Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) User Reviews

Very funny

[rbverhoef · 8/10 · 17 August 2004]

Bugs Bunny is a musician playing Franz Liszt's 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2' for apparently a large audience. First Bugs has some problems with a coughing guy in the audience, he knows how to solve that, then with a mouse who plays parts of the rhapsody.

The way this cartoon makes fun of the preparation of a musician, the way Bugs solves the problem with the noisy audience, the way the mouse is used are hilarious. When the piano slowly changes into other things (typewriters) and the keys begin to move it gets even funnier. The music put together with the animation is a good reason to see this cartoon, the great gags make sure you will like it even more!

A very good episode!

[Mightyzebra · 9/10 · 14 January 2010]

This is another very good Bugs Bunny and one of a few where he is involved in classical music (others are "A Corny Concerto" and "Baton Bunny"). Unlike those other ones I have seen of Bugs Bunny playing music, here he combines some of his more slapstick-style humour as well as verbal humour, along with his various styles of playing the piano. The episode references to some past and future Looney Tunes jokes and makes new jokes with an original style. All the humour in this episode is very good and works well.

In this episode, Bugs Bunny begins to play Lizst's second Hungarian Rhapsody, when a mouse, who lives in the piano, interrupts Bugs Bunny and the rabbit begins to play various other tunes (not all classical), all very well. Bugs Bunny constantly tries to battle with the mouse and make him stop interrupting HIS show, but does the mouse pay any heed..?

My favourite joke in the cartoon (I found it even funnier when I realised that it was Lizst's music Bugs Bunny was playing), is when Bugs Bunny receives a call in the middle of the show. At Bugs Bunny's end we hear, "Franz Lizst? Nah, never heard of him."

I highly recommend this cartoon to anyone who likes music, Bugs Bunny and cartoons. Enjoy "Rhapsody Rabbit"! :-)

Syncopation animation.

[the red duchess · 7/10 · 24 July 2000]

A ghoulish mixture of Liszt, murder, violence and carrots, 'Rhapsody Rabbit' is an exuberantly inventive Bugs Bunny cartoon which manages to explode the boundaries of its single setting. Bugs is a famed pianist, the kind of fastidious virtuoso you still find today, but worshipped in the 40s because arrogant eccentricity somehow signalled class. Having removed his many gloves, Bugs, a proto-Glenn Gould seats himself down in near-religious preparation, only to be interrupted by two loud coughs. He shoots the culpable party.

The film is full of gloriously unpredictable moments like this, helping it transcend the immediate object of satire, which has dated, now that Hollywood has given up as unprofitable the attempt to educate audiences in high culture. So Bugs interrupts his playing to chomp on a carrot, or play with his feet. One lovely sequence has him gathering all the keys and throwing them back in perfect rhythm. Like Fischinger's 'Allegretto', 'Rhapsody' is animated music, full of a strange, mercurial, yet elegant fluidity.

The centrepiece is a Tom-and-Jerry-like battle between Bugs and a small mouse who tries to undermine Bugs' pretensions, changing the solemn rhapsody for swing at one point. Despite the violence and disruption, conflict, as so often in music, leads not to chaos, but harmonic rapture. Freleng is no Tex Avery - his use of colour and camerawork is restrained - but the relative plausibility of his composition have a pleasure all of their own.

Funnier, More Colorful Than 'Cat Concerto'

[ccthemovieman-1 · 21 April 2007]

This early Bugs (you always tell because his head is shaped more oblong and his ears are longer) has him in tuxedo and on stage ready to play Lizst's Second Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano.

After he warms up with some knuckle-crunching, he gets set to play but some idiot makes a loud coughing noise and stops him. After the second time, Bugs takes out a gun and shoots him. That's funny - something we wouldn't advise or condone but think about doing. Anyway, he then performs, hams it up a bit, and then bothered by a little mouse who pops out of the piano right above the keys.

The by-play between Bugs and the mouse is very reminiscent of some Tom and Jerry cartoons, most notably "Cat Concerto." The latter might have been considered a better work of art, but I laughed at more things in here as the mouse made the music change to jazz, then chopsticks, then taps, etc. There is more humor in this one and it's more fun to watch, especially with the fantastic artwork.

