Release Date:

September 25, 1943

Main Character(s):

Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd

Summary:

A parody of Fantasia set at “Corny-Gie Hall”. Appearing as host Deems Taylor, Elmer Fudd presents two acts set to the music of Johann Strauss: “Tale of the Vienna Woods” where Porky Pig and his dog hunt Bugs Bunny and “The Blue Danube”, an Ugly Duckling parody with a Daffy lookalike being rejected by the mother swan until he saves her offspring from a hungry vulture.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 19-12, the 19th Merrie Melodie in the 12th release season.

This is the second cartoon from 1943 to parody Fantasia with the first being “Pigs in a Polka”.

Since the cartoon is mostly set to music, the only dialogue comes from Elmer.

The music isn’t entirely Strauss as the music that plays over the opening credits is Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

Speaking of opening credits, Frank Tashlin is credited for storyman, marking the only time he wrote a cartoon for Warner Bros. (he was storyman on several cartoons from the Columbia/Screen Gems studio).

This is the only major time that Bugs and Porky interact with each other on screen. While Bugs recently cameoed in “Porky Pig’s Feat”, Porky would make a cameo appearance in one of the last Bugs Bunny cartoons from the Golden Age, “Dumb Patrol” (1964) as “Captain Smedley”. In the Looney Tunes Show (2011-2013), Bugs and Porky would become close friends.

The cartoon was ranked number 47 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons and is also in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

The full cartoon would be used in the 1975 documentary “Bugs Bunny Superstar”.

The cartoon is in the public domain.

Since Bugs only appears in the first act, he doesn’t appear on the opening shield.

What I Like About This One:

Like “Rhapsody in Rivets” and “Pigs in a Polka”, this is another great cartoon where everything is perfectly timed to the music.

Elmer having trouble with his dickey as he tells us “first, we will hear a waltz witten by Johann Stwauss” (animated by Robert McKimson). Then when he tells us to “wisten to the wippewing whythm of the woodwinds as it wolls awound and awound…. and it comes out here”, his dickey goes flying into his face so he accidentally tears if off while doing his trademark laugh (animated by Rod Scribner).

In the “Tale of the Vienna Woods” act, Porky shows a sign informing, “I’m hunting that (various scribbles) rabbit!” The dog holds up a sign too: “Ditto” Spotting Bugs toss his carrot remains into a trash can labeled “Rabbit Rubbish”, the dog points down into the hole before Bugs pulls out “Emily Post Etiquette” and opens up to a page saying “It ain’t polite to point!” He then slams the book on the dog’s nose, kicks him in the nose, and ties his tail to a tree so the dog goes flying back into the tree and does the “running finger across lips” bit (animated by Virgil Ross).

Porky and the dog going into a bush and when both pop out, they see Bugs in the middle of them (animated by Ross). Porky is poised to shoot but Bugs imitates the dog pointing and Porky almost shoots the dog, who comes out with an “Uh-uh!” to signify that he’s not Bugs (animated by Robert).

Bugs next tosses Porky’s gun into a hollow tree. This angers a squirrel living in a tree so he shoots at the three of them. They and the bush all fall off a cliff (animated by Thomas McKimson up to here) and land at the bottom, with all three believing they have been fatally wounded. Porky and the dog both see that they’re alright, but Bugs turns green in the face and faints. Believing he’s dead, Porky and the dog weep in tune to the music and get out a first aid kit. As Porky attempts to remove Bugs’ hands from his chest, Bugs reveals he wasn’t actually shot and screams like a woman, now wearing a bra. As a ballerina, Bugs slaps Porky for his freshness, ties the bra over Porky and the dog’s heads, and then dances into the sunset as the piece ends (animated by Scribner).

We then fade back to Elmer who announces, “And now we will pwesent the beautiful Bwue Danube!” As he does this, he accidentally tears his dickey off again. This time, his pants fall down. Quickly reacting to it, he covers them up in embarrassment, doing his trademark laugh again (animated by Robert).

When the duck’s quacking causes the mother swan to suddenly stop and her offspring to bump into her one by one (animated by Thomas), the duck sheepishly tries to get away before the mother swan slaps him in the behind. As he swims away, the slap mark can be seen on his rear (animated by Robert).

The duck next tries to join them again by bubbling underneath (animated by Thomas). Feeling several bubbles under her, the mother swan sees the duck in one of them before it pops and she punches him underwater. The duck comes out spitting water like a fountain (animated by Scribner).

Using his eyes like binoculars and spotting the swans (animated by Thomas), the vulture hangs a sign “Out to Brunch” and flies down to closely follow the swan family (animated by Ross). He shakes salt and pepper on one of the offspring but just as she’s about to sneeze from the pepper, the vulture puts his finger under her nose. Of course, she sneezes anyway (animated by Scribner).

Then, as the vulture grabs the swan children one by one, one of them is revealed to be propelled by an outboard motor. The duck paddles by and is also grabbed by the vulture. Realizing this isn’t a swan, the vulture kicks him out and gives him a “Rejected 4F” rating (animated by Ross).

Realizing her children are gone, the mother swan frantically looks everywhere and upon seeing the duck under a rock, she puts it back before fainting (animated by Ross). Shocked at seeing the mother swan unconscious from fainting, the duck grabs a pail of water and throws it on to her (animated by Scribner).

The duck next spots the vulture carrying off the swans, so he goes after him, imitating a warplane (and briefly morphing into one as well). Seeing the duck zoom after him, the vulture turns yellow (signifying cowardice), runs away, and drops the swans, who all have their own little parachutes. The duck then stops the vulture from running away, gives him a keg of TNT, and pulls out the cloud from under him. The TNT explodes when the vulture is in mid-fall (animated by Ross up to here), which turns him into an an angel playing a harp and sailing off into the heavenly clouds (animated by Robert).

Grateful to the duck for saving her children, the mother and children now accept the duck as one of their own and happily quack along with him in time to the music (animated by Thomas). The duck’s watery reflection then misses a turn and crashes into a tree, before rejoining them (animated by Ross) as the piece ends and the swans and duck wave goodbye (animated by Thomas).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