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A Corny Concerto

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A Corny Concerto
Directed byRobert Clampett
Story byFrank Tashlin
Produced byLeon Schlesinger[1]
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.[1][2]
Release date
  • September 25, 1943 (1943-09-25)[3]
Running time
7:58
LanguageEnglish

A Corny Concerto is a 1943 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies directed by Bob Clampett.[4] The short was released on September 25, 1943, and stars Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck.[5]

They perform a parody of Walt Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon series and specifically his 1940 feature Fantasia.[6] The film uses two of Johann Strauss's best known waltzes, "Tales from the Vienna Woods" and "The Blue Danube".

Plot

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Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 is heard over the opening credits, featuring Carnegie Hall parody "Corny-gie Hall". Afterwards, a musicologist, played by Elmer Fudd appears in an ill-fitting tailcoat, unshaven and in glasses, parodying Deems Taylor in Fantasia.

The first of the two musical segments is set to Johann Strauss's waltz "Tales from the Vienna Woods". Porky Pig plays Elmer Fudd's usual role of hunter, accompanied by Laramore, his hunting dog. Porky explains what he is doing via a sign reading, "I'm hunting that @!!*@ rabbit!!", which turns out to be Bugs Bunny. A series of visual gags ensue, culminating with all three characters believing that they have been shot by an angry squirrel who manages to get a hold of Porky's hunting rifle. After Porky and the dog realize that they are unharmed, they attempt to give first aid to the apparently fatally wounded Bugs while the dog bawls in tune with the music. When Porky finally pries Bugs' clenched hands off the supposed gunshot wound in his chest, Bugs is revealed to be wearing a baby blue colored bra. Emitting a scream of modesty, Bugs covers the bra with his left hand and slaps Porky's face with his right hand three times and caps the bra cups over the bewildered hunters' heads and then, wearing a tutu and pointe shoes, gracefully dances off into the distance, falling over at the music's climax.

Elmer returns briefly to introduce the second segment, Strauss's "The Blue Danube" waltz. A black duckling (possibly meant to be a young Daffy Duck) attempts to join three cygnets (baby swans) who follow their mother swan, all gracefully paddling around in waltz time; the mother consistently violently rebuffs the "ugly duckling" because he looks and sounds so different from her own brood. Meanwhile, a large buzzard with a "hep cat" hairdo spots the troupe and goes "Out To Brunch" by swooping down and sprinkling salt and pepper on the cygnets. He plucks each out of the water (the last youngster is revealed to be fitted with a tiny outboard motor), then grabs the duckling, but immediately puts him back with a sign reading "Rejected 4F" (unfit for military service); much to the duck's annoyance. Upon realizing her children are gone, the mother swan faints and the duckling becomes shocked and tries to revive her. Upon seeing the Buzzard making off with the cygnets, the duckling becomes angry and takes off to rescue them (on the aspect of a Curtiss P-40 fighter aircraft), and buzzes the Buzzard, who literally turns yellow, drops the cygnets (who parachute safely back to the water) and flees. The duckling stuns the Buzzard, then hands him a drum of TNT, which blows him sky high upon impact on the ground. The buzzard is last seen gliding towards heaven (via an attached balloon) in angel garb, strumming a harp. The final scene involves the grateful swan family and the duckling merrily quacking "The Blue Danube" as they glide across the water together. They wave goodbye to the audience as the cartoon ends.

Production notes

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This cartoon was a milestone as it was the first Warner Bros. cartoon ever to feature more than two of their major characters in starring roles (though not all appeared on screen at the same time); not counting I Haven't Got a Hat (1935), which was the debut for a number of characters. Elmer Fudd appears as the musicologist/composer (as Deems Taylor was in Fantasia) introducing each segment. The first segment, "Tales from the Vienna Woods", stars Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, the former as the prey and the latter as the hunter. In addition, a number of people consider the main character in the second segment, "The Blue Danube", to be a young Daffy Duck.

Several other cartoons made by Warner Bros. would follow the casting formula that debuted in this cartoon. Among these cartoons are:

This is the only one of the three cartoons in the "classic" era featuring Bugs and Porky together, in which both were stars, the other two cartoons have one making a cameo in the other's cartoon: Porky Pig's Feat features Bugs in a cameo as another patron locked in the hotel Daffy and Porky stayed at, and the 1964 version of Dumb Patrol (with Bugs and Yosemite Sam) has Porky in a cameo as a World War I soldier. Also, in 1938's Porky's Hare Hunt, Porky hunts a prototype Bugs Bunny.

Reception

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In 1994, A Corny Concerto was voted No. 47 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.[7]

Home media

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The short is available on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 DVD set and disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3 Blu-ray set and also appears in the documentary Bugs Bunny: Superstar. It can also be found on The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol. 1 laserdisc, the Looney Tunes Collectors Edition: Musical Masterpieces VHS, and Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 2.

Since most of this cartoon has fallen into public domain[8][9][10] (with the exception of the brief quotation of "The Music Goes Round and Round"), it has made frequent appearances on many gray-market VHS and DVD cartoon releases.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "A Corny Concerto (1943): Cast". The Big Cartoon DataBase. Retrieved August 27, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b Ohmart, Ben (2012). Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-62933-029-7.
  3. ^ "Motion Picture Herald". Quigley Publishing Co. September 1943. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 144. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  5. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 124–126. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "THE BOOTLEG FILES: A CORNY CONCERTO". Film Threat. August 8, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. ^ "The 50 Greatest Cartoons — As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals – Movie List". MUBI. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  8. ^ "Merrie Melodies - A Corny Concerto | Public Domain Movies". publicdomainmovie.net.
  9. ^ "Merrie Melodies - A Corny Concerto (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd)". September 25, 1943 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ "Looney Tunes DVD and Video Guide: Looney Tunes in the Public Domain". October 11, 2017. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017.
[edit]
Preceded by Bugs Bunny Cartoons
1943 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Daffy Duck Cartoons
1943 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Elmer Fudd Cartoons
1943 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Porky Pig Cartoons
1943 		Succeeded by
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