What's Opera, Doc?

   

What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 short animated film in which Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny through a six-minute operatic production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan do the voices, including the singing. The short is also sometimes known in the vernacular as Kill the Wabbit after the line sung by Fudd to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries. In fact, this cartoon marks one of the few times that Fudd actually succeeds in outsmarting (or in this case, doing away with) Bugs Bunny. The cartoon ends with Fudd carrying Bugs and Bugs says, "What did you expect in opera? A happy ending?".

It is regarded as Chuck Jones' masterpiece. In fact, many film critics, animaton fans, and filmmakers (as well as Jones himself) consider this to be Warner Bros.' greatest animation achievement of all the cartoons WB has released since 1930. It has also topped many Top Ten lists of the greatest animated cartoons of all time. What's Opera, Doc? required about 6 times as much work and expense as any of the other 6-minute cartoons his studio was producing at the time. During those 6 minutes, Jones lampoons

  • Disney's Fantasia,
  • the then-current style of ballet,
  • Wagner's ponderous operatic style, and even
  • the by-then cliche Bugs-and-Elmer formula.

It was later included in the compilation film, The Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Movie, together with Duck Amuck and other Chuck Jones shorts.

What's Opera, Doc? marked the end of an era for Warner Bros. cartoons, for it was perhaps the last Bugs Bunny cartoon to truly capture the essence of WB's Golden Age of Animation. Fans have argued that no theatrical or made-for-TV cartoon has since done so.

The cartoon and lyrics were written by Michael Maltese, the music adapted from Richard Wagner, the impressive and unusual background work by Maurice Noble. The short has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Also see: Looney Tunes, Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies filmography




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