Bunny chef d'orchestre

After the Termite Terrace crowd had used classical music to great effect in "A Corny Concerto", "Rhapsody Rabbit", "Back Alley Oproar", "Long-Haired Hare", "Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?", it came out a little flat in "Baton Bunny". This short has Bugs Bunny conducting an orchestra while his suit keeps going awry and a fly keeps getting in his way. The cartoon's not terrible, but it seems like they should have had accomplished more; then again, maybe they'd done everything that they could with classical music by this point. OK in a pinch. Available on Disc 3 of the Golden Collection, where it's placed among far better cartoons.

So who exactly is this Suppe guy?

Before I start this review, I'd like to say that I saw this when I was 2 on WKBHK TV-44 San Francisco. It came after SESAME STREET (read my SPRINKLE ME PINK comment).

I found it funny not only to see Bugs Bunny as a conductor but also seeing him clown around. Usually Bugs gets chased around, or runs into trouble, but here trouble comes to him in a for a a small fly. The ending is a funny gag, I cannot spoil any information for you. You have to see it (perhaps on YouTube) to believe it.

I highly recommend it! That and the DUCK RABBIT DUCK cartoons where it is Bugs vs. Daffy vs. Elmer Fudd.

This is an interesting and unique Bugs Bunny short, with nothing but visual gags throughout. However, despite my Looney Tunes bias, I shall admit that Cat Concerto, a Tom and Jerry cartoon, used a similar premise about thirteen years prior. You could be wondering whether Bugs could be funny without words, but this proves all the sceptics wrong! The hilarious methods that Bugs uses to convey the notes to his musicians (who obviously and miraculously know how to interpret the antics of this mad rabbit, since the musical score is very good) never get old. The cartoon illustrates a surreal Western story when Bugs conducts in a flurry, and the fly that annoys him is fantastic! Bugs finally cracks in the end, and you see he can be just as hot-headed as Daffy Duck. This sets the standard for how a conductor/musician cartoon should be. Good to see on VHS and DVD. Highly Recommended.

As a big fan of classical music, I was eager to re watch Baton Bunny. You see this was one of my first Bugs Bunny cartoons and I was interested to see how well it held up. I loved it when I first saw it and the several other times I saw it after, but after a long time while still very good it isn't quite as good as I remembered. I do agree it is more unique and clever more than it is funny. Don't get me wrong, there are some nice visual gags especially the ones involving Bugs' collar and ears but there are some that don't quite work as well as they should such as the one with the fly which I'm afraid came across as rather predictable and tiresome. The gags are not the best thing about Baton Bunny- that's the music which is outstanding, no surprise really as it was composed by Suppe, who always makes me smile regardless what piece of his is playing, it is so charming and rousing that it is hard not to get engrossed in it. The animation is very good too, with a lot of colour and vibrancy. In fact the only disappointment animation-wise is the character design of Bugs which is a little too scratchy for my liking. Baton Bunny is also well paced, has a unique concept, and while it isn't as clever or as funny as cartoons such as What's Opera Doc, Rabbit of Seville and Long-Haired Hare, it is worth watching for the music. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Bugs is the guest conductor of the Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra, playing "Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna by Franz Von Suppe."

The whole cartoon is a spoof of overly-dramatic conductors. Bugs exaggerates most of his moves with the orchestra delivering what he's doing. Some of it is funny, some too far- fetched, but that was the idea. Also, the music cleverly also was in sync with little things happening to Bugs' apparel as it fell off here and there, giving him problems.

In all, this short is more clever than it is funny. It's definitely a unique one for Bugs Money and I give them an "A" for originality but a "D" for laughs. Since most of us watch these animations for laughs, clever-or-not this was not up to par.