Tuesday, March 8, 2011

CORNY CONCERTO (Warners, 1943)

Warner Brothers animation studio paid tribute to Disney's FANTASIA by concocting this good-natured spoof of Disney's film, deftly lacerating any notion of highbrow pretense. The CORNY CONCERTO artwork is incredibly good and true to style, right down to art deco idioms and color palettes.

Here is the Corny-gie Hall marquee, with and without its neon-effects overlay.

The Maestro's podium is lavishly rendered here, and of course Elmer Fudd portrayed a sterling caricature of Deems Taylor as narrator and master of cremonies.
Next on today's program, the "Vienna Woods" title card, and a digitally re-created pan B/G complete with a foreground tree, courtesy of Warner's version of the multiplane camera.

Many of the B/G paintings show more than a passing resemblance to Fantasia's "Pastoral" sequence, rabbit holes notwithstanding.



This vulture's perch oversees a magnificent aerial view.The last two B/Gs are very different "waterscapes," each with its own ebullient charm.
No question about it: the CORNY CONCERTO is indeed a masterpiece!