Fudd-tasia
Bob Clampett’s OTHER Disney parody, A CORNY CONCERTO (story by Tashlin) isn’t as offensive (for all the right AND wrong reasons) as his COAL BLACK AND DE SEBBEN DWARFS, but it has one marvellously horrid joke right at the start, where the dignified silhouette morphs into a seedy and off-model Elmer Fudd. Subbing in a ludicrous cartoon dweeb instead of Disney’s cultural effigy is funny, but making him such a dissipated wreck is purely obnoxious, and therefore even funnier.
The rest is just OK — Bugs appears in drag, under far more peculiar circumstances than usual. Daffy is a sweet little duckling… who turns into a fighter plane when riled. Evidently this film is separated from FANTASIA not only by a chasm of variant sensibilities, but by Pearl Harbor.
Thanks to Veikko.
shadowplay 
May 5, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Tashlin throughout the course of his career was a cartoonist — whether he was creating actual cartoons or not.
May 5, 2022 at 4:05 pm
Also the link between Tex Avery and Jerry Lewis, having worked with both of them.
May 5, 2022 at 7:22 pm
In this cartoon I detect Tashlin as the source of the sweetness, he has a cute side to him, and Clampett supplies the sneer.
May 5, 2022 at 7:58 pm
The timing and pantomime and poses in ‘Vienna Woods’ are funny as hell to me, and I prefer it to ‘Blue Danube’. And I figure a guy who could pee in a co-worker’s desk drawer could match Clampett sneer for sneer, any old day.
May 5, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Ha! I never knew that about Tash, if it’s him you mean.
May 5, 2022 at 8:22 pm
Tash the slash.
May 5, 2022 at 9:14 pm
Oh I thought I told you that. Tex told me, he was there. He didn’t approve. “Oh, man, you shouldn’t do THAT. Wow.”
May 5, 2022 at 10:00 pm
My favorite throwaway: When the swan notices her brood is missing, she searches in a panic. She hoists a huge rock, revealing Daffy with a hopeful expression, and slams it down on him without missing a beat.
Friz Freleng’s “Pigs in a Polka” (1943) is a twofer, mocking “Fantasia” (it’s all set to Brahms) and Disney’s “Three Little Pigs”. The wolf does the Deems Taylor introduction.
My favorite is Chuck Jones’s “Rabbit of Seville”, which doesn’t reference “Fantasia”. Preferred over “What’s Opera Doc”, being a pure classic gag cartoon that happens to occur during the overture to “Barber of Seville”.
May 5, 2022 at 10:20 pm
I agree with Tex!
Love Rabbit of S — and I do like the stupid fat pony in What’s Opera Doc. Plus “Weturn my wuv” forever ruins Wagner, no bad thing.
May 6, 2022 at 2:56 am
If I recall correctly from Michael Barrier’s DVD commentary, Clampett loved “Fantasia” — he apparently came out of it particularly excited by the beauty and complexity of the background paintings, something the Warners guys obviously never would’ve had the time or means to recreate — but it’s typical Clampett that his way of “paying tribute” would be to burlesque the whole thing.
I think you’re right about Elmer’s “seedy Stokowski” being the most inspired bit in this — an unshaven Elmer Fudd trying to tuck his suit into his pants while rambling, “Wisten to the wippling whythm of the woodwinds as it wolls a-wound and a-wound…and it comes out here” reduced me to HYSTERICS as a kid. I’ve also made a habit of imitating the hunting dog’s crying on pitch to “Tales From the Vienna Woods” — it’s a big hit at parties. (I am invited to very, very few parties.)
May 6, 2022 at 11:32 am
Can’t imagine an animator at the time NOT finding Fantasia inspirational — it extended the art form. But its bend of the knee to Art was always worthy of a bit of parody.
May 7, 2022 at 4:45 am
IIRC, E. Fudd’s announcement is a parody of Deems Taylor, one of a number of such in the film.
May 7, 2022 at 10:03 am
Yes, his speech is Deems, but his entrance is Stokowski.