What's Opera, Doc? (Merrie Melodies)
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What's Opera, Doc? (episode 801)
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1992.
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 What's a masterpiece, doc?
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What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on July 6, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.
In this short, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd perform in an opera, featuring Elmer chasing Bugs through a parody of 19th-century classical composer Richard Wagner's operas, particularly Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), Der Fliegende Holländer, and Tannhäuser. It borrows heavily from the second opera in the "Ring Cycle" Die Walküre, woven around the typical Bugs–Elmer feud. The short marks the final appearance of Elmer Fudd in a Chuck Jones cartoon.
Why It Rocks
- Unlike other Looney Tunes cartoons of the time, this short required six times as much work and money to complete, hence increasing the quality of this work substantially.
- Somehow Chuck Jones was able to turn a three-day opera into 7 minutes of animation while keeping all of the nuances and emotional moments of the original. He had a grudging respect for opera and classical music in general, as well as a professional appreciation for its comic potential, and so Bugs and Elmer provided tons of humorous moments.
- Amazing music from Milt Franklyn, which emulates opera music very well. What sets this short apart from most of the others is the sense that its characters are living within a world of music -- Richard Wagner's classical music to be specific. Elmer Fudd's pursuit of Bugs Bunny is set to opera music and plays out on a Wagnerian scale, with the short serving as a humorous quick-paced retelling of Wagner’s operatic Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle. Bugs and Elmer are bound by the rules Wagner established, forced to deal with a world of magical helmets, towering landscapes and oversized emotions. It's a far cry from the usual Bugs and Elmer slapstick routine.
- The music for the short film used several motifs from Der Ring des Nibelungen. Most notably, "The Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre and the overture and "Pilgrim's Chorus" from Tannhäuser.
- Aside from having the nuances and emotional moments of a typical opera, the cartoon also pokes fun of cartoons, highlighting the absurdities of the standard Bugs and Elmer chases, complete with Bugs' usual "paper-thin disguise" being put to good use for once.
- Looney Tunes had previously explored opera in Herr Meets Hare, where Bugs seduced "Fatso Goering" by disguising himself as Brunhilde, riding up to him on an enormous white horse. What's Opera Doc? repeats that sequence but also expands on it, after an opening sequence that pokes fun of Fantasia and another that places Elmer and his quest for Bugs within Wagner's universe.
- It features such now-classic lines as "Kill the wabbit!"
- Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan are still as funny as ever, and the musical tone of the short adds on to this.
- Elmer Fudd (as demigod Siegfried) expresses love, anger, and sadness in an exceptional way.
- References many operas of the time in a pleasant way, such as Ring Cycle, The Flying Dutchman, and Brünnhilde.
- Bugs Bunny provides very clever gags that is distinguishable from the other Looney Tunes shorts of the time, such as his Brünnhilde disguise.
- The animation is stylish and the backgrounds are decently drawn and matches up to the theme of the short. Plus, standard cartoons at the time had around 60 backgrounds, while What's Opera Doc? had 104, with many of them being highly stylized.
- In addition to mocking the Disney studio's artistic pretensions, it also showed the influence of the simpler, more line-oriented style of drawing used by the UPA studio.
- The short is notable for being one of only three cartoons in which Elmer Fudd actually bests his rival Bugs. (The other two were Hare Brush and Rabbit Rampage, both from 1955) Although, being an opera parody, instead of having Elmer escape karma like he did in Hare Brush and Rabbit Rampage, Elmer would show remorse and guilt for "killing" Bugs, hence making both Bugs and Elmer lose in the end.
- "Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?"
- Many memorable songs written by both Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones, including the most iconic song "Return My Love".
Bad Qualities
- The animation and backgrounds, while all still good, can be somewhat flat when compared to the 1940s cartoons.
- With Bugs and Elmer's emotions being so expressive, the flat backgrounds can be a bit obvious and off-putting, just like other 1954-mid-1962 shorts.
- To people used to the standard humor Looney Tunes is known for, the short doesn't compare favorably to some of the best Elmer and Bugs episodes, which may draw some people away. Although this was partially intentional due to its themes.
Reception
This short is often considered the best Looney Tunes cartoon and one of the greatest cartoons in history. It has been widely praised by many in the animation industry as the greatest animated cartoon that Warner Bros. ever released, and has been ranked as such in the top 50 animated cartoons of all time, coming in 1st place. In 1992, the Library of Congress deemed it "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, the first cartoon to receive such honors.