What I liked best about this animated short wasn't the solid humor or the music but the colors. This was a nicely drawn 'toon. The bright golden hued drapes and the dark piano, tuxedo, green floor, reflections on the piano, etc., all made for some nice visuals.

The 'toon got better and better as it went on with the last few minutes extremely creative and colorful.

Rapsody is actually a parody of Concerto

[mckeon27 · 10/10 · 23 February 2007]

The actual fact of the matter is that production was so fast and furious for Warners, "Termite Terrace" animators, that they decided to do it as a parody of the Tom and Jerry cartoon, Concerto Cat" that had won the academy award earlier that year. Warners released there parody later that same year. In my opinion, the animators at Warners were light years ahead of Hanna Barbara. Yes there is a charm to the H-B characters and the gags are solid but the Tex Avery stuff at MGM was superior and no one could make something look and move funny like the "Termite Terrace" gang over at Warners. This also explains why the scenario for Bugs was so odd - to be the tormented instead of the tormentor.

Bugs being upstaged by a mouse?

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 25 February 2010]

This is a truly wonderful and imaginative cartoon. The animation is very effective and beautiful if rather simple. The music is a real highlight, I love the cartoons that feature classical music, and this is no exception. Franz Lizst's "Hungarian Rhapsody no 2" (amongst others) is a real treat, but extremely complicated to play on the piano and put to really clever use. Bugs is not as funny as he usually is, but he does a stellar job, courtesy to some brilliant vocal characterisations from Mel Blanc. During his performance of "Hungarian Rhapsody no 2", Bugs has to overcome many obstacles, such as the coughing audience member and being upstaged by a musical (and cute) mouse in a Tom and Jerry-like scenario. The minimal use of dialogue is good, the funniest gag of the cartoon was the telephone call where Bugs says "Franz Lizst? Nah, never heard of him!" Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this, it mayn't be Bug's very best but it is great fun. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Hungarian/Bohemian/American Rhapsody, and probably a precursor to a scene in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 7 September 2006]

In one of many Looney Tunes cartoons involving classical music, Bugs Bunny is in concert playing Franz Liszt's "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" (despite claiming to have never heard of Liszt) but gets interrupted by audience members and then by a mouse. When I heard the tune, I remembered the scene in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" where Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are playing that song and keep undermining each other's performances. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who thinks that cartoons and Franz Liszt's music are a cool mix.

Anyway, "Rhapsody Rabbit" is truly part of the pantheon of classic cartoons. You may just feel like playing the piano yourself after watching this.

"Franz Liszt? Never heard of 'em. Wrong number."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 1 September 2016]

Somewhat controversial Merrie Melodies short, directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Bugs Bunny. The controversy stems from its similarity to another short from MGM, the Oscar-winning Tom & Jerry classic The Cat Concerto. It's been debated for decades who ripped off who, and we'll likely never know the truth. This short was released first, and that would seemingly answer the question, but there is something very 'off' about this cartoon as it's about Bugs versus a mouse and that's most definitely more suited for the Tom & Jerry series. The gags are also more suited to Tom & Jerry, not the usual verbal trouncing and outwitting of a dumber opponent that one associates with Bugs. On its own merits, it's an enjoyable cartoon, but it is lacking compared to The Cat Concerto, in my opinion. Again, part of the problem is that it doesn't feel like a cartoon that's the right fit for Bugs, especially in 1946. It's something you will want to check out and watch, along with the Tom & Jerry short.

Would have liked it better if "Cat Concerto" didn't do the same scenario better

[movieman_kev · 8/10 · 1 November 2005]

I could attempt to review like a certain Nutball! of Movies!! And use the same exact "review"!!! Cutting...and pasting!!! said exclamation heavy!!! review on every single Looney Tunes Short!!! But that's not my style!!!... OK sorry about that but it just really peeves me. Anyways on to the review proper.

Bugs is trying to play a classical piece for the audience, but is constantly troubled by a mouse in the piano. This cartoon is funny when taken on it's own, but very similar to "Cat Concerto" a Tom & Jerry short made around the same time with the same storyline. While this short is great, that one is utter brilliance. And this one sadly pales in comparison. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and also features an optional commentary by Daniel Goldmark.

