Elmer Fud, wearing a Viking helmet and armor, sings how he is going to kill the rabbit thanks to his powers that allow him to conjure up thunder and storms. Bugs Bunny shows up and runs away, only to disguise himself as a woman riding a giant, fat white horse. Seeing he was deceived, Elmer summons thunder to strike Bugs. However, after he sees Bugs is dead, Elmer feels remorse and picks up the rabbits' body.
In the book "The 50 Greatest Cartoons" by Jerry Beck, "What's Opera, Doc?" took the top spot as the best American short cartoon of the 20th century, yet such a high reputation is surprising when, in reality, the movie is barely more than a few chuckles—a good little film, but not a great one. It gains some plus points by leaning on Richard Wagner's classic operas and the unusually expressionistic background animation, yet they can only go so far: "What's Opera, Doc?" consists just out of Elmer Fud chasing Bugs Bunny; Bugs disguising himself as a woman; Elmer hitting him with lightning, the end. While the director Chuck Jones shows competence, he lacks true inspiration, surprises or ingenuity in this rather simplistic-schematic presentation. One of the best sequences is the finale, displaying unusual shot compositions that play with shadows and light as Elmer descends from the castle to spot a beam of light illuminating the (seemingly) dead body of Bugs Bunny lying on a rock, while drops of water are falling from a flower, almost as if the flower is crying, in a highly poetic and expressionistic set of images. Unfortunately, nothing else in the film comes close to that high level in that sequence. A good film, yet it is easily surpassed by Avery's very similar syncretism of opera and comedy, "Magical Maestro", which seems much fresher and creative today.
Grade:++
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