| Rabbit of Seville | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Starring | Mel Blanc (credited) Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | |
| Layouts by | Robert Gribbroek |
| Backgrounds by | Philip De Guard |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7:31 |
| Language | English |
Rabbit of Seville is aWarner Bros.Looney Tunes theatricalcartoon short released on December 16, 1950.[1] It was directed byChuck Jones and written byMichael Maltese, and featuresBugs Bunny andElmer Fudd.[2] The nonstopslapstick humor in the short is paced musically around the overture to Italian composerGioachino Rossini's 1816opera buffaThe Barber of Seville.[3] In 1994,Rabbit of Seville ranked number 12 in a list of "The 50 Greatest Cartoons" released in North America during the 20th century, a ranking compiled from votes cast by 1,000 artists, producers, directors, voice actors, and other professionals in the field of animation.[4]
A local amphitheater bustles with spectators to view a rendition ofThe Barber of Seville. Amidst the tranquil setting, Bugs Bunny is chased by hunter Elmer Fudd, traversing from the distant hills to the theater's backstage. Bugs raises the curtain, revealing Elmer to the audience.
Exploiting the theatrical milieu to his advantage, Bugs assumes various guises from the opera to outwit Elmer, from a temptress to a snake charmer and, in particular, a barber.
As the absurd escapade unfolds, a cacophony of comedic chaos ensues, culminating in a farcical exchange of increasingly outlandish weaponry. From pedicures to peculiar grooming rituals, Bugs subjects Elmer to a series of ludicrous predicaments.
In a climactic flourish, Bugs orchestrates a mock wedding ceremony, symbolizing the culmination of their absurd escapade. After the wedding, Bugs carries Elmer high into the rafters, opens the door to a prop house, and drops Elmer into the wedding cake reserved for the opera's second act far below. Bugs then chomps on a carrot and says "Ehhh... next!"
In a plotline reminiscent ofStage Door Cartoon,Rabbit of Seville featuresBugs Bunny being chased byElmer Fudd into the stage door of theHollywood Bowl, whereupon Bugs tricks Elmer into going onstage, and participating in a break-neck operatic production of their chase punctuated with gags and accompanied by musical arrangements byCarl Stalling, focusing onRossini's overture to the 1816 operaThe Barber of Seville.
In Stalling's arrangement, the overture's basic structure is kept relatively intact; some repeated passages are removed and the overall piece is conducted at a faster tempo to accommodate the cartoon's standard running length. In a short sequence where Bugs' scalp massage follows a piano solo, the character's hands are shown with five fingers, instead of his usual four, so the character can believably follow the tune. In 1994 it was voted No. 12 of the50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.[4]
The"Barber of Seville" poster that appears at the start of the film features three names: Eduardo Selzeri, Michele Maltese, and Carlo Jonzi, which are Italianized versions of the names of the producer (Edward Selzer), writer (Michael Maltese), and director (Chuck Jones) of the film.[5]
Animation historianGreg Ford writes, "Chuck Jones' two most beloved operatic extravaganzas starring Bugs Bunny,What's Opera, Doc? (1957) andRabbit of Seville, veer down somewhat different paths stylistically.What's Opera, Doc? relies on a more removed, high-concept graphic sense and the shock effect ofMaurice Noble's splendidly expressionistic set design. The humor ofRabbit of Seville, staged againstRobert Gribbroek's straightforward backgrounds, depends more exclusively on the cartoon's intense synchronization whereby every bit of slapstick action, mini-movement by mini-movement, links to the accompanying Rossini score. InSeville, Jones was really harking back to an older Warner Bros. legacy: directorFriz Freleng'sRhapsody in Rivets (1941) andPigs in a Polka (1943), perhaps the two most insistently 'Mickey Moused' (perfectly synched) musical cartoons ever made."[6]
Rabbit of Seville is available, uncut and digitally remastered, on disc 1 ofLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1, on disc 1 ofThe Essential Bugs Bunny, on disc 1 ofLooney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, and on disc 2 ofBugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection.
| Preceded by | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1950 | Succeeded by |
