What's Opera, Doc?

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Lore & Background

The story features Elmer Fudd dressed as the demigod Siegfried, pursuing Bugs Bunny through a landscape parodying Romantic operas. The short borrows heavily from Die Walküre (the second opera in the Ring cycle), with most dialogue performed in recitative. A pivotal moment occurs when Bugs disguises himself as the beautiful Valkyrie Brünnhilde, leading to a ballet based on the Venusberg scene in Tannhäuser. When his headdress falls off, Elmer's wrath causes a storm that tears apart mountains. Upon finding Bugs' seemingly lifeless body, Elmer regrets his actions and carries him to Valhalla. The short ends with Bugs breaking the fourth wall, asking the audience, "Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?" before resuming playing dead.

In Their Own Story

Dressed as Siegfried, Elmer Fudd finds rabbit tracks and jams his spear into a hole while singing "Kill the wabbit!" to the tune of "Ride of the Valkyries." Bugs appears from another hole, commenting on Elmer's spear and magic helmet. This prompts Elmer to display magical powers before Bugs flees. The chase stops when Elmer sees Bugs disguised as Brünnhilde; they exchange endearments and perform a ballet. After Bugs' disguise is exposed, he runs, triggering a storm that destroys the mountains where he fled. Seeing Bugs' body, Elmer weeps and carries him to Valhalla per Act III of Die Walküre. The narrative marks the final appearance of Elmer Fudd in a Chuck Jones cartoon.

Reader's Guide

The short was originally released on July 6, 1957. It features Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny and Arthur Q. Bryan as Elmer Fudd (singing, uncredited). Production required about six times the work and expense of other six-minute cartoons, with Jones surreptitiously reallocating time to finish it. Art director Maurice Noble created daring backdrops using bright red for Elmer against purple skies, confusing staff who thought these were errors. The plot parodies Disney's Fantasia, contemporary ballet, Wagner's style, and the Bugs-Elmer formula from A Wild Hare. It is one of three Warner Bros. shorts where Elmer defeats Bugs, but uniquely, he shows regret here. Jones later called it his unit's most elaborate production in his autobiography, Chuck Amuck.

Did You Know?

• The short required about six times the work and expense of other six-minute cartoons produced by the unit at the time.
• Arthur Q. Bryan provided Elmer Fudd's speaking voice, but the singing voice for Elmer was actually performed by Mel Blanc, who also voiced Bugs Bunny.
• Michael Maltese had devised a similar sequence of Bugs in Valkyrie drag for the 1944 short 'What's Cookin' Doc?', not the 1945 short 'Herr Meets Hare.'
• Chuck Jones spent decades disturbed by a missing sound effect where Elmer's skirt plates should have made a "Dink, dink" noise.
• Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop stated she could sing the entire cartoon before knowing what opera really was.

Artistic Ambition and Production Challenges

What's Opera, Doc? required approximately six times the work and expense of other six-minute cartoons from the unit at the time. Director Chuck Jones admitted to surreptitiously reallocating production time to complete it. The visual design was handled by art director Maurice Noble, whose color scheme included bright red on Elmer against purple skies. This choice was so "daring" that staff in Warner's Ink and Paint Department assumed his specifications were errors, asking questions like, "'You really mean you want that magenta red on that?'" Jones later described the short in his autobiography as his unit's most elaborate and satisfying production due to its sheer quality, magnificent music, and wonderful animation.

Narrative Structure and Operatic Parody

The narrative weaves the Bugs-Elmer feud into a parody of Richard Wagner's operas, specifically Der Ring des Nibelungen, Der Fliegende Holländer, and Tannhäuser. It leans heavily on Die Walküre, with most dialogue delivered in recitative. Elmer plays Siegfried, while Bugs disguises himself as the Valkyrie Brünnhilde for a ballet based on the Venusberg scene in Tannhäuser. The climax features a storm tearing mountains apart when Bugs' identity is revealed, followed by Elmer carrying his "lifeless" body to Valhalla. The short concludes with Bugs breaking the fourth wall to ask, "Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?"

Historical Context and Creative Evolution

Writer Michael Maltese originated the concept of Bugs in Valkyrie drag twelve years prior for the 1945 anti-Nazi short Herr Meets Hare. In that film, directed by Friz Freleng, Bugs rode a fat horse to Wagner's "Pilgrim's Chorus" from Tannhäuser. What's Opera, Doc? also lampoons Disney's Fantasia and the clichéd formula of A Wild Hare. This short marks the final appearance of Elmer Fudd in any Chuck Jones cartoon. It is one of three Warner Bros. shorts (alongside Hare Brush and Rabbit Rampage) where Elmer defeats Bugs, but it is unique because Elmer shows regret for his victory.

Critical Acclaim and Enduring Legacy

The short has been widely praised as the greatest animated cartoon Warner Bros. ever released and ranks in the top 50 animated cartoons of all time. In 1992, the Library of Congress deemed it "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" for preservation in the National Film Registry. Its influence extends to opera stars; Michael Phillips of The Wall Street Journal noted how it gave children their first exposure to Wagner's compositions. Performers like Elizabeth Bishop and Jamie Barton credited the short with sparking their love for opera. In 2017, Stephen Fossati revealed that Jones obsessed over a missing sound effect—the "Dink, dink" noise of Elmer's skirt plates falling—which was omitted by sound editor Treg Brown.