Der Hase von Sevilla

"Rabbit of Seville" has Elmer Fudd trying to shoot Bugs Bunny, and so the latter leads the former into an opera house where "The Barber of Seville" is about to be performed. Within a minute, Bugs and Elmer are the barber and customer, respectively. Needless to say, Bugs tries a few unsavory experiments on Elmer.

In an interview, Chuck Jones explained how, listening to Bugs sing his own lyrics for the opera (Welcome to my shop/Let me cut your mop/Let me shave your crop), you almost get the impression that the lyrics were written specifically for him. The first time when I ever saw this cartoon when I was really young, I probably thought that, as I didn't know about the original opera. Rossini would be really proud of the whole Chuck Jones/Michael Maltese/Mel Blanc creative team. Excellent.

This is one of Chuck Jones's masterpieces, an incredible blend of music (mainly opera) and animation. The new lyrics written to the very old and familiar music are priceless, as is the scene where Elmer at first thinks he's starting to grow hair. One of the best cartoons Warner Brothers ever produced. Well worth watching. Most highly and happily recommended!

It's the summer opera out in the mountain air of some nice place where "The barber of Seville" is being presented.....and that's what we get, with Bugs playing the barber and Elmer Fudd his foil.

What Bugs does to this bald-headed little fat guy, all set to the music and lyrics of the famous opera, is brutal. This is a very inventive animated short, where every movement, including tapping fingers, is set to the music.

The skits may not be laugh-out-loud funny but they're clever and it's a different and entertaining. This is a Bugs Bunny cartoon that flies by quickly which means it is pretty darn good.

I love Bugs Bunny, and this one is just amazing. It cracks me up every time. This is the best, with the Hunting trilogy and the Marvin/Bugs cartoons behind, not close. Number one, just fantastic, 10/10 ***** out of ***** and an emphatic A+++++++!

L.R.

Okay, I am not a big fan of Charles Jones later work. I preferred him when he was "Charles M" instead of "Chuck." But this cartoon has persisted to be one of my two favourite episodes of the Looney Tunes characters. There really is nothing poorly done about the entire episode. The script is wonderful and witty, the music subject matter is perfect, and the singing is spot-on (especially for voiced characters). While I feel that "What's Opera, Doc?" is a bit heavy handed, and was never one of my favourites, I will stop what I am doing just to watch the Rabbit of Seville whenever I see that it is on the TV.

If you value culture, or classic cartoons, this one has both. Many people in the West feel that cartoons cannot contain a cultural valuability that allows them to be either serious or even good. Well, I can honestly say that this one, while not serious, is actually a good piece of art, and stands alone well, proving to itself and other cartoons that even without seriousness, a cartoon can be more than kiddy jokes.