Wunderliche Walzerträume

The Corny Concerto (1943)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Warner Brothers's spoof of Disney's FANTASIA has Elmer Fudd playing the orchestra leader and then we get two different sequences. The first has Porky Pig and his dog stalking Bugs Bunny while the second has a group of stuck up white ducks not playing well with a baby Daffy. This here is certainly a classic film for the series as it really does do Disney better than Disney did in FANTASIA. Both of the stories are extremely good and that's certainly the cast for the first one. I thought the little back and forth between Porky and his dog was quite funny. Of course, the real highlight here was the wonderful music and how it was used for the animation.

Elmer Fudd is the conductor at Corny-gie Hall. He is struggling to dress and presents the performance of Strauss's waltzes. The first segment is "Tales from the Vienna Woods" where Porky Pig and his dog are hunting Bugs Bunny. The second segment is "The Blue Danube" where a young black duck tries to join a swan family.

The music is classical and terrific. It is a little funny to see Porky Pig taking over Elmer Fudd's role in the first segment. Initially, I thought they might be recycling the segments. That doesn't seems to be the case. I do like the two segments despite the limited dialogue. I really like the use of sound effects to accentuate the music. This is nice.

A befuddled (and wardrobe challenged) Elmer Fudd leads a symphony playing classic waltzes by Johann Straus ('Tales from the Vienna Woods' and 'The Blue Danube'), illustrated first by Porky Pig (in Mr. Fudd's usual role) hunting a familiar wascally wabbit, and then by a snooty swan-mother rejecting a tiny but troublesome Daffy Duck. This Bob Clampett parody of Disney's Fantasia is funny, and the smooth, imaginative animation is a pleasure to watch. Daffy's toothy grin and the 'hep-cat' buzzard are particularly amusing and, as usual, Bugs is not above cross-dressing to confound pursuers. Surprisingly non-political for a 1942 cartoon (other than Daffy's brief transition into a snarling P40 Warhawk). #47 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'.

A parody of a great many Disney films, this short is simply fantastic and yet another feather in the hat of Bob Clampett (I know I seem to say that a lot, by Clampett was indeed a genius of animation). The music is magical, the animation is great, and although it might not be nearly as hilariously surreal as most of Clampetts other works, it's still very VERY good and I remain captivated by the short every single time I sit down to watch it. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and also features an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A+

And, I ask you - Who could possibly be a better choice as "Master of Ceremonies" for "A Corny Concerto" than good, old Elmer Fudd? I mean - Don't you think that Elmer added a special flair of dignity to his all-important role?

Anyway - I'd say that this "Fantasia" parody was pulled off quite enjoyably by the imaginative team (headed by director, Robert Clampett) at Warner Bros. Studios.

Featuring the likes of Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny - (IMO) "A Corny Concerto" (from 1943) did a fine job of introducing its audience (through these zany animated ballets) to the classical music of Johann Strauss (with no disrespect intended).