My Grade: B+

Sorry, it just ain't 'The Cat Concerto'

[phantom_tollbooth · 6/10 · 1 October 2008]

Friz Freleng's 'Rhapsody Rabbit' is a good cartoon that will forever live in the shadow of MGM's Oscar winning Tom and Jerry short 'The Cat Concerto'. Released the same year and strikingly similar right down to using the same piece of music (the second Hungarian Rhapsody), 'Rhapsody Rabbit' and 'The Cat Concerto' caused a battle between Warner Bros. and MGM in which each studio accused the other of plagiarism. Although it was never resolved with any certainty, it seems far more likely that 'The Cat Concerto' came first. The idea of Tom's concert being sabotaged by Jerry from inside his piano seems perfectly natural but Bugs vs. a completely new mouse character in the same situation reeks of theft! Whatever the true case, 'The Cat Concerto' is clearly the superior cartoon and makes 'Rhapsody Rabbit' seem like a cheap imitation by comparison. I do enjoy 'Rhapsody Rabbit' but more often than not it just makes me yearn to be watching 'The Cat Concerto' and this odd relationship I have with 'Rhapsody Rabbit' has pretty much overwhelmed any other feelings I might have about the cartoon. For many people it may just be down to which one they saw first (although I actually saw 'Rhapsody Rabbit' first) but to me 'The Cat Concerto' is the jaw-droopingly beautiful classic which renders 'Rhapsody Rabbit' virtually unnecessary.

Great Bugs Bunny Cartoon that is just the Shadow of another much Better

[Kalashnikovin · 9/10 · 9 July 2022]

I love the Looney Tunes and everything that has to do with Bugs Bunny, his Cartoons always stand out for being fun and easy to watch many times, Rhapsody Rabbit and The Cat Concerto are very similar, an Iconic Character plays the Piano while a Mouse annoys them!, and the most ironic thing is that both cartoons have the same duration 7 Minutes and 38 Seconds.

Rhapsody Rabbit is a great Cartoon that unfortunately is too inferior to The Cat Concerto but despite this it has several clever jokes like the Scene where Bugs Shoots a Person for simply Coughing, but The Cat Concerto surpasses it in many things, it has jokes much better crafted and doesn't take as long to start as Rhapsody Rabbit.

Rhapsody Rabbit has a Great Animation that is noticeable in the Fluid Movements of the Characters, the Backgrounds are also Elegant but sometimes they feel too Flat and Empty.

In this Short The Rhapsody No.2 by Franz Lizst is played, which is a great masterpiece of Classical Music and to improve things Carl Stalling composed excellent Background Music!

Voice Acting as always Mel Blanc does a great Acting as Bugs Bunny.

Sound Effects are decent and make the cartoon more entertaining.

In itself, Rhapsody Rabbit is not my favorite Cartoon of Bugs and much less of the Looney Tunes but it is a great cartoon that is overshadowed by the great The Cat Concerto which is much more superior to this cartoon and deserved its victory in the Oscars, for everything I said before this cartoon I rate it a 9!

wonderful cartoon!

[dewshine · 27 May 2001]

I had the pleasure of meeting Virgil Ross once at a public appearance, and I was able to talk with him briefly. He mentioned that this was the cartoon he had the most fun to work on, so I sought it out, curious to see it. I must say, it does look like it would have been fun to make, because it's really fun to watch. Even by today's standards, this is a very clever and humorous piece, free of cliches. I liked it!

What if you went to a piano recital . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 16 January 2016]

. . . and a Marx Brothers flick broke out? asks RHAPSODY RABBIT. Bugs Bunny brings back some memories for me here, as he spends most of the Warner Bros. animated short playing Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody #2" as a concert pianist. I dropped out of piano lessons just after learning to play a greatly simplified version of the passage Bugs plays with his toes toward the end of this piece. Instead of tackling the next song in my lesson book, I used my freedom from instruction to practice playing my high-tide tune lying on my back with the piano bench perpendicular to the piano keyboard and my hands crossed out-of-sight above and behind my head. But Bugs is able to perform an UNSIMPLIFIED Hungarian Rhapsody using not only his toes, but his teeth and ears, as well. Not only that, but the put-upon hare needs to become his own concert bouncer, user lethal force for the benefit of the properly polite concert-goers. Unfortunately for Bugs, the mouse living in the concert hall piano is a better keyboard wizard than the bunny, butting in to play the most challenging portion of Liszt's signature composition. Being second fiddle to a rodent cannot be very pleasant!

