Da Capo, Bunny

Bugs Bunny is a concert pianist (I said pianist). On his big night he sits to deliver Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody but must overcome a cougher in the audience, distractions in his sheet music, hunger pangs and a troublesome musical mouse living somewhere within in his grand piano.

Although this doesn't feature Bugs in the form that I'm used to him (trickery and fooling people) this is still a funny short. The plot makes plenty of imaginative little gags and never runs out of steam. The music is very good and was clearly played by a skilled pianist - it's a shame that Bugs stops us seeing how fast the real pianist's fingers move. The mouse is a good character but it is really Bugs that carries the short.

It could easily have been any character in the lead role, but Bugs brings history and weight to the role so it is more than just a lot of piano gags. He delivers the gags well and he interacts well with the audience and the mouse. The animation is not as good as it could have been but there is nothing specifically wrong with it - the same stage and single piano means that it doesn't need a great amount of effort to make it look good.

Overall this is a short with a nice simple plot that never leaves the boundary of the piano but still manages to have lots of imaginative gags from that one single device. Great music and funny delivery make for a great cartoon.

The actual fact of the matter is that production was so fast and furious for Warners, "Termite Terrace" animators, that they decided to do it as a parody of the Tom and Jerry cartoon, Concerto Cat" that had won the academy award earlier that year. Warners released there parody later that same year. In my opinion, the animators at Warners were light years ahead of Hanna Barbara. Yes there is a charm to the H-B characters and the gags are solid but the Tex Avery stuff at MGM was superior and no one could make something look and move funny like the "Termite Terrace" gang over at Warners. This also explains why the scenario for Bugs was so odd - to be the tormented instead of the tormentor.

Bugs Bunny in tuxedo plays a grand piano in a concert. He must overcome various disruptions including a mouse in the piano. The mouse starts causing problems. The music is Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2". I don't know anything about classical music except this sounds good. Otherwise, this is a fine Bugs Bunny cartoon. The mouse is a no-name character. Maybe they could use another character to be sleeping in the piano. It doesn't even have to be a mouse. Why not Daffy Duck hiding from his work? This is fine for a Bugs Bunny cartoon which means it is superior than most other cartoons without Bugs.

I had the pleasure of meeting Virgil Ross once at a public appearance, and I was able to talk with him briefly. He mentioned that this was the cartoon he had the most fun to work on, so I sought it out, curious to see it. I must say, it does look like it would have been fun to make, because it's really fun to watch. Even by today's standards, this is a very clever and humorous piece, free of cliches. I liked it!

This is a truly wonderful and imaginative cartoon. The animation is very effective and beautiful if rather simple. The music is a real highlight, I love the cartoons that feature classical music, and this is no exception. Franz Lizst's "Hungarian Rhapsody no 2" (amongst others) is a real treat, but extremely complicated to play on the piano and put to really clever use. Bugs is not as funny as he usually is, but he does a stellar job, courtesy to some brilliant vocal characterisations from Mel Blanc. During his performance of "Hungarian Rhapsody no 2", Bugs has to overcome many obstacles, such as the coughing audience member and being upstaged by a musical (and cute) mouse in a Tom and Jerry-like scenario. The minimal use of dialogue is good, the funniest gag of the cartoon was the telephone call where Bugs says "Franz Lizst? Nah, never heard of him!" Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this, it mayn't be Bug's very best but it is great fun. 10/10 Bethany Cox