What’s Opera, Doc? (1957)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ken Harris, Richard Thompson, Abe Levitow
Music by Richard Wagner, arranged by Milt Franklyn
There are many people who believe “What’s Opera, Doc?” is the greatest cartoon of all time. I am not one of them. That’s not say I hate the film – I don’t. But at the same time, I don’t share the opinion that this represents the apex of animation. In fact, I wouldn’t even list it in the top 20 of all Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Yes, “What’s Opera, Doc?” is creative in telescoping Wagnerian opera into a Merrie Melodies short running less than seven minutes. But, at the same time, all the other Warner Bros. cartoons that incorporate classical musical and opera with low comedy are also creative. And, yes, the short is artistically ambitious, more than any other production from this studio – director Chuck Jones put more time, energy and money into this work compared to the rest of his output.
But the film also accidentally exposed many of Jones’ vices that became more pronounced in his late Warner Bros. shorts and even more annoying when he helmed the Tom and Jerry series at MGM. For starters, “What’s Opera, Doc?” is cutesy when it should be funny, with far too much breaking of the fourth wall to remind the viewer the film is supposed to make them laugh.
The short’s pacing is also more sluggish than the previous classical music-inspired Warner Bros. cartoons – granted, it is supposed to be a riff on Wagnerian opera, which is not known for speed. But the segment with Elmer Fudd/Siegfried wooing Bugs-in-drag/Brünnhilde – complete with an entrance on a grossly-drawn fat horse, followed by silly ballet and a love song duet with new lyrics set to the “Tannhäuser” overture – feels like a long slog to reach a not-special gag of Bugs losing his wig and horned helmet. Indeed, Bugs was a snappier Brünnhilde in the 1945 “Herr Meets Hare,” making an entrance on a sturdier horse and dancing in a much more amusing ballet spoof featuring a cartoon version of Hermann Göring dressed as Siegfried.
To its credit, the film is the rare offering where Elmer is much funnier than Bugs, especially with to “Kill the wabbit!” chant to the tune of “Ride of the Valkyries.” Arthur Q. Bryan does a fine uncredited job as a singing Elmer Fudd, although the character’s voice obviously changes to Mel Blanc for a decibel-shattering cry of “Smog!” And Milt Franklyn’s music arrangement perfectly truncates Wagner for this purpose, especially when the film takes a drastically dramatic turn at its conclusion. But at the end credits, the film left me with a shrug rather than a smile. Perhaps that’s a statement about me instead of the film, but that’s my experience.
“What’s Opera, Doc?” was submitted for Academy Award consideration as Best Animated Short Film, but it was not nominated. Two other Warner Bros. cartoons were nominated – the Friz Freleng “Birds Anonymous,” which won the award, and Robert McKimson’s “Tabasco Road.” It is easy to sneer at those films getting noticed by the Academy voters instead of “What’s Opera, Doc?”, but I get it – those two shorts represented pure and jolly entertainment instead of artistic pretension.
Acclaim for “What’s Opera, Doc?” came decades later, first in 1992 as the inaugural cartoon added to the National Film Registry and then in 1994 as the number one ranked title in the book “The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals.”
Personally, I’ll mix my Bugs and classical compositions via “A Corny Concerto,” “Rhapsody Rabbit,” “Long-Haired Hare” or “The Rabbit of Seville,” which is my pick for the best Warner Bros. cartoons. Sorry if I offend, and hopefully I won’t get censored for having a contrary opinion.