Not really Bugs Bunny's usual style but very funny

[bob the moo · 15 February 2004]

Bugs Bunny is a concert pianist (I said pianist). On his big night he sits to deliver Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody but must overcome a cougher in the audience, distractions in his sheet music, hunger pangs and a troublesome musical mouse living somewhere within in his grand piano.

Although this doesn't feature Bugs in the form that I'm used to him (trickery and fooling people) this is still a funny short. The plot makes plenty of imaginative little gags and never runs out of steam. The music is very good and was clearly played by a skilled pianist - it's a shame that Bugs stops us seeing how fast the real pianist's fingers move. The mouse is a good character but it is really Bugs that carries the short.

It could easily have been any character in the lead role, but Bugs brings history and weight to the role so it is more than just a lot of piano gags. He delivers the gags well and he interacts well with the audience and the mouse. The animation is not as good as it could have been but there is nothing specifically wrong with it - the same stage and single piano means that it doesn't need a great amount of effort to make it look good.

Overall this is a short with a nice simple plot that never leaves the boundary of the piano but still manages to have lots of imaginative gags from that one single device. Great music and funny delivery make for a great cartoon.

Absolutely splendid!

[slymusic · 9 November 2007]

"Rhapsody Rabbit" is a SUPERLATIVE Bugs Bunny cartoon written by the great Tedd Pierce & Michael Maltese and directed by a man who arguably knew how to incorporate music in his cartoons better than any other director: Isadore "Friz" Freleng. In this film, Bugs Bunny is a concert pianist performing Franz Liszt's famous Second Hungarian Rhapsody, a flamboyant piece of music that has been incorporated in probably countless other cartoons. In order to make "Rhapsody Rabbit" as brilliantly effective as it is, Friz Freleng understood that he needed to familiarize himself with the music score so as to give him & his animators a visual guide.

Bugs Bunny may seem very elegant in executing Liszt's rhapsody on the piano, but, being Bugs Bunny, he still gets a chance to show off his fun-loving nature. Before he begins, he plugs a coughing audience member! His eyebrow wiggle at the opening of the piece indicates that he is going to take the audience - both IN the cartoon and WATCHING the cartoon - for a ride. Among other gags in "Rhapsody Rabbit," Bugs uses the keyboard as a typewriter, he scoops up the piano keys, he answers a telephone call for Franz Liszt and claims he never heard of him, he flips several pages in his music book only to reveal a photograph of a scantily-clad woman, and he even takes an interlude by playing some great boogie-woogie while a mischievous little mouse provides the bass line.

"Rhapsody Rabbit" has been one of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons ever since I first saw it on television during my high school days (early 1990s), and since I am a pianist as well, this cartoon is quite dear to my heart. The piano keys that Bugs strikes do not at all correspond with the proper pitches on the piano, but no matter! Friz Freleng and his crew did a commendable job with this wonderful cartoon, which you can find on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 Disc 4, featuring an additional audio commentary by a very knowledgeable music historian named Daniel Goldmark.

Bugs and the Mouse

[Michael_Elliott · 28 July 2015]

Rhapsody Rabbit (1946)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Bugs Bunny plays a famous pianist who is performing Franz Lizst's Hungarian Rphansody when he becomes distracted by a small mouse who wants to play as well. This certainly fits the bill for a "classic" status because of the imagination that runs through the picture. There are all sorts of great gags here but I think what works so well is the way he uses the music to really fit all of the animation. Just take a look at the sequence where Bugs is playing the piano and he sets up a mouse trap. This works out so well that you can't help but think that the writers were having a field day coming up with this stuff. Fans of Bugs or just classic animation will absolutely need to see this one.