Transylvania 6-5000 (1963 film): Difference between revisions

Transylvania 6-5000
Transylvania 6-5000
Directed by	Chuck Jones; Maurice Noble
Story by	John Dunn
Produced by	David H. DePatie
Starring	Mel Blanc; Ben Frommer; Julie Bennett
Edited by	Treg Brown
Music by	Bill Lava
Animation by	Bob Bransford; Tom Ray; Ken Harris; Richard Thompson
Layouts by	Bob Givens
Backgrounds by	Philip DeGuard
Color process	Color
Production; company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	November 30, 1963;
Running time	7:01
Country	United States
Language	English

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Transylvania 6-5000 (1963) is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Chuck Jones.^[1] The short was released on November 30, 1963, and stars Bugs Bunny.^[2]

It is a comedy film, depicting a confrontation between Bugs and a vampire in Transylvania.

Plot

Bugs Bunny's journey to Pittsburgh takes an unexpected turn when he stumbles upon a signpost in Transylvania, mistaken for Pennsylvania. Seeking directions from the ominous Agatha and Emily, he unwittingly finds himself at Count Bloodcount's eerie castle.

While Bugs innocently seeks a phone, the Count, eager for a midnight snack, attempts to prey upon him. However, Bugs' accidental recitation of magical phrases transforms the Count into a bat, leading to a comedic battle of wits and words. As Bugs outsmarts the vampire with clever incantations, chaos ensues, culminating in the Count's transformation into a mishmash of creatures. Amused by the spectacle, Bugs orchestrates the Count's pursuit by Agatha and Emily, leaving him to flee in distress.

Amidst the chaos, Bugs finally locates a phone in a coffin, but his impromptu magic results in bat-like ears. Opting for an unconventional mode of travel, Bugs decides to fly home to Perth Amboy with his newfound wings.

Voice Cast

Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny
Ben Frommer as Count Bloodcount
Julie Bennett as Agatha and Emily, the Two-Headed Vulture

Production notes

Transylvania 6-5000 marked Chuck Jones' departure from Warner Bros. Cartoons to found Sib Tower 12 Productions at MGM, making it his last original Warner Bros. cartoon before the move. Released in 1963, it is also the second-to-last Warner cartoon of that year and Jones' tenure with the studio. The title, "Transylvania 6-5000," is a play on the song "Pennsylvania 6-5000," associated with Glenn Miller, referencing the old telephone exchange system where letters represented numbers in phone numbers.

References in other media

Count Bloodcount also reappeared in the video game Bugs Bunny and Taz Time Busters as the final boss.

Count Bloodcount also appeared in the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Stuff That Goes Bump in the Night" in the segment "Fang You Very Much", where he is adopted by Elmyra Duff while disguised as a bat. In this, the Count repeatedly tries to bite Elmyra in his vampire form, but any time the Count is exposed to light, he turns back into a bat.

The Tiny Toons version of the Count also appears as a boss character in the video game Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose!.

The song "Dracula" by Gorillaz, a bonus track on their eponymous debut album, samples portions of the short where the Count states "I am a vampire!" and "rest is good for the blood".

Portions of the cartoon were used in the 1977's Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special, which repurposed classic Looney Tunes cartoons in a new storyline. In the special, Bugs Bunny gave Witch Hazel a bottle of Hyde formula, which transformed her into Count Bloodcount, leading to her stalking Bugs through her home in reused footage from Transylvania 6-5000 and trying to catch him. When Bugs uses the spell "Newport News", she remains as Witch Hazel for the special's final act. Witch Hazel voice actress June Foray re-dubbed Count Bloodcount in scenes incorporating his dialogue.

Most of the cartoon was used in Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, but some dialogue was redubbed to connect it to the film's main story. Also, the end was changed so that instead of Bugs sprouting bat wings and flying away, he reports his findings to Daffy Duck (although he still sings "abraca-pocus" to himself while in the coffin phone-booth, but the film cuts away before his ears transform), who is displeased to hear from him (saying "What do you think we're running here, a matrimonial agency?!"). Later, Bugs is seen leaving the castle from the cartoon before he answers a nearby payphone as part of the link to the cartoon The Abominable Snow Rabbit.

