Le Rendez-vous des mélomanes

'A Corny Concerto' is Bob Clampett's inspired parody of Disney's 'Fantasia'. A cartoon in two parts (packing an incredible amount into seven minutes), 'A Corny Concerto' was actually written by director Frank Tashlin. It opens with a magical moment in which Elmer Fudd, taking the Deems Taylor role, emerges in silhouette onto a platform but confounds the audiences expectations of how tall he will be. Elmer's opening speech is a masterpiece of speech-impediment exploitation, a great piece of word-smithery in a largely musical cartoon. Both sections of 'A Corny Concerto' are set to pieces of music by Johan Strauss. The best of the two is the gloriously off-colour 'Tales From the Vienna Woods', in which Porky Pig and a pointer dog hunt Bugs Bunny to the strains of Strauss's music. It opens fairly inoffensively but then heads into the sort of sick territory only Clampett would ever dream of exploring. Porky's gun falls into the hands of a squirrel who fires it randomly at the trio. Fearing they've been hit, Clampett has the three characters dance around in their death throes! This section ends with a bawdy (for its time) gag in which Bugs slaps a bra on the heads of Porky and his dog and pirouettes into the sunset, hilariously collapsing in the cartoon's blink-and-you'll-miss-it highlight. The second section tells a tale set to 'The Blue Danube', in which a baby version of Daffy Duck attempts to find favour with a group of swans. Their rejection of Daffy is hilarious, particularly the moment the mother swan finds him under a rock and uncaringly slams it back down on his head. The short has a happy ending, however, as Daffy saves the baby swans from a vulture and is accepted into their family, It's the sort of story that could have been played straight and with a doe-eyed sweetness but Clampett and Tashlin instead fill it with gags which defy all accusations of cutesiness. 'A Corny Concerto' is a jaw-dropingly event-packed cartoon and another classic in the classic-stuffed Clampett canon.

A Corny Concerto, what can I say? Simply wonderful. Maybe not as hysterically funny as other Looney Tunes cartoons, but it is special to me for many reasons. A Corny Concerto isn't necessarily what you call hilarious, the funniest it comes to is Elmer's struggles with his loose fitting evening clothes though Porky and the pointer dog sobbing in Waltz time at Bug's "death" was funny too as was Bugs revealing his bra, tutu and pointe shoes and the stunned looks on Porky and Pointer Dog's faces. The animation though is wonderful, the wood in Tales from the Vienna Woods is beautifully rendered, but in terms of animation On the Beautiful Blue Danube was superior, with vibrant colouring particularly of the river itself. In terms of humour, Tales from the Vienna Woods is the better of the two, On the Beautiful Blue Danube is beautiful essentially but rather humourless in comparison. But what both segments have in common is that the music is outstanding. Johann Strauss II is rightly nicknamed "The Waltz King". Both pieces featured are fantastic and two of my favourite classical music pieces of all time, though I am more familiar with On the Beautiful Blue Danube. What impresses me most is how so much is fitted in in such a short running time without feeling bloated. This cartoon is fantastic, perfect for a classical music listener. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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'.

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).

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+