piano playing are quite amusing. And the ending gag is also very funny, as Bugs himself transforms into a hideous green monster (presumably from taking a swig of Jekyll's formula) and becomes puzzled at everyone being frightened of him.Some folks might complain that the constant Jekyll/Hyde makeover wears thin after awhile, but "Hyde and Hare" is still a fine Bugs Bunny cartoon with ample humor.