Count Bloodcount appeared in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries episode "Fangs for the Memories". He was voiced by Corey Burton.

Count Bloodcount also appears in Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! as a boss character. After the player defeats him, he decides to become an NPC ally of Bugs to find some opportunities in blood.^[3]

References

^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 345. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ Infogrames (June 24, 2000). Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! (Game Boy Color). Infogrames. Level/area: Count Bloodcount's mansion. COUNT BLOODCOUNT: The rabbit's smart. I'll follow him for now. I may get some blood out of it!

External links

Transylvania 6-5000 at IMDb

Preceded by Mad as a Mars Hare	Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1963	Succeeded by Dumb Patrol

[Beck-1] Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 345. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.

[2] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[3] Infogrames (June 24, 2000). Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! (Game Boy Color). Infogrames. Level/area: Count Bloodcount's mansion. COUNT BLOODCOUNT: The rabbit's smart. I'll follow him for now. I may get some blood out of it!

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|1963 animated short film in the Merrie Melodies series directed by Chuck Jones}}
+{{Short description|1963 animated short film by Chuck Jones}}
 {{About|the 1963 cartoon|the 1985 film of the same name|Transylvania 6-5000 (1985 film)}}
+{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
-{{italic title}}{{Infobox film
+{{Infobox film
 |name=Transylvania 6-5000
-|image=Transylvania 6 5000 still.png
+|image=Transylvania 65000 TC.png
+|caption=
-|caption=Bugs Bunny, as an umpire, confronts Count Bloodcount, a vampire.
-|director=[[Chuck Jones]]<br>[[Maurice Noble]] (co-director)
+|director=[[Chuck Jones]]<br>[[Maurice Noble]]
 |editing=[[Treg Brown]]
 |animator=Bob Bransford<br>[[Tom Ray]]<br>[[Ken Harris]]<br>[[Richard Thompson (animator)|Richard Thompson]]
@@ Line 13: / Line 14: @@
 |background_artist=Philip DeGuard
 |music=[[William Lava|Bill Lava]]
-|producer=[[David H. DePatie]] (uncredited)
+|producer=[[David H. DePatie]]
 |studio=[[Warner Bros. Cartoons]]
 |distributor=[[Warner Bros. Pictures]]
-|released={{start date|1963|11|30}}
+|released={{Film date|1963|11|30}}
 |color_process=[[Color motion picture film|Color]]
 |runtime=7:01
 |language=[[English language|English]]
+|country=United States
-}}'''''Transylvania 6-5000''''' (1963) is a [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' animated [[short film|short]] directed by [[Chuck Jones]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=345}}</ref> The short was released on November 30, 1963, and stars [[Bugs Bunny]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/60/mode/2up |pages=60–62}}</ref> It was the last original Bugs Bunny short Jones made for [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] before Jones left for [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] to found his own studio, [[Sib Tower 12 Productions]]. It was his second-to-last cartoon at Warner Bros. before moving to MGM, and the second-to-last Warner cartoon in 1963.
+}}
+'''''Transylvania 6-5000''''' (1963) is a [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' animated [[short film|short]] directed by [[Chuck Jones]].<ref name=Beck>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |last2=Friedwald |first2=Will |title=Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons |date=1989 |publisher=Henry Holt and Co |isbn=0-8050-0894-2 |page=345}}</ref> The short was released on November 30, 1963, and stars [[Bugs Bunny]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=June 6, 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/60/mode/2up |pages=60–62}}</ref>
+It is a [[comedy film]], depicting a confrontation between Bugs and a [[vampire]] in [[Transylvania]].
