Release Date:

March 27, 1948

Main Character(s):

Sylvester, Elmer Fudd

Summary:

Elmer Fudd wants to have a good night’s rest, but Sylvester keeps him awake with lively musical performances.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1037 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon was given a Blue Ribbon reissue. When it was restored for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 DVD set in 2004, the original titles were put back in.

The cartoon is a remake of “Notes to You”, with Sylvester in the unnamed cat’s role and Elmer in Porky’s role. While the original cartoon was pretty good, this one is by far the superior cartoon as Sylvester and Elmer fit the roles perfectly and since the late 1940’s to early 1960’s was the wonderful period where the Warner Bros. cartoons were unquestionably the best cartoons being made in the Golden Age of animation.

This is the first pairing of Sylvester and Elmer. They would be paired up again in “Kit for Cat” (released later in 1948), “Heir Conditioned” (1955), and “Yankee Dood It” (1956).

The word “oproar” is a pun for “uproar” and “opera”.

The cartoon is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

This is a very rare instance where Sylvester always comes out on top (despite the fact that he dies in the end, he still gets the last laugh).

Oddly, Sylvester at one point refers to Elmer as “my fine feathered friend”, even though Elmer is clearly a human.

This is also a rare instance where Elmer doesn’t wear anything atop his bald head that would cover it up.

What I Like About This One:

Elmer is so tired that he claims “I could sweep for a week stwaight!” and after shutting off the light dashes into bed so quickly that he falls asleep before the light completely turns off (animated by Manuel Perez).

Sylvester makes his entrance by putting a music stand on the fence and tuning his voice with a harmonica that acts as a pitch pipe. He then launches into “Largo El Factotum” from the Barber of Seville (animated by Virgil Ross). Elmer wakes up and angrily tells him to scram (animated by Perez). As Sylvester sings “Figaro” over and over again, he dodges various items thrown at him. Thinking he’s avoided them all, Sylvester gets back up and lets out a long and loud “Figaro!” before he is hit by a shoe (animated by Ross).

Sylvester uses the same shoe and a matching one to stomp up and down the back stairs while “tra-la-la”ing to the tune of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody Number 2. When Sylvester changes the “tra-la-la”s to “cha-cha-cha”, Elmer attacks him when he comes back up and leaves him bound and gagged (animated by Ken Champin).

Next, Sylvester sings “Some Sunday Morning” so Elmer throws the book, “The Thin Man” at him. Elmer gets it thrown back at him as “Return of the Thin Man”. Elmer shuts the window in the middle of Sylvester’s singing. The phone rings so Elmer answers it. It’s Sylvester finishing the song! (animated by Perez)

As Elmer goes to get a golf club for a weapon, Sylvester creates a booby trap where he spreads grease all over the back stairs and then spreads tacks on the floor in front of the stairs (animated by Perez). Elmer becomes a victim to this trap the first time when he goes out with his golf club, goes through it again a second time when going back up to get his rifle, and then a third time when he comes back out with his rifle (animated by Champin).

On top of a roof, Sylvester sings “You Never Know Where You’re Goin Til You Get There” but stops when he sees Elmer climb up a ladder after him. He whistles for a fellow alley cat, a dopey-looking female tabby who launches into an operatic rendition of “Carissima”. Elmer then hits the tabby on the head with his rifle, which causes the tabby’s singing to die down as she slumps down and makes several hilarious facial expressions. Dazed, she stumbles off the roof and falls (animated by Gerry Chiniquy).

Spotting Sylvester behind him, Elmer corners him and threatens to “wub you out compwetewy!” Sylvester protests this, “Now, just a minute, my fine feathered friend! Ain’t you got no aesthetic sense? No ear for musical appreciation?” Elmer answers, “No! And I’m gonna bwow you to smitheweens!” Sylvester starts singing the Brahms Lullaby and despite Elmer demanding him to stop, he drifts off to sleep (animated by Ross up to here) as Sylvester puts him in bed and kisses him goodnight. Elmer is immediately woken up again by Sylvester becoming a one-man band playing “Frat”. Elmer chases Sylvester, still with all of the instruments in the one-man band, to a closet. Elmer is about to attack him, but bangs his head on another door that suddenly appears with a badly-spelled sign saying “Surprize!” (animated by Champin)

Sylvester then sings “On Moonlight Bay” while rowing a boat atop the fence. Elmer prepares a saucer of milk (animated by Champin) and pours alum into it, leaving it out for Sylvester (animated by Perez). To the tune of “The Sailor’s Hornpipe”, Sylvester dances up to it, drinks it, and then dances back to the fence to the same tune. As he sings the next part of “On Moonlight Bay”, his voice and head both shrink, as he now has a tiny head on a big body, much to his confusion (animated by Champin).

Finally, Sylvester sings “Angel in Disguise” in a crooning voice before he launches into a completely crazy, energetic version of it complete with shooting off a pistol, smashing a bottle over his head, having a string of firecrackers pop, tapping a trophy with a mallet, and throwing a brick over his head. Fed up, Elmer grabs a box of TNT and lights it near Sylvester. However, it immediately goes off once Elmer lights it, killing him (animated by Chiniquy). Finding himself as an angel floating upward on a cloud, Elmer is at least glad to finally get some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately for him, he is soon joined by Sylvester’s nine lives floating above on separate clouds, all wearing an outfit with the number life they’re supposed to be, and all singing “Sextet” from “Lucia di Lammermoor”. One of them steals Elmer’s halo, which causes Elmer to finally snap and jump off the cloud he’s on, with him crashing offscreen (animated by Ross).

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