What's Opera, Doc? (1957)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Now, I know people may disagree with me, but this cartoon just isn't funny in my opinion! It is well designed, however. I would recommend this cartoon for opera lovers and classic cartoon buffs, but it just doesn't suit my tastes. The only thing that made me chuckle was when Bugs said "Bye!", but that wasn't enough to make it funny for me. Overall, it was a disappointment......... .......... ................................

This Looney Tunes cartoon is a classic. Set to music from Wagner, with excerpts from principally Die Walkure(Brunhilde's war cry, Ho-To-Jo-Ho or Ride of the Valkyries), Flying Dutchman and Tannhauser(overture and O Star of Eve), this is truly delightful. The music is absolutely outstanding, and so is the artwork, seriously the backgrounds are so expressive, colourful and detailed. Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan both give stellar voice characterisations, and Elmer and Bugs(while the latter's persona is a tad underplayed here) are still their wonderful selves. While not as laugh-out-loud funny as other Looney Tunes cartoons, there is evidence of that, the sung dialogue is often priceless and the cartoon is somewhat beautiful as well. Overall, this cartoon is absolutely brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox

To many critics and cartoon fans this is considered not only the best to feature Bugs Bunny, and by Warner Brothers, but is the single greatest cartoon short ever made. This masterpiece basically spoofs the fourteen hours of the opera Der Ring Des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) by composer Richard Wagner, into six minutes thirty-something seconds. The story sees Elmer Fudd as a viking that can summon lightning and thunder storms, and his pursuit for Bugs. After seeing his tracks, he finds the rabbit hole and repeatedly sings "Kill the wabbit!" So Bugs comes along to enquire as to how he will get the "wabbit", and it is only after seeing the power of the helmet that Bugs runs away. Elmer stops to see a beautiful woman wearing a viking helmet on a beautiful steed, well, Bugs is drag on a plump white horse, Elmer thinks it's "Bwunhilde". "She" slips into his arms, they have a little dance and frolic, until Bugs' helmet and locks falls off, and he runs away stuffing Elmer into his helmet. After getting the helmet, Elmer in anger summons a huge storm and smug to kill Bugs, and it looks like he succeeds. Elmer carrying the dead Bugs to the top of a distant mountain, and the film ends with Bugs getting up and saying "well what did you expect in an opera, a happy ending?" Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies were number 20, and Bugs Bunny number 10 on The 100 Greatest Cartoons. Very good!

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.