Transylvania 6-5000

For me, Transylvania 6-5000 is one of the better 1960s Bugs Bunny cartoons, because it is just so clever, managing to both spooky and entertaining sometimes at once too. The story is a clever one, and sets the atmosphere flawlessly. The animation is deliciously dark and edgy, and the backgrounds and characters are all drawn brilliantly. The music is excellent, creepy and quirky as I expected. There is some funny dialogue, but even better were the sight gags. I honestly lost count at how much I laughed at the sight gags alone. Bugs is great as he nearly always is, while the supporting characters are also very well done, and the voice work from all involved especially from Mel Blanc, with honourable mention to Ben Frommer who is brilliant as the Count, is spot-on. Overall, spooky and entertaining, just brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Chuck Jones' last Bugs Bunny short in the classic era is a fun one with a cool setting. Bugs is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (underground, of course) but somehow winds up in Pittsburghe, Transylvania. There he makes his way to a spooky old castle where he meets up with his nemesis in this cartoon: vampire Count Blood Count. The Count tries repeatedly to bite Bugs but finds himself bested by, of all things, magic words Bugs happens to read in a book. A funny short with some good gags and lines. Being that this is a '60s Looney Tunes, the animation is not the greatest. But it is far from the worst I've seen from this period. The use of dark colors and shadows goes a long way to help the cartoon's look. Good voice work from Mel Blanc, Julie Bennett, and Ben Frommer. Surprisingly decent score from Bill Lava. One of the best Bugs cartoons of the 1960s. Not that there's a lot of competition.

This Bugs Bunny is one of the better Bugs shorts done in the 1960s, when Warners cartoons were starting to vary greatly in terms of quality. This one is reasonably good and can actually compare favorably with the earlier work. Having Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble helps. Cartoon fans may notice slight but notable similarities to a later Inspector Clouseau short, Transylvania Mania. The similarities can be explained by the fact that both shorts were written by John Dunn, who wrote for Warners, MGM and Depatie-Freleng in the 1960s! He was definitely kept busy. More verbal jokes than usual but a fair number of sight gags. Worth Watching. Recommended.

Over his career as a cartoon director at Warner's, Chuck Jones crafted quite a few eerie cartoons, including a Sylvester-Porky trilogy which began with "Scaredy Cat." Jones never got around to putting the terrified cat and naive pig in a vampire's lair, but let Bugs take that turn instead. Bugs, like Porky in the earlier films, seems to be unaware of the danger he's in. He remains cheerful, and much of the film's humor comes from the way he maintains his aplomb against a shadowy background of coffin-shaped doorways, skull-and-bone carvings, and rotting drapes.

The vampire he faces is not a generic Lugosi/Dracula type. Count Bloodcount is a distinctive character in his own right thanks to voice artist Ben Frommer and a crew of talented animators with Ken Harris foremost among them. Co-director Maurice Noble encouraged layout man Bob Givens and background artist Phil DeGuard to devise scenes which would have had Sylvester wide-eyed and shuddering. Musician William Lava used his ominous style to lend suitable aural touches to this frightfully good cartoon.

-Tony

You (and Bugs Bunny) never know where Bugs is going to wind up when he goes for one of his occasional underground trips. He usually winds up saying, "I must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque." Here, Bugs winds up on top of a stone mountain in "Pittsburghe, Transylvania" (actually spelling in the cartoon.)

The first "person" Bugs meets is a two-headed female vulture (named "Emily" and "Agatha") who has two hats on! "Doesn't he look delicious," says one of the heads to the other. Bugs decides to scram and to "head up to that hotel over there," a big haunted house where "Count Bloodcount" resides.

From that point on, there are some great sight gags such as noose for a doorbell ringer, a picture on the wall of "mother" as an upside-down bat and all the Gothic-bizarre "interesting decor" (as Bugs puts it) in the castle. This cartoon is a great feast for the eyes! Check out the titles of all the books on the shelf about Bugs' bed.

The artwork and colors in this restored cartoon are fabulous; some of the best I've ever seen. So, with the tons of fun sights and dialog by Bugs and beautiful artwork, it all adds up to one of Mr. Bunny's best cartoons for sheer enjoyment.