That's right, the classic Looney Tunes cartoon:
Not only do I get to plug great news for classic animation fans, my childhood will be discussed.
Since I’ve joined Letterboxd, I’ve visited or revisited some Looney Tunes cartoons yet only reviewed two of them on Letterboxd (What’s Opera, Doc? It’s one of the most famous they ever did and arguably the best… the second was another classic, Rabbit Fire; that’s the one w/ “Rabbit Season!” “Duck Season!”) and a copy/paste of what I wrote several years ago is needed for context:
“Back then I watched plenty of cartoons from the past, whether it'd be Tex Avery's work at MGM, Disney, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, etc. But Looney Tunes had to be the one I saw the most; there was an hour of cartoons on ABC each Saturday morning various VHS releases back in the mid 80's and those films from the 1970's and 80's which had new wraparound footage to tie various cartoons together.”
Well, HBO Max removed all their Looney Tunes cartoon shorts; yet another reason for me not to like the individual forever known in my eyes as Voldemort. Yes, an ironic decision on my part for someone who’s never seen/read ANY Harry Potter and is not a fan of that work’s author. Back on topic, all those cartoons plus some unrestored efforts (almost 800 in total!) is now on… Tubi! What an incredible platform that now almost never used by me, even though it should. The staggering amount of different movies they have on the platform, from “normal” movies to all sorts of obscurities, and actual bootlegs, including at least one featuring a rarefilmm watermark!
All the cartoons are grouped into a block of three cartoons each, except for a few that have more. I suppose grouping them like that chronologically is the best way to present them on a free platform. While I have all three of these on physical media, the block containing The Scarlet Pumpernickel, Hillbilly Hare and this was selected… mainly to review Seville. The premise is simple: Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny to the Hollywood Bowl, about to host a performance of Gioachino Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville.
The curtain raises and as the orchestra plays, the usual cartoon anarchy is displayed, with Bugs trolling Fudd in various guises, ending w/ a barber. As Carl Stalling adapted the opera’s score, the stunning animation matched Bugs performing various acts w/ Fudd in a barber’s chair, leading to a greatly absurd climax. As I viewed Seville, the images and sound that was remembered came flooding into my mind; how often was this seen as a kid? Or… perhaps I’m just a weirdo! In any event, what a combination of comedy, animation, and music that blends together into the perfect symphony.
Someday in the future (perhaps far in the future) I’ll do reviews of Hillbilly & Pumpernickel; it was nice to reminiscence about my early memories. Perhaps I am a weirdo—there’s a memory of me as a toddler, at the local grocery store, Mom renting me a VHS of these cartoons. Yes, in the boom of that medium, many grocery stores had a rental section. Before anyone asks me, someone reviewing all Three Stooges shorts… I will NOT review all 1,000 + Looney Tunes cartoons, or even those available on Tubi! Someone else attempting such a Herculean feat… go ahead, and good luck.
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