Direttore d'orchestra

Bugs is lying on a rock happily playing some folk music while opera singer Giovanni Jones is in "the house down the hill" (quite a modern looking house for 1949, no?) rehearsing. After being constantly disrupted by Bugs's music, Giovanni violently puts it to an abrupt end. Little does he realize what Bugs has in store for him during his performance that night...

Being a late-1940s cartoon, we see our favorite rabbit at his most aggressive (before the more "kid-friendly" Bugs of ten years later). As such, Chuck Jones' generally dark/violent humor is in full force here, and is very funny due to some clever jokes and excellent timing. My favorite being the sometimes cut-from-TV scene where Bugs dresses like a bobbysoxer asking for Giovanni's autograph, only to give him a stick of dynamite rather than a pen. Giovanni's pose when he was getting ready to sign his name was simply priceless! Highly recommended!

Bugs Bunny is happily playing the banjo and singing at his hole. Opera singer Giovanni Jones is practicing at his home nearby and is furious at Bugs for interrupting him. He tracks down Bugs and breaks Bugs' banjo. The conflict escalates and Bugs declares, "This Means War".

The first half is fine. It nicely builds a good conflict. After This Means War, I expected Bugs to take the fight right away to Giovanni's home. The concert is still fine, but the delay does lose some of the steam temporarily. It all comes back with Bugs doing his great conducting. That is another one of Bugs' classic moments.

I love the bugs vs Elmer opera cartoons. My two year old daughter loves them too which means I have seen this about 30 times. This one of the ones I still like to watch but if splitting hairs I'd say not as good as what's opera doc or the rabbit of Seville. Enjoy

Long Haired-Hare may be the only cartoon short with the distinction of incorporating a hilarious, epic lesson in harmonic physics as a climatic punch-line.

Having just got the "Loony Tunes Golden Collection"(which i HIGHLY recommend, by the way), I'm going to try to comment on most if not all of the cartoons individually. As such the starting statement might seem redundant for those whom read multiple reviews of them, for this i apologize.

Bugs finds a new enemy in Opera singer,Giovanni Jones, when his banjo playing disgruntles the guy. Giovanni gets the first few punches in, but Bugs pays him back in spades later that night. Very funny. The DVD has commentary by Historian Micheal Barrier on this short.

DVD Extras: Disk 1: an introduction by Chuck Jones; The Boy of Termite Terrice part 1; clips from the films "Two Guys from Texas" and "My Dream is Yours", both with Bugs cameos; Bridging sequences for an episode of "the Bugs Bunny show"; the Astro Nuts audio recording session; 2 vintage trailers; "Blooper Bunny: Bugs Bunny 51st and a half anniversary" with optional commentary with writer Greg Ford & stills gallery