A Corny Concerto (1943)
Genre : Animation, Comedy
Runtime : 8M
Director : Robert Clampett
Synopsis
A Corny Concerto is an American animated cartoon short produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by Bob Clampett, written by Frank Tashlin, animated by Robert McKimson and released as part of the Merrie Melodies series on September 25, 1943. A parody of Disney's 1940 feature Fantasia, the film uses two of Johann Strauss' best known waltzes, Tales from the Vienna Woods and The Blue Danube, adapted by the cartoon unit's music director, Carl Stalling and orchestrated by its arranger and later, Stalling's successor, Milt Franklyn. Long considered a classic for its sly humor and impeccable timing with the music, it was voted #47 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field in 1994
Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated "trick films", such as those of Blackton and Cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by Walt Disney. The film was also the first to be created using keyframe animation.
Two cats (one a caricature of Jimmy Durante) battle violently for the affections of a pretty girl cat, who'll dispense her favors on the one who brings her a little bird. Unfortunately for the lovestruck felines, the bird in question is a vicious little thing named Tweety.
Daffy Duck plays a western hero, but things don't go as he hoped in a one horse town.
Another entry in the "books come alive" subgenre, with possibly more books coming alive than any other. We begin with some musical numbers, notably the various pages of Green Pastures all joining in on a song, The Thin Man entering The White House Cookbook and exiting much fatter, and The House of Seven (Clark) Gables singing backup to Old King Cole. The Three Musketeers break loose, become Three Men on a Horse, grab the Seven Keys to Baldpate, and set the Prisoner of Zenda free. They are soon chased by horsemen from The Charge of the Light Brigade and Under Two Flags and beset by the cannons of All Quiet on the Western Front. All this disturbs the sleep of Rip Van Winkle, who opens Hurricane so that everyone is (all together now) Gone with the Wind.
Elmer Fudd goes after Bugs using hypnotism, only the plan backfires.
While vacationing in the Ozark Mountains, Bugs Bunny encounters Curt and Pumpkinhead Martin, two dimwitted hillbillies who are duped by Bugs into a violent square dance.
W.C.Fields enters the Warmer Bros. Studio. Beans tries to drive in, but the guard throws him and his car against a tree. Charlie Chaplin drives in, followed by Oliver Hardy on foot - but we see that it's really Beans in disguise. Oliver Owl is directing a picture; Beans sneaks onto the stage. He's watching from a catwalk when someone knocks him off, into the middle of the scene. Beans is thrown off the set, right into the set of a Frankenstein movie. He accidentally brings the robotic monster to life, and it crashes into the original studio, eating the camera. Beans tries to stop the monster, but is sent flying. He lands against a wind machine. which chops up the monster.
A tour of Ciro's Nightclub packed with caricatures of many top stars.
Elmer Fudd takes in Sylvester Cat and an orange kitten during a cold winter night. He'd like to adopt them both but can only keep one. He decides to go to bed and make up his mind in the morning. Sylvester and the kitten both want to be the one who is adopted. So, each tries to "frame" the other for misdeeds in hopes of swaying Elmer's decision in their favor. The noise escalates to the point that all three- Sylvester, the kitten, and Elmer too- are evicted and must scrounge for food in trash cans.
Bugs, the Wolf and bobby-soxer Red chase each other around while Grandma is off working at Lockheed aircraft.
Two polite gophers find that their home, a tree, has been cut down and taken away. They find it in a log pile about to be taken inside a processing factory. Following it into there, they become caught in the daunting machinery.
A homeless cat (Claude Cat) searching for food is harassed by the playful antics and barking of an energetic pup (Frisky Puppy). Frisky repeatedly sneaks up behind the poor tabby cat (who hates the dog) and scares it into jumping vertically when it barks. After Claude finally silences the pup, he encounters a larger dog, whose bark has a disastrous effect. Tweety Bird has two lines. Can you guess what they are?
A tuxedo-clad wolf Master of Ceremonies announces the evening's program: the tale of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs, set to the music of Johannes Brahms's Hungarian Dances. Queue the fairy tale.
A hungry little pig eats a couple of pies off the windowsill. When it's time for dinner, he ties together the spaghetti of all the other little pigs and eats it all. That night, he has a nightmare where he is force-fed by a mad scientist.
Porky Pig and Daffy Duck owe an outrageous sum to the Broken Arms Hotel. The manager thwarts their efforts to escape without paying their bill.
Tweety Bird is shoveling out his nest atop a city pole after a snowstorm and is spotted by Sylvester Cat and a one-eyed orange tabby, who fight over Tweety. Tweety runs into a cellar where he befriends a wooden dunking bird. The two cats then chase Tweety into a park and onto a sheet of ice covering a pond. Tweety cuts a circle around the cats so that they fall into the freezing water and become bedridden with cold.
This time Bugs' race with Cecil Turtle features a rocket-powered tortoise shell.
When Bugs attempts to perform Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, he is troubled by a mouse.
Bugs and Daffy are vaudevillians competing for praise from the audience. They love Bugs no matter what; just the opposite for Daffy.
A study of human anxieties about beauty, youth and objectification.
