What's Opera Doc ? (1957) *****

One of the greatest cartoons of all times. Its outstanding musical score is adapted from Wagner, with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd singing their regular lines ("I'm hunting wabbits", "What's up, doc ?"). It has the most spectacular visuals of any cartoon in history, with a daring use of colors (red Elmer against a crimson sky). The story manages somehow to combine the epic spectacle of a Wagnerian opera with a familiar "wabbit hunt" formula of the Warner Bros. cartoons. There is Elmer in a "magic helmet" pursuing Bugs dressed as "Brunhilda". There is a hilarious romantic duet with our heroes promising "eternal love" to each other. Having discovered the masquerade, furious Elmer vows to "kill the wabbit!" and uses awesome forces of nature (typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes, smog) to achieve his goal. That leads to the final tragic scene with crying Elmer carrying his dead victim towards the rising sun, whose luminous rays form a triangular baldaquin over the horizon - it's a magnificent final image of one of the greatest works of cinematic art.