-Bugs demonstrates how to handle a pesky [[vampire]] with six simple magic incantations. The title is a pun on "[[Pennsylvania 6-5000 (song)|Pennsylvania 6-5000]]", a song associated with [[Glenn Miller]] and referring to the now-archaic system of [[telephone exchange names]] where the first two characters of a telephone number were expressed as letters: "Transylvania 6-5000" stands for "TR 6-5000" which devolves to {{not a typo|876-5000}}.
 ==Plot==
+Bugs Bunny's journey to [[Pittsburgh]] takes an unexpected turn when he stumbles upon a signpost in [[Transylvania]], mistaken for [[Pennsylvania]]. Seeking directions from the ominous Agatha and Emily, he unwittingly finds himself at Count Bloodcount's eerie castle.
-Bugs is traveling by tunneling underground—and runs straight into a tree.  He heads for [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], as he observes "these Pennsylvania hardwoods isn't too soft!", but he does not immediately notice that a sign nailed to the tree reads "Pittsburgher, [[Transylvania]]". He asks a two-headed female vulture (Agatha and Emily) for directions to "Pittsburgh" when he realizes that he has not reached the Steel City, but Agatha and Emily are too busy talking about eating him. Bugs leaves them to it, sees an old castle nearby, mistakes it for a motel and calmly approaches it. Upon ringing a skull/chime doorbell (playing "[[The Hearse Song]]") Bugs meets a [[vampire]], who introduces himself as [[Count Bloodcount|Count Blood count]] and invites him in. Although Bugs is only looking for a telephone to call his travel agency, the Count leads him to a guest room beckoning him to rest, informing him that "Rest is good for the blood.".
+While Bugs innocently seeks a phone, the Count, eager for a midnight snack, attempts to prey upon him. However, Bugs' accidental recitation of magical phrases transforms the Count into a bat, leading to a comedic battle of wits and words. As Bugs outsmarts the [[vampire]] with clever [[incantation]]s, chaos ensues, culminating in the Count's transformation into a mishmash of creatures. Amused by the spectacle, Bugs orchestrates the Count's pursuit by Agatha and Emily, leaving him to flee in distress.
-Unable to sleep, Bugs picks up a book titled ''Magic Words and Phrases'', and despite his initial skepticism about their effect, he reads it. The Count sneaks up behind him and is just about to strike when Bugs says "[[abracadabra]]", turning the Count into a bat. Bugs mistakes the bat/Count for a big mosquito and clobbers him with a fly swatter. As the bat dizzily flies out of the window, Bugs says "[[Hocus Pocus (magic)|hocus pocus]]", which turns the Count back into a vampire and causes him to fall into the moat surrounding his castle. Agatha and Emily wonder what a splendid-looking specimen the Count is as they watch him take the plunge.
+Amidst the chaos, Bugs finally locates a phone in a coffin, but his impromptu magic results in bat-like ears. Opting for an unconventional mode of travel, Bugs decides to fly home to [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey|Perth Amboy]] with his newfound wings.
-Shortly afterward, while Bugs is searching for the house restaurant, the Count sneaks up from behind again, but Bugs is humming to the tune of "[[It's Magic]]", substituting "abracadabra" for some of the lyrics, and inadvertently turns the Count back into a bat. Once again mistaking the bat for a mosquito, Bugs sprays the bat with a fumigator. As the bat/Count is hanging his head down from an archway, coughing insecticide out of his lungs, Bugs sings "hocus pocus" during a continuation of his song, and the Count crashes to the floor on his head.
-Fed up with the situation, the Count confronts Bugs and reveals his true identity as a vampire, resulting in a duel of "magic phrases" in which Bugs transforms into a baseball [[umpire]]. He then turns himself into a baseball bat when the count turns himself into a bat (with "hocus pocus" strangely enough) to hit the bat-vampire on the head (despite the Count putting on glasses in a futile attempt to keep Bugs from doing so). Bugs gets the best of the Count for the rest of the duel by saying "abracadabra" every time the vampire says "hocus pocus", causing him to be crushed repeatedly by a stone slab from the floor that the Count intended to crush Bugs with. By