What's Opera, Doc?
What's Opera, Doc?
NR | 06 July 1957 (USA)
What's Opera, Doc? Trailers

Bugs is in drag as the Valkyrie Brunhilde, who is pursued by Elmer playing the demigod Siegfried.

Reviews
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
utgard14 Well let's get the obvious out of the way first: "What's Opera, Doc?" is a Looney Tunes classic, it's Chuck Jones' masterpiece, and it's easily one of the top animated shorts ever made. Elmer is once again trying to "kill the wabbit," this time as a Viking in an opera setting with Wagner thundering away as Bugs, dressed like a Valkyrie, plays (and sings) along. Jones' longtime collaborator Michael Maltese provides the story, as well as some funny lyrics to go along with the Wagner music. Excellent voice work from Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, both giants in the field of voice acting. The animation is gorgeous and exploding with creativity. This cost more to produce and required much more effort than your average Looney Tunes cartoon of the time and it shows. It's really spectacular to watch. This short is often called the greatest cartoon that Warner Bros. ever released. Artistically it's hard to argue with the brilliance of this cartoon, although I think there are a few that match up and certainly many others that are probably more beloved by fans for entertainment reasons. Sadly this was not even nominated for an Oscar, let alone winning one. But, trust me, that speaks more to the Academy's history of poor judgment than it does to the quality of this flawless short.
Tweekums While I'm not usually a fan of Elmer Fudd, this was one of my favourite Warner Brothers' cartoons when I was a child even though at the time I had no idea that it was based on the music of Wagner.It is great seeing Elmer Fudd singing about how he is going to kill the wabbit with his spear and magic helmet before falling in love with Bugs after the latter slips into a disguise as an operatic heroine. Of course the disguise slips and Elmer summons lightning bolts to strike down the fleeing Bugs.Here Chuck Jones has given us one of the best cartoon shorts that I've seen, they certainly don't make them like this any more sadly.
Neil Doyle 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.
ccthemovieman-1 Every aspect of this cartoon is outstanding, and that's coming from someone who hates opera! The illustrations in this are fantastic, the direction super and the dialog in this "opera" is hilarious. Kudos, too, to Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny) and Arthur Q. Bryant (Elmer Fudd) for their outstanding voice-work having those two characters sing and talk in this opera. I appreciated their work in here more than about anything, although the direction by Chuck Jones and that artwork is really tremendous. All of them outshine the story in here.No, I still don't enjoy the "opera" but I will always enjoy this stunning-looking cartoon, which is part of Volume Two on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.