Rhapsody Rabbit

Last updated

Rhapsody Rabbit
RhapsodyRabbit-TC.png
Directed by I. Freleng
Story by
Starring Mel Blanc
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by
Layouts by Hawley Pratt
Backgrounds byTerry Lind
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • November 9, 1946 (1946-11-09)
Running time
7:33
LanguageEnglish

Rhapsody Rabbit is a 1946 American animated comedy short film in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Bugs Bunny. [1] The movie was originally released to theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 9, 1946. [2] This short is a follow-up of sorts to Freleng's 1941 Academy Award-nominated Rhapsody in Rivets , which featured the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt. The "instrument" used to perform the "Hungarian Rhapsody" in Rhapsody in Rivets is a skyscraper under construction, while this short features Bugs playing the piece at a piano while being pestered by a mouse.

Contents

In 1946, film critic James Agee wrote in The Nation that the short is "the funniest thing I have seen since the decline of sociological dancing," saying, "The best of it goes two ways: one, very observant parody of concert-pianistic affectations, elegantly thought out and synchronized; the other, brutality keyed into the spirit of the music to reach greater subtlety than I have ever seen brutality reach before." [3]

Rhapsody Rabbit was the first cartoon to be broadcast on Cartoon Network when the channel launched on October 1, 1992. [4]

Plot

Set against a backdrop of Richard Wagner's Siegfried funeral march, Bugs Bunny takes center stage as a piano virtuoso. Amidst thunderous applause, Bugs embarks on a performance of Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2".

The opening scene sees Bugs poised at the piano, only to be interrupted by a persistent cough from an unseen audience member. Unfazed, Bugs resorts to unconventional means to silence the disturbance, humorously wielding a revolver from his tailcoat.

Throughout the performance, Bugs engages in playful banter, responding to a ringing phone inside the piano with his trademark catchphrase, "Eh, what's up, doc?" He cleverly incorporates musical references, such as singing "Fi-ga-ro!" during a familiar three-note sequence, adding a comedic twist to his piano playing.

As Bugs navigates through the piece, he encounters a pesky mouse that becomes a persistent nuisance. The encounter escalates into a musical duel, culminating in a boogie-woogie showdown. Despite momentarily trapping the mouse, Bugs is ultimately outwitted as the mouse reemerges, performing a surprise finale on a miniature piano.

In a comedic climax, Bugs confronts the final frenzied pages of the Rhapsody, culminating in exasperation as the mouse steals the spotlight with its unexpected performance. Frustrated yet undeterred, Bugs delivers the closing notes with characteristic wit, concluding the performance with a humorous flourish.

Voice cast

Home media

The short is available on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 , with an optional commentary track by musical historian Daniel Goldmark. It is also available on volume 2 of Looney Tunes: Spotlight Collection , as well as Warner Bros. Discovery's two video streaming services, the Boomerang SVOD app and Max.

Plagiarism dispute

In the same year as the release of Rhapsody Rabbit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (MGM) produced a comparable animated short titled The Cat Concerto , featuring Tom and Jerry series. This production portrays Tom encountering distractions caused by Jerry, the mouse, during a piano concert performance. [5] Noteworthy similarities between the two works include the replication of several comedic sequences and the utilization of Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" as their primary musical composition. [6] The Cat Concerto received recognition by winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. [5]

Following the presentation of both films at the 19th Academy Awards Ceremony, allegations of plagiarism arose from both MGM and Warner Bros. studios. [5] Technicolor was accused of sending a print of either cartoon to a competing studio, who then plagiarized their rival's work. [5] Despite attempts to address the matter, uncertainties persist regarding the origins of the similarities. While Rhapsody Rabbit holds an earlier Motion Picture Association approval number and release date, MGM's production timelines extended over a longer duration. Additionally, the substantial resemblances between the two animations may also be attributed to mere coincidence.

The controversy surrounding these productions received further examination in an episode of the Cartoon Network anthology series ToonHeads , providing a platform for discussion and analysis of the issue. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugs Bunny</span> Looney Tunes character; mascot of Warner Bros.

