A Corny Concerto
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| A Corny Concerto
Merrie Melodies series |
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|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Clampett |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by | Frank Tashlin |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Robert McKimson |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 25, 1943 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 8 min (one reel) |
| IMDb profile | |
A Corny Concerto is a 1943 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Bob Clampett and written by Frank Tashlin. It features music that was composed by Johann Strauss, and was intended as a parody of Disney's Fantasia and so displays a great degree of timing with the music. In 1994 it was voted #47 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. The title suggests a parody of Disney's "Silly Symphonies".
Contents |
[edit] The Parts
Set in Corny-gie Hall (a parody of Carnegie Hall), the cartoon is narrated by Elmer Fudd, parodying Deems Taylor's appearance in Fantasia. In a staple of cartoon humor, Elmer has trouble trying to control his starched tuxedo shirt front, which keeps trying to roll up like a windowshade while he introduces the two pieces about to be shown. In the interlude, he winds up ripping his shirt off in an attempt to keep it in place. Unfortunately, this causes his pants to fall down.
[edit] Tales from the Vienna Woods
Set to the tune of Tales from the Vienna Woods, Porky Pig and his hunting dog (who is unnamed) are hunting for Bugs Bunny (with Porky holding up a sign saying, "I'm hunting that @#$! rabbit" and the dog holds a sign of his own simply saying "Ditto", in keeping with the non-dialogue of the cartoon). Bugs, dancing to the time of the music, manages to continue outwitting both Porky and his hunting dog. At one point, for example, the dog points to a hole where Bugs is hiding. Bugs then holds up a sign, "It ain't polite to point!" and scampers off.
Bugs outwits the two and throws the shotgun to a hole in a tree, where a squirrel, irked by the entry of the object to his abode, fires the shotgun. A single gunshot goes off, with all three characters thinking they got shot. Both Porky and his dog look and see there's no damage. Bugs looks, and acts like he's shot, falling to the ground. Porky and the dog start mourning Bugs, with Porky trying to undo Bugs' fingers around his chest. However, once he does so, Bugs reveals he has a bra underneath! He screams like a woman, and then gets up as a ballerina wearing a tutu and pointe shoes, knocks Porky and the dog to the ground, and dances off.
[edit] The Blue Danube
Set to the tune of The Blue Danube, this cartoon tells the tale of The Ugly Duckling. In this case, a mother swan is leading her children along a river, when a small black duck (a baby Daffy Duck, according to later historians) tries to tag along with them. The mother duck shoos the duck away. When the black duck tries again, with his underwater bubble tactic, the mother duck gets angry at the duck that's the cause of the bubble mess (himself encased in a bubble), and sends him back to the water.
A large buzzard in a "hep cat" hairdo spots the troupe using his binocular eyes. He sprinkles salt and pepper on one of the ducklings, but too much pepper makes the duckling sneeze. Then, one by one, the buzzard picks off the baby swans. He picks up the black duck, but then returns him, labeling the irked duck with a "4F" (unfit for military service). The mother swan checks her charges, but only shadows in the water remain, and goes into a panic (at one point, she picks up the black duck as if he were an inanimate object). The black duck sees the buzzard with the baby swans in tow, and becomes enraged. Flying off (for a few moments resembling a P-40 Warhawk fighter), the duck chases the buzzard, who flies past in a clasp of trees suddenly alive at the passing object. The buzzard sees the enraged duck, turns yellow and drops the baby swans, which each have a parachute which lets them drop safely. The duck chases after the buzzard, who gets knocked out. He then hands the buzzard a drum of TNT and drops him from the sky. The bomb explodes and kills the buzzard, who is last seen floating toward heaven and playing a harp, and held aloft by a helium balloon tied to his tail.
The cartoon ends with the black duck finally being allowed to tag along with the swan and her children, and "quack" to the tune of the waltz's finalé - with only the duck's reflection having a hard time keeping up with the rest of them and banging at a rock.
[edit] Availability
The short can be seen on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 DVD set. The short also appears in the documentary Bugs Bunny: Superstar, which is available as a special feature on Discs 1 and 2 of the Volume 4.
