Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

One of those indisputable classics from the Looney Tunes stock-pile in the 50s, this is pretty close to being a mini-opera of epic proportions: Elmer Fudd being fooled, once again, by Bugs Bunny in drag (this time in viking garb!) and then the dramatic confrontation of Elmer Fudd's God-like (that's right, God-like) powers to actually kill the rabbit. It may be one of the only times, if not the only time, that Fudd actually does do it in at the end. And it's all really beautiful and hilarious and things I shouldn't have to let you know. There's a few really quotable lines ("You're spear and magic helmet?" "MAGIC HELMET!") and the kind of animation that works as perfect spoof and as something kind of, almost, touching on its own terms. Indeed there's a lot done in these seven minutes that shows, without much argument, Chuck Jones' genius in matters of blending comedy and action and "romance" all into some wonderful animation. If you have to watch just a handful of Looney Tunes shorts, if not all that you can get your hands on, this is one of them.

Another hilarious spin on opera as Bugs and Elmer (Siegfried and Brunhilde) go through their paces with bursts of operatic grandeur until they reach the tragic conclusion. Nevertheless, Bugs raises his head and says to the audience, "What did you expect in an opera?" Dazzling combination of music and animation, it's definitely high on the chart of best animated Chuck Jones films.Synchronization of music and animation is spectacular, and the voices of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan do much to lift the cartoon into the highest category for this sort of thing.Fun to watch, fun to listen to. Another essential from Chuck Jones.

Disney animation legend Chuck Jones' 'Merrie Melodies' short, 'What's Opera, Doc?,' is a pleasant and enjoyable cartoon tribute to the classic operas that have inspired audiences for generations. However, not particularly being a fan of opera – nor, indeed, having even seen many – I'm afraid that much of the film's charm might have been lost of me. The film features the voice talents of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, voicing the classic Disney characters of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, respectively (though Blanc did independently voice one of Elmer's lines - "SMOG!"). As we all know, Elmer's primary preoccupation is "hunting wabbits," and, in this film, he plans to do so as the demigod Siegfried, using the mighty powers of his "spear and magic helmet."The seven-minute film is essentially an operatic parody of Richard Wagner's operas, particularly 'Der Ring des Nibelungen / The Ring of the Nibelung.' Several pieces of Wagner's music are used in the film, to great effect, as both characters sing their lines in tune to the classic score: the overture from 'The Flying Dutchman' is used in the opening storm scene; Elmer memorably sings "Kill the wabbit!" to the tune of 'Ride of the Valkyries;' Siegfried's horn call from 'Siegfried' ("O mighty warrior of great fighting stock"); the overture and Pilgrim's Chorus from 'Tannhäuser' ("O Bwünnhilde, you'w so wuvwy," "Return my love").Quite surprisingly, the film ends with the death of Bugs Bunny, and with Elmer instantly regretful for the death he has caused, marking one of those rare occasions when Elmer has actually succeeded in "killing the wabbit!" Luckily, however, I am happy to report that, despite the unavoidable tragic opera conclusion, good old Bugs eases our worries by raising his head in the final seconds to declare, "Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?" This is an endearing Chuck Jones classic.

I cannot even find the words to describe the greatness of this cartoon. It is officially listed as the greatest cartoon ever, and it darn well deserves it. As I have said, it was simply beautiful. The elegance and detail that went into it surpasses that of anything I've ever seen. Everything from the lightning storm to the end gag was breathtaking. Chuck Jones is the Einstein of animation direction, without a doubt. It was also hilarious, not the laugh-out-loud hilarious of other great Bugs Bunny cartoons, but with subtle irony and ridiculousness ("Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!"). The sensitivity astounds me, it's a metaphor of the whole Elmer/Bugs scene, the subconscious trust and dependency they have in each other beautifully represented by the ballet, and love song, and the consequences of Elmer's short-sightedness and Bugs' naivety tragically displayed in the finale. The little touches, like the intricately designed ballet scene, the tension of the helmet falling down the stairs, and the chilling image of the dress floating behind Bugs as he flees vainly from his doom, all accompanied by musical gags, timing, and style that has only been contested by my favorite "The Rabbit of Seville", sets off the scenes perfectly. The ending was for sure the crowning point of the whole cartoon, the sequence of the terrible lightning attack, Bugs' limp, crumpled corpse in the midst of the splintered mountain, (one of the greatest moments of animation history), Elmer's "Poor wittle wabbit" mourning, and, too top it all, the magnificent finale of Elmer carrying Bugs through the golden radiance to Valhalla, and, inevitably, Bugs' last quip, tops off this exquisite expression of greatness. This is also, I believe, the only cartoon tragedy I have ever seen, Bugs DOES die, the wabbit IS finally killed by Elmer, while Bugs did not do anything to deserve it it: the very definition of a tragedy. And yet, Bugs does not "lose", Elmer gets his comeuppance, the guilt of killing him, and his character break of "well, what did you expect in an opera, a happy ending?" still asserts that even his own death cannot defeat the great rabbit. He is a god, the Trickster god, and although mortal, cannot be beaten. There has never been, and will never be, another cartoon like this one.