A Corny Concerto (1943)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Masterful Movie

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Her Bob Clampett uses two lovely Strauss Waltzes, "Tales from the Vienna Woods," and "The Beautiful Blue Danube." They are conducted by our friend Elmer Fudd. In the former, Bugs Bunny reigns supreme over a hunter, Porky Pig, and his dog. As is usually the case, our rabbit friend is in total control. There is a great scene where Bugs is playing dead and Porky tries to pull his arms up so they can check him for a gunshot. Great results. In the second, Daffy tries to join a trio of little swans. The music is gorgeous and the animation is right on. The color never ceases to amaze me. Apparently, this was Warner Brothers answer to Disney's "Fantasia."

"A Corny Concerto" is a Warner Bros cartoon that runs for 8 minutes and was made over 70 years ago. Writer Frank Tashlin worked on several cartoons for the company and yet he is not too known. Slightly more known is probably director Bob Clampett. But easily the most known cast member is voice acting legend Mel Blanc. Sadly this is one of his weaker films. The music was great no doubt about,, but the story in these 8 minutes was fairly forgettable and the comedic elements were also fairly weak compared to what Warner Bros usually came up with during that time. I am a great fan of Disney's Oscar winning "Ugly Duckling", but even that reference could not save it for me near the end. Not recommended.

"A Corny Concerto" is a brilliant Warner Bros. musical cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. A splendid rip-off of Walt Disney's "Fantasia", it casts Elmer Fudd, of all people, as the orchestral conductor who introduces two familiar pieces of music by our favorite "waltz king" Johann Strauss, Jr. Co-starring Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and a baby Daffy Duck, with absolutely no dialogue! (Somebody once remarked that "A Corny Concerto" is one of the only Bugs Bunny films in which Elmer Fudd has the last word.) My favorite scenes from this charming cartoon: Elmer is hilarious as he struggles with his loose-fitting attire. Porky and his dog are also very funny when they cry in waltz time as Bugs supposedly lies dead. When the buzzard snatches away the three baby swans, it is revealed that one of them is cheating by using a motor. Determined to save the three little swans from the clutches of the buzzard, Daffy essentially becomes a fierce bomber airplane, and the swans become paratroopers (with a nice sound effect).The best thing about "A Corny Concerto" is the action that occurs COMPLETELY in synchronization with the musical accompaniment, which is hence where the humor of this cartoon lies. In addition, take note of the superb background paintings in this film, particularly during the opening "Tales from the Vienna Woods" segment.

'A Corny Concerto' is Bob Clampett's inspired parody of Disney's 'Fantasia'. A cartoon in two parts (packing an incredible amount into seven minutes), 'A Corny Concerto' was actually written by director Frank Tashlin. It opens with a magical moment in which Elmer Fudd, taking the Deems Taylor role, emerges in silhouette onto a platform but confounds the audiences expectations of how tall he will be. Elmer's opening speech is a masterpiece of speech-impediment exploitation, a great piece of word-smithery in a largely musical cartoon. Both sections of 'A Corny Concerto' are set to pieces of music by Johan Strauss. The best of the two is the gloriously off-colour 'Tales From the Vienna Woods', in which Porky Pig and a pointer dog hunt Bugs Bunny to the strains of Strauss's music. It opens fairly inoffensively but then heads into the sort of sick territory only Clampett would ever dream of exploring. Porky's gun falls into the hands of a squirrel who fires it randomly at the trio. Fearing they've been hit, Clampett has the three characters dance around in their death throes! This section ends with a bawdy (for its time) gag in which Bugs slaps a bra on the heads of Porky and his dog and pirouettes into the sunset, hilariously collapsing in the cartoon's blink-and-you'll-miss-it highlight. The second section tells a tale set to 'The Blue Danube', in which a baby version of Daffy Duck attempts to find favour with a group of swans. Their rejection of Daffy is hilarious, particularly the moment the mother swan finds him under a rock and uncaringly slams it back down on his head. The short has a happy ending, however, as Daffy saves the baby swans from a vulture and is accepted into their family, It's the sort of story that could have been played straight and with a doe-eyed sweetness but Clampett and Tashlin instead fill it with gags which defy all accusations of cutesiness. 'A Corny Concerto' is a jaw-dropingly event-packed cartoon and another classic in the classic-stuffed Clampett canon.