mixing the magic words to "abraca-pocus" and "hocus-cadabra", Bugs causes the Count to become a mixture of human and bat body parts. Afterward he uses "[[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]]" and turns him into [[Witch Hazel (Looney Tunes)|Witch Hazel]]. Unimpressed ("Wow, I can do better than ''that''"), he uses the incantation "[[Walla Walla, Washington]]", and the Count is turned into a two-headed male vulture. Bugs calls out to Agatha and Emily, and the Count soon finds himself the object of their romantic intentions. The Count flees the castle with the female vulture in amorous pursuit as Bugs watches in amusement.
-Bugs finally finds a working pay phone (in a coffin), but while waiting for the operator to reach his travel agency in [[Perth Amboy]], he once again sings "It's Magic", this time substituting "abraca-pocus", which causes his ears to turn into bat wings. Bugs tells the operator to cancel the call, hangs up, and decides to fly home with his new wings.
 ==Voice Cast==
@@ Line 39: / Line 38: @@
 *Ben Frommer as Count Bloodcount
 *[[Julie Bennett]] as Agatha and Emily, the Two-Headed Vulture
+==Production notes==
+''Transylvania 6-5000'' marked [[Chuck Jones]]' departure from Warner Bros. Cartoons to found Sib Tower 12 Productions at MGM, making it his last original Warner Bros. cartoon before the move. Released in 1963, it is also the second-to-last Warner cartoon of that year and Jones' tenure with the studio. The title, "Transylvania 6-5000," is a play on the song "[[Pennsylvania 6-5000 (song)|Pennsylvania 6-5000]]," associated with [[Glenn Miller]], referencing the old telephone exchange system where letters represented numbers in phone numbers.
 ==References in other media==
@@ Line 57: / Line 59: @@
 Count Bloodcount appeared in ''[[The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries]]'' episode "Fangs for the Memories". He was voiced by [[Corey Burton]].
-Count Bloodcount also appears in ''[[Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!]]'' as a boss character. After the player defeats him, he decides to become an NPC ally of Bugs to find some opportunities in blood.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!|developer=[[Infogrames]]|publisher=Infogrames|date=2000-06-24|platform=[[Game Boy Color]]|level=Count Bloodcount's mansion|quote=COUNT BLOODCOUNT: The rabbit's smart. I'll follow him for now. I may get some blood out of it!
+Count Bloodcount also appears in ''[[Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!]]'' as a boss character. After the player defeats him, he decides to become an NPC ally of Bugs to find some opportunities in blood.<ref>{{cite video game|title=Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!|developer=[[Infogrames]]|publisher=Infogrames|date=June 24, 2000|platform=[[Game Boy Color]]|level=Count Bloodcount's mansion|quote=COUNT BLOODCOUNT: The rabbit's smart. I'll follow him for now. I may get some blood out of it!
 }}</ref>
@@ Line 70: / Line 72: @@
 {{wikiquote}}
 *{{IMDb title|0057600|Transylvania 6-5000}}
-*{{bcdb title|5243|Transylvania 6-5000}}
 {{s-start}}
@@ Line 86: / Line 87: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Transylvania 6-5000 (1963 Film)}}
 [[Category:1963 films]]
-[[Category:1963 animated films]]
-[[Category:1963 short films]]
 [[Category:Merrie Melodies short films]]
 [[Category:American vampire films]]
 [[Category:Short films directed by Chuck Jones]]
 [[Category:Bugs Bunny films]]
-[[Category:Films about shapeshifting]]
+[[Category:Animated films about shapeshifting]]
-[[Category:Films set in castles]]
+[[Category:Animated films set in castles]]
 [[Category:Films set in Transylvania]]
 [[Category:1963 comedy films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Maurice Noble]]
-[[Category:Vampires in animated film]]
+[[Category:Animated films about vampires]]
 [[Category:Films scored by William Lava]]
 [[Category:1960s Warner Bros. animated short films]]
 [[Category:1960s English-language films]]
+[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Dunn (animator)]]
+[[Category:Films produced by David H. DePatie]]
+[[Category:English-language short films]]
+[[Category:1963 animated short films]]