BCDB: Cartoon Reviews: Rabbit Of Seville

I cannot get enough of this cartoon. Before DVD and Videos were invented I watched every week to get a glimpse of this one. Clearly they dont make them like this anymore.

One of the best cartoons ever made. God has let Chuck Jones into Heaven ahead of the other riff-raff because of this cartoon.

Most people know this as simply the greatest Warner Bros. cartoon (or even cartoon in general) ever made. Jones, Bugs and Elmer are all at their peak of creativity here. The way the animation and the gags are set to music make this a tour de force all the way. In fact, one even wonders where the Acadamy was when this cartoon came to theatres. Could Gerald McBoing Boing effectively sing, "Welcome to my shop! Let me cut your mop! Let me shave your crop! Daintedly!"? But, that's entirely another matter. This essay is about Elmer.
There was one thing touched upon in this cartoon that for some reason was virtually ignored in previous cartoons. Finally, Bugs made fun of Elmer's baldness. Since they are rewriting the Barbar of Seville opera, it only makes sense that they use Barbar gags. With no hair to work with, Bugs first tosses a salad on Elmer's head. Then much later uses a shoe-shine stand to polish Elmer. And finally, as the coup-de-gras, Bugs uses some Hare Tonic to grow actual hair on Elmer's head. Elmer is elated at this site until each strand suddenly sprouts flowers.
Never before and not afterwards had Elmer's scalp been the source of so much comedy. But, then again, Elmer had other faults to accentuate. Something that Bugs is more than aware of.

RABBIT OF SEVILLE is absolutely my favorite Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros, Chuck Jones, heck I think it's my favorite cartoon! THIS is the cartoon that drove me to study animation. Everything about it is perfect - the timing, the voices, the music, the gags, the animation -- the sequence where Bugs pours concrete over Elmer's head, then sticks the sign in it til it dries, then chisels it -- classic stuff! "Dere -- you're nice an' clean -- altho' ya face looks like it might have gone t'rough a ma-chine...."

I love this cartoon. Rabbit of Seville has got to be the funniest Bugs Bunny short. That suave smirk Bugs gives the camera while giving Elmer the works. The happy face on Elmer when his hair grows back, and his reaction when flowers pop up on the ends! "Eeehhhh, next?" Bugs trivia: The only time you see Bugs Bunny with five fingers on each hand is in Rabbit of Seville. It's when he's using his own fingers as piano keys. Check it out sometime!

This exercixe in culture is far superior to What's Opera Doc in every aspect, the artwork, the writing. Just watching the insouciant expression on Bug's face is enough to elicit debilatating giggles.