"Warner Bros. animation director Charles M. ‘Chuck’ Jones was known for his love of the snootier aspects of culture, specifically opera and ballet. He also craved far more lowbrow material like comic wordplay, violent slapstick and parody, characteristics for which the Termite Terrace brand of shorts were notorious. Jones’ 1957 Merrie Melodies feature What’s Opera, Doc? is the quintessential synthesis of these seemingly disparate elements, a take on Richard Wagner that is simultaneously a parody and a working example of what it mocks. Under all the jokes, there’s an earnest respect for opera and dance; Jones and his animators were serious enough to ensure the physical accuracy of the ballet moves of his characters, despite the fact that they are a rabbit in Bavarian drag and a lovestruck bald man armed with a spear and magic helmet."
~ Odie Henderson
Coming tonight at 9:00 PM: a final salute to all of our participants, and this year’s complete results.
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