High Note

This short, nominated for an Oscar, is one of Chuck Jones's best. You'll never hear The Blue Danube in the same way again. Extremely creative joining of animation and music. One slight correction of another comment on this short: I know I saw this short on television prior to 1977, because I saw it for the first time before I turned 18. In any case, Cartoon Network has aired this fairly recently and if I recall correctly, showed it one New Years Eve, as part of a special broadcast. I think it was in 1999 as part of the "Miloony-um" special. Most highly recommended.

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).

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.

I did see this as a child on TV in the early 1970s it was probably on a local station before the PC police got started censoring everything good. It is available on a laser disc called "Looney Tunes Curtain Calls" yes it is currently on ebay & usually goes from $5.00 to $15.00 & it is even listed as a buy it now right now. The quality is the same as a DVD how do i know because i own it on laser disc & watched it last night it may have been the late 1960s or early 1970s when i first saw it on TV also the CBS station back then showed these on a Saturday afternoon where the characters came on with the song on with the show. It is a great cartoon & with cable today its hard to believe that it is too risqué to be shown.

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.