Bugs Bunny is a fictional character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.

<i>Looney Tunes</i> Warner Bros. animated short film series and media franchise

Looney Tunes is an American animated franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It began as a series of short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Lola Bunny. The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daffy Duck</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Daffy Duck is a fictional character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in which he is usually depicted as a foil for either Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig or Speedy Gonzales. He was one of the first of the new "screwball" characters that emerged in the late 1930s to replace traditional everyman characters who were more popular earlier in the decade, such as Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, and Popeye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friz Freleng</span> American animator, cartoonist, director, and producer (1905–1995)

Isadore "Friz" Freleng, credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from the 1930s to the early 1960s. In total he created more than 300 cartoons.

<i>Merrie Melodies</i> Cartoon series owned by Warner Bros. (1931–1969 and 1988–1997)

Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the companion series to Looney Tunes, and featured many of the same characters as the former series. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it had been revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black and white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.

<i>The Cat Concerto</i> 1947 film directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

The Cat Concerto is a 1947 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 29th Tom and Jerry short, released to theatres on April 26, 1947. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision by Scott Bradley, and animation by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Irven Spence and uncredited animation by Don Patterson.

<i>The Bugs Bunny Show</i> Animated television anthology series

The Bugs Bunny Show is a long-running American animated anthology television series hosted by Bugs Bunny that was mainly composed of theatrical Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons released by Warner Bros. between 1948 and 1969. The show originally debuted as a primetime half-hour program on ABC in 1960, featuring three theatrical Looney Tunes cartoons with new linking sequences produced by the Warner Bros. Cartoons staff.

<i>Rabbit Fire</i> 1951 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, the cartoon is the first in Jones' "hunting trilogy"—the other two cartoons following it being Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! It is also the first cartoon to feature a feud between Bugs and Daffy. Produced by Edward Selzer for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc., the short was released to theaters on May 19, 1951 by Warner Bros. Pictures and is often considered among Jones' best and most important films.

Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, it was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films. The characters featured in these cartoons, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig, are among the most famous and recognizable characters in the world. Many of the creative staff members at the studio, including directors and animators such as Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Robert Clampett, Arthur Davis, and Frank Tashlin, are considered major figures in the art and history of traditional animation.

<i>The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie</i> 1981 animated feature film directed by Friz Freleng

The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie is a 1981 American animated comedy package film with a compilation of classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies Warner Bros. cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences produced and directed by Friz Freleng, hosted by Bugs Bunny. The new footage was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It was the first Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies film with a compilation of classic cartoon comedy shorts produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

<i>Show Biz Bugs</i> 1957 film

Show Biz Bugs is a 1957 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated short directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Mel Blanc. The short was released on November 2, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

This is a list of all cartoons featuring Porky Pig. Directors are listed in parentheses.

<i>The Golden Age of Looney Tunes</i>

The Golden Age of Looney Tunes is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being made up of seven cartoons per side. The first volume was also released on VHS, with each tape representing one disc side.

<i>Baton Bunny</i> 1959 film

Baton Bunny is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow. The short was released on 10 January 1959, and stars Bugs Bunny.

<i>Pizzicato Pussycat</i> 1955 film

Pizzicato Pussycat is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on January 1, 1955.

<i>Rhapsody in Rivets</i> 1941 American film

Rhapsody in Rivets is a 1941 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on December 6, 1941.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3</i> 2005 DVD compilation of Looney Tunes animated short films

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 173. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–61. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ Agee, James (September 14, 1946). "Films". The Nation : 305.
  4. ↑ "The Cartoon Network launch 1992". YouTube. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Pianist Envy, Thad Komorowski, February 26, 2013
  6. ↑ Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) Trivia, imdb.com
  7. ↑ Rhapsody Rabbit VS The Cat Concerto
  8. ↑ The Great Cartoon Controversy Archived August 9, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , tv.com
Preceded by Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1946		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.