Nota Descarriada

I had the pleasure of seeing this as well as other great Chuck Jones' cartoons on the big screen. Linda Jones Clough, Chuck Jones' daughter, introduced each film with a memory that related to the film. Interesting trivia: Linda stated that High Note has never been shown on TV because it involves drunk notes that censors felt where not suitable for children.

Some reviews have noted on this site that this particular Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon was not shown on TV. I certainly don't remember seeing it then so I'm guessing this was truly my first time of wacthing this which I just did on the DVD of Cash McCall. It depicts the musical sheet of "The Blue Danube" and the various musical notes moving about trying to assemble on the scales to have the note conductor conduct. But when that note conductor does, he finds out that one of the notes is missing, in fact, he's in the "Little Brown Jug" sheet getting drunk (which you can tell because the head is colored red...) What I just described is enough to tell you that this was a more unusual cartoon, even from Chuck Jones, than what one is used to from Warner Bros., that's for sure! But it's quite funny and creative and it deserved its Oscar nomination. So that's a high recommendation for High Note.

This is one of those cartoons which are abstract and obscure, feature no famed character and is really a work of art. This is one of the cartoons which Jones might have dreamed of; something he really wanted to put on paper. Though not outright funny and not something that little kids would really understand or like. It could be a cartoon into which a lot of thought and underlying self-expression was channelled; on the other hand it could be an aimless study of the line which was not aimed at success but a simple experiment by the animators. What's with the two background artists anyway? They seemed to have been lazing 'cause there don't seem to be any scenery! Or maybe they were the ones who drew the notes... A very stylized cartoon, and one of the few sensible choices made by the Academy to be nominated for best cartoon. It should have won, but it didn't. A great example of opera. Except for maybe The Dot and the Line (1965), no cartoon based upon no real character and really very artistic and stylized would surpass this. If you narrow it down to that kind of OPERA, then this is unsurpassed. Anyway, without any specifications this is (or should be) classified as one of the best ten cartoons ever; at least top 20. Highly recommended. Should be in print on something besides laserdisc (I have an LD-player but you don't get LDs anymore).

A quarter note attempts to put together the score of The Blue Danube. It is creative for most of the feature. The various notations come to life, including bending sticks to become a time signature and unfolding sharps like lawn chairs. The music is important but the strength is in the method. Well worth the time.

I thought I remembered seeing this on T.V. growing up, but other reviewers claim it stopped airing sometime after the '70s or it rarely ever aired again. Now I'm not as sure as I thought I was. I still thought it seemed familiar to me somehow despite that. Anyway, this WB cartoon definitely accords with me. This would be on my favorites list and what I consider as one of the best of the '60s, especially before the DePatie-Freleng and W-7 Arts eras. I haven't listened to classical music as much as I have some, other genres. The closest I've come to that was through ragtime/novelty ragtime and prog rock, the latter particularly by the British band, Renaissance. One of the best music-themed shorts in the series and being a big music person, I'm into several of them involving music.

High Note is a highly innovative and entertaining short that features various things made out of musical notes, like them being turned into live stick figures, and anything else that's written on staff paper. The note/stick figure that's the conductor is trying to get the playing of the piece, The Blue Danube, going, is unable to do so due to a missing musical note who's drunk, which is the reason this cartoon got banned, depictions of alcoholism. Much of the rest of the presentation is spent trying to get the drunk musical note to return to its place in the opus so that it can be played completely and without interruption. But in the end, it still doesn't go as planned. A few, other, well-renowned songs are featured as well, such as "Oh, Where Has My Little Dog Gone".

Even when I was little/younger, I believe I would've appreciated this break out of the norm. That's why this, along with The Dot And The Line, are so special. An example of high class fine art at its highest and finest. Another Chuck Jones-directed favorite. I wasn't always so big on classical or classical-influenced music, but maybe that's because I haven't found those songs that truly grabbed me. The compositions are nice, as is everything else about this. I've been a little more appreciative of it since. I can't wait till this finally makes its way onto DVD release. Recommended. Edit: I found out that this short has been available on DVD for over a couple years now, since I found out on the Looney Tunes Wiki that it's been released as part of Looney Tunes: Musical Masterpieces, in case anyone else besides me is interested.