Shorts, A Tiny Blogathon: What’s Opera Doc?

 

Kill the Wabbit, Kill the Wabbit!

Okay, anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a huge Looney Tunes fan — so how happy am I to be writing about “What’s Opera, Doc?” for this Tiny Blogathon? Well, I’m smiling right now — and I haven’t even begun watching the cartoon yet!

The determined Elmer Fudd… declaring “I’m going to kill the wabbit!

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So, why do I love this cartoon? This wonderful little Chuck Jones masterpiece elevates the classic Bugs Bunny / Elmer Fudd storyline into a majestic operatic drama — yet it is soooo cleverly done, that it is also incredibly silly (in the best sense of the word) and laugh-out-loud funny. It has it all — it’s got drama, it’s got wuv (oops, I mean love), it’s got ‘tragedy’… it’s got arias, recitatives — and even a ballet! What more could you want from a cartoon opera? 🙂

Background Info: What’s Opera, Doc? (1957) is widely considered Chuck Jones’ magnum opus. It condenses Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle (14 hours of opera) plus parts of The Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, and Rienzi into a six-minute cartoon. It parodies the use of classical music in Disney’s 1940 feature Fantasia, and its humor comes, not from the ‘gags’, but from the incongruity of the characters’ personalities in the setting.

Starring:

• Bugs Bunny: the Wabbit, and in disguise, as Valkyrie Brunnhilde (voiced by Mel Blanc)
• Elmer Fudd: the demigod Siegfried (voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan except for the word ‘SMOG’ which was voiced by Mel Blanc)

Production:  What’s Opera, Doc? took longer than any other cartoon Jones made for Warner Brothers. Jones would usually make about 300 character layout drawings for a cartoon, but he made nearly 500 for this one, with an additional 1,500 rough sketches. (source: The Museum of the Movie Image)

Accolades:

• In 1992, What’s Opera, Doc? became the first animated short to be selected for preservation in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Later, two more Chuck Jones’ shorts (Duck Amuck and One Froggy Evening) were also inducted, making Jones the only animator with three shorts in the Registry.
• In 1994, What’s Opera, Doc? was named the #1 greatest cartoon of all time by 1,000 members of the animation field (The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals

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And, now for my favorite part, some screen grabs and quotes:

(the majestic opening scene)

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(then we pan down to see…)

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Elmer: Be vewwy quiet. I’m hunting wabbits!

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Elmer: Wabbit tracks!

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Elmer: Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!

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Bugs: Kill the wabbit???

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Elmer: Yoho-towho! Yoho-towho! Yoho-towho! Yoho…

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Bugs: Oh mighty warrior of great fighting stock, might I inquire to ask, ehh, What’s Up Doc?

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Elmer: I’m going to kill the wabbit!

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Bugs: Oh mighty hunter, t’will be quite a task. How will you do it, might I inquire to ask?

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(the recitative…)

Elmer: I will do it with my spear and magic helmet!
Bugs: Your spear and magic helmet?
Elmer: Spear and magic helmet!
Bugs: Magic helmet?
Elmer: Magic helmet!
Bugs: Magic helmet.

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Elmer: Yes, magic helmet and I’ll give you a sample.

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Bugs: Bye-yeee!

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Elmer: That was the wabbit!

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(and the chase begins)

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until…

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(Elmer sees…)

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(the wovely Bwoon Hilda)

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Elmer: Oh Bwoon Hilda, you’re so wovely.

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Brunnhilde: Yes I know it. I can’t help it.

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Elmer: Oh Bwoon Hilda, be my love.

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(the beautiful ballet 🙂

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(and now, the aria…)

Elmer: Weturn, my wove. A wonging burns deep inside me.

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Brunnhilde: Return, my love. I want you always beside me.

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Elmer: Wove wike ours must be…

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Brunnhilde:  Made for you and for me

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Brunnhilde and Elmer: Return. Won’t you return my love. For my love is yours.

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(uh-oh…)

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Elmer: I’ll kill the wabbit!

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Elmer: Awise storm! North wind bwow! South wind bwow! Typhoons! Huwwicanes! Earthquakes! SMOG!!!

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Elmer: Strike Lightning! Strike the rabbit!

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Elmer: What have I done? I’ve killed the wabbit.

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Elmer: Poor wittle bunny. Poor wittle wabbit. (sobbing)

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Bugs: Well, what did you expect in an opera, a happy ending?

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 And last, but certainly not least, some of my prized photos:

Elmer and Bugs Color Guide by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble (The Chuck Jones Exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image, Fall 2014)

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Character Layout Drawing for Bugs as ‘Brunnhilde’ (The Chuck Jones Exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image, Fall 2014)

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Character Layout Drawing of Elmer as ‘Siegfried’ singing ‘Bwoon Hilda’ (The Chuck Jones Exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image, Fall 2014)

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Character Layout Drawing for Elmer carrying the ‘dead’ Bugs  (The Chuck Jones Exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image, Fall 2014)

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Background Layout Drawings:  Background Drawing/Design by Maurice Noble and Background Painting by Philip DeGuard (The Chuck Jones Exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image, Fall 2014)

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“Spear and Magic Helmet” sketch (The Smithsonian Institute Museum of American History, Fall 2012)

Bugs as ‘Brunnhilde’ sketch  (The Smithsonian Institute Museum of American History, Fall 2012)

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And, just because… Chuck Jones and some of his creations

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A Big Thank You to Movies Silently for hosting this Tiny Blogathon.  Please don’t forget to check out the other fabulous Blogathon entries!

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub