I think it was pretty obvious that by 1957
Chuck Jones was chafing at the bit. Even he, I suspect, was getting bored with the old Bugs/Elmer, or Daffy/Porky(or Elmer) or Sylvester/Tweety formula, and I think this is the short which proves his claim that WB made cartoons for themselves, not for kids. How many kids, after all, do you think could name the four operas of Wagner's Ring cycle in order? And how many adult classicial music fans, for that matter, could tell you that apart from the infamous 'Kill the Wabbit' chorus, there's not much of The Ring in this cartoon anyway (though it is all Wagner)

A sea change was happening, if not at Warner in general, then at least in Jones' head. Whereas Tex Avery was happy over at MGM to be a madcap, splastick loon forever - Chuck Jones clearly had developed designs on being an artist (horror of horrors). As a result, most of this cartoon is still going to zoom straight over everyone's heads, whether they're kids or adults. I suppose this levels the playing field, at least. And it should be mentioned that Michael Maltese was clearly Jones' partner in crime here.

This is very often regarded as the best thing that ever was made. I don't think it is. I think it's very impressive, but I don't think it's quite that good.

I just watched it repeatedly, trying to figure out what the hell people see in it to elicit that response, and I still don't understand. The art direction and backgrounds are often fabulous. The music is obviously spectacular. The opening sequence almost rivals Fantasia's 'Night on thr Bald Mountain', of which it is an obvious parody or homage - but there's no getting away from the feeling that they were running out of ideas for Bugs and Elmer, and making it intellectual - while undoubtedly startling - is still sort of new skin for the old ceremony, except this time it just isn't very funny.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. MY favourite WB short, Ding Dog Daddy, isn't funny (anymore) either (see my review if you like), but this one doesn't have the virtue of being inadvertently poignant.

It seems odd that I've spent so much time criticising a film which I've given 3.5 stars, but most of its reputation is deserved, and you can read a gazillion reviews telling you why it's the best short ever made. I'm just pointing out the chinks in the armor which knock that half star off, for me.

If I had to find a word to sum up 'What's Opera Doc' it would be 'clever'. It's clever. It's not funny; it's not poignant; it's cerebral. It absolutely belongs in your DVD collection, but don't just automatically buy the line that it's the Citizen Kane of of animated shorts.

Or perhaps you should, because my feelings toward Citizen Kane are much like my feelings toward this. It's perfect, but there's still something ineffable missing. Maybe it's heart.

I absolutely love this cartoon! it's one of Bugs Bunny's best cartoons ever, and also Chuck Jones' finest cartoons too. I especially love the romance scene (you know when Bugs dresses in drag as the Valkyrie Brunhilde and Elmer/Siegfried falls for it) as a kid I used to record the love song "Return My Love" and pretend to be a beautiful princess, standing on the balcony waiting for her Prince Charming (*sigh* I am a hopeless romantic).

All-in-all, the animation,the backgrounds and the music put into this cartoon are excellent! and I would love to say "R.I.P Chuck, we will miss you."

The grand de la magnifique of Looney Tunes, and the apex of the Bugs vs. Elmer shorts; epic (despite its length) and (to me at least) effortlessly funny, if only because of hearing Elmer sing “Kill the Wabbit” to Ride of the Valkyries.

Knowing something about this opera this short is based on, I found it incredible to think that they managed to somehow get some of the essence of it into the seven-odd minutes that this short allows. The original Ring cycle is close to a mind-numbing sixteen hours long. After watching some of it when the BBC bravely decided to do a back-to-back live televised version of the four opera that comprise the cycle over two days (gee that must have fun). I got the feeling after a half hour that that I might never bother to go see it in its entirety.

Almost as much has been discussed and talked about this short as about Duck Amuck, although were Duck Amuck usually get talked about in terms of metaphors and the human condition; Opera gets talked in terms of its art. Most of that concerning the artistry of layout artist Maurice Noble.

You can see where the extra two weeks that the Jones unit spent making this went, this is truly elaborate stuff compared to any other Looney Tune I can name, nowhere else in this series repertoire holds this much sophistication in terms of cuts, angles, color usage (for setting the mood rather than for realism’s sake [though this use of color is more realistic in a way]) and sheer scale.

It even manages to make the whole rabbit vs. hunter story seem fresh for once, okay there aren’t many typical gags in the whole thing, but sometimes not having endless gags of a peculiar sort works. One could say that this cartoon is also a parody of Bugs/Elmer shorts, of how stuck in tradition they had become by this time. In addition here the short works as a parody of the cartoons, opera and how seriously it (opera) takes itself.

It opens with a mixture of parody and homage, as we see the giant, powerful shadow of what turns out to be Elmer Fudd. This is a laugh in itself as once more the hunter goes after his prey, Bugs of course hams up the situation for all he’s worth, until he sees that his hunter really is extremely powerful; not very smart but powerful.

It also works in its own little way as an opera, much the same as Rabbit of Seville does, but while Seville was imitating a comedic opera, Opera Doc is mocking opera in its whole. It a different type of humor, but it’s a different kind of entertainment it deprives its comic aspects from. Opera isn’t known for its sense of humor these days; mostly cause like Shakespeare, the humor has moved on. This cartoon follows suit; but then what do you expect in an opera?

I am not entirely sure what happened to Chuck Jones after the mid 1950's, either he just got soft or abandoned the art of cartooning,what ever the reason is his work was never as funny as it was in the 1940's and early 1950's.Chuck Jones' cartoons became less funny,more cute,artsy,and started to focus more on dialogue. I won't deny that he did make some classics in the 1960's such as "The Grinch", that was a funny cartoon but that was soft compared to what he did in his earlier years.

"What's Opera,Doc ?" has Elmer chasing Bugs except this time, Elmer is a demigod with a magic helmet and spear. There are no real gags to speak of except you laugh at the fact Bugs and Elmer are singing,which is unfortunetly the only real funny thing about this cartoon. "Rabbit of Seville" out shines this short because it beautifully combined a cartoon and opera, neither was sacrificed in favor of the other. Here in "What's Opera,Doc?",there is barely cartoon here and mostly an opera, a beautifully done opera with eye popping visuals. I have expections when I see Bugs and Elmer,basically, I want to laugh but "What's Opera, Doc ?" didn't fare to well in doing that. Maybe I am being hard ass but humor is what I except to see well done in Looney Tunes short. I was about to give this film 2 and a 1/2 stars but the visuals alone along with the little humor this short has deserves a three.

Wagner a la Bugs Bunny! Bugs and Elmer Fudd move from one typical interaction to the other, but all the while singing in a parody of the Nibellungenlied! This is the greatest Bugs Bunny episode of all time, from the musci to the innovative artwork. The only possible criticism is that two generations now believe the words to The Ride of the Valkyries are "Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!"