What's Opera, Doc?
Bugs and Elmer star in this epic send up on the opera. Elmer is Siegfried the demigod, out hunting wabbits with his spear and magic helmet, Bugs is his prey. After being showed a example of the demigod’s power, Bugs is off, leaving Elmer/Siegfried in pursuit. To save himself from Elmer/Siegfried, Bugs disguises himself as the Valkyrie Brunhilde and the two of them have a duet; at least until Bugs is exposed.
| Mel Blanc | ... Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd (Screaming "Smog") |
| Arthur Q. Bryan | ... Elmer Fudd |
Elmer scream of “Smog” was done by Mel Blanc, because Arthur Q. Bryan, the regular voice of Elmer, couldn’t shout the line loud enough.
The opening sequence showing a massive figure directing the clouds, was a tribute to the animator Bill Tytla; who did the animation for the demon in the “Night on Bald Mountain” segment in Fantasia.
The time it took to make “What’s Opera, Doc?” was seven weeks, two weeks more than was usually allocated for a short. To disguise this overrun, the animation team pretended that they had starting working on the Roadrunner short “Zoom and Bored” a short which took the team just three weeks to complete.
Chuck Jones has stated that this short contains 104 cuts, the most of any Warner Bros short.
Was the first cartoon to be added to the US national film Registry.
One of the few Warner shorts to be given an official Premiere.
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