War!
April 26, 1947. MGM releases The Cat Concerto, with Tom giving a concert performance of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
“It was at a screening for the Oscar nominees. We [Cat Concerto] played first. When it came on, people were laughing like hell, and when the lights came on, Freleng was mad as hell. Then it [Rabbit Rhapsody] played, and the action was similar: Bugs walked up in the tailcoat, flipped it up, sat down, warmed up the hands, looking arrogant, all exactly the same. In ours, Tom, the cat, disturbs the mouse, and in his, Bugs, the rabbit, disturbs the mouse. Ours ended up as one of the five [Oscar] finalists, and people had the feeling that he [Freleng] was ripping off our cartoon, but he said, ‘No, no, no, I never saw your goddamned lousy cartoon!’”
Joseph Barbera. Cat Concerto got the Oscar for Best Animated Short, Bugs didn't get his until 1959. So who stole what from who?
Two of the best cartoons ever! They were from rival studios but they both put their own twist on it!
ReplyDeleteThey sure are close in story and composition. I think that these animators gathered at bars that catered to them, and maybe someone mentioned this idea and both studios developed it independently. MGM took longer to make their cartoons, they are very visually lush. By 1959 they could no longer afford their animation division, a phone call later and Hanna and Barbera were unemployed, the rest, as you know, is history.
DeleteAs good as they are I have always preferred Warner's, Bugs is the perfect being!