#Barber Of Seville

[schweizercomics]

If I'm doing a big panel or illustration with a lot going on in it, I almost always employ the rule of thirds when composing the roughs.

If you ain't familiar, it's a compositional technique allowing for multiple focal points in a single image by splitting it into thirds both vertically and horizontally, and placing your focus at any place that its thirds intersect. (also, don't place anything at intersections that ISN'T a focal point).

[supercantaloupe]

a barber. and some. sevillians

[bluberimufim]

If you ever think that you're stupid, please remember that the first time I listened to Largo al Factotum from "The Barber of Seville", I commented "hey idk why but I think Figaro would get along great with Susanna from Nozze, pity she already has a husband tho".

Susanna.

From "Le Nozze di Figaro".

The person Figaro is supposed to be marrying.

[notquitesurewhoiam]

"i hate opera" eli caught on the walk to the train station listening to Big Opera today. never have we observed such a change in a man.

[drumpenguin]

[figarotrilogy]

can we PLEASE talk about this production of barber of seville? (Zurich Opera House 2001)

they're just unhinged

also, Figaro has a motorbike and Almaviva has a scooter

[thinkbolt]

Kitty Foiled (MGM, 1948) - dirs. Hanna & Barbera

[eltristanexplicitcontent]

! ...wait: for reals!!!??? (Dad joke explanation: that kind of lawnmower is a "reel mower" ...why is it a Dad joke? Because you laugh when the punchline becomes aparent.)

1909 Leslie Lawn Mower Razor Blade Sharpener -- helical razor strop (somebody thought this was a good idea!)

....................................................this reminds me of something *starts humming "Barber of Seville" by Rossini*

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[masked-marauder]

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (1944)

Director: James Culhane

Story: Ben Hardaway, Milt Schaffer

Animation: Verne Harding, Les Kine, Emery Hawkins, Pat Matthews, Paul J. Smith, Rudy Zamora

Release Date: April 22, 1944

Ah, Woody Woodpecker. One of my favorite, yet also one of the most underachieving cartoon characters of all time.

Despite his appealing design and his fun, if a bit aggravating personality, Woody was never able to achieve fame and praise similar to the likes of Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse (Unless you're in Brazil), and I find that to be a great shame, as I find Woody to be a great character. However, it seemed nobody truly knew HOW to use him after the 1940s were over, as he became nicer, unfunnier, and more simple of a character, despite a few fun cartoons here and there. (Mostly 1954's CONVICT CONCERTO). It seems like they've been trying to return to his classic roots in the modern day and age, but they aren't really doing it very well, as the movie stunk and the Flash show is unbearably mediocre. So what made Woody tick anyway? Why do I find him to be such a great character? Well, look no further than The Barber of Seville.

The cartoon begins with Woody, reading the window of Tony Fig-Ay-Roo.... Figaro's barber shop. As he looks at the different haircut options, he decides to get a "V FOR VICTORY" haircut, because what can he lose with a victory cut?

As he thinks about the haircut, we get some great expressions from him.

As he goes into the barber shop, he finds that Figaro is out to get his physical. "Back soon? That's what he thinks." This cartoon shows its age very clearly with military references such as these, but I find them somewhat endearing.

Oh well. Maybe Woody can cut his own hair! He cuts his own teeth!

As he begins combing his hair, he does a dainty pose as he remarks "Looks like Harmonica Lake!"

This is a neat lil nod to the famous actress Veronica Lake. (Yeesh, check out that... creature next to her!)

Suddenly, a Native-American man walks in, unaware that Woody will be his barber. Despite the controversial nature of this whole sequence, weirdly enough, the official Woody Woodpecker youtube channel has this entire cartoon up with NO censorship. Not even a disclaimer or anything. This whole sequence is somewhat unnecessary to the cartoon, so I won't go into full detail about it.

However, one gag I DO have to bring up is one where, after Woody places a bunch of hot towels on his head, the man's war bonnet shrinks into a shuttlecock.

He takes great offense to this, viewing this as Woody "giving him the bird" (A great double entendre) as he pulls out an axe, threatening to give Woody "scalp treatment".

Woody backtracks on this, pulling out a mallet as he states "No. I give YOU scalp treatment!". He then knocks him on the head with the mallet. Just a great combo of jokes all packed into one big gag.

After this, we find a burly Italian construction worker, who goes into the shop. This is where the cartoon gets good.

As he sits down, Woody asks him what he would like. He asks for the "whole works", a decision he will most definitely come to regret.

As Woody begins the haircut, he holds down the man's helmet, the razor hitting it as both the man and Woody shake around, the razor makin a jackhammer sound effect.

"Remove the hat!.... dope."

As Woody attempts to remove it, we get another fun visual gag as Woody blow torches the man's helmet off, using his own hair as a nob controlling the fire.

Now, while all of the gags that I've mentioned are GREAT, it's all nothing compared to what you'll be seeing next. After removing the helmet, Woody begins SINGING OPERA (specifically Largo al factotum) while cutting the man's hair. He begins by slapping the man with a bunch of shaving cream.

He randomly places shaving cream on the man's shoes as well. While Woody sings, the man looks at him with an incredible expression of pure shock and horror.

He then slaps the brush for the shaving cream into the man's mouth.

He begins polishing the man's shoes with the shaving cream, which is standard barber practice.

Do I really have to say anything about this next part? He pulls out the razor as he points it at the man, resulting in the most iconic still from this cartoon. "V'e la risorsa..."

He then extends the seat to go up higher, to the point where he slams the man into the ceiling. He sticks on there for a bit due to the shaving cream.

He then falls off as a bunch of tools fly across the screen, including.. dentures? Maybe this is just an old-timey barbershop thing, I wouldn't know.

The man tries hiding from Woody in the bib, leading to a really satisfying looking gag where everytime Woody swings the razor, the man changes position, as Woody randomly phases over to that position, with no in between frames whatsoever.

As Woody swings the blade again, the man disappears. Woody begins calling out for him by saying the famous "FEE-GA-ROOOOOO.... FEE-GA-ROOOOO...." part of the song.

As he calls to him, he randomly clones himself as he looks around. A really simple yet genius gag.

As he calls out, we see the man, attempting to walk away, dressed as a stereotypical child from that era, complete with a little umbrella. He spouts "Coming, mother!" If I remember correctly, this is a radio show reference, but I don't remember which one.

As he tries running away, Woody turns like the way a bloodlusted animal turns when they hear a twig snap, dashing towards him.

This is where the cartoon reaches its peak. He begins swinging the razor at him again, now with a fencing stance, as they move across the shop.

After a RIGID haircutting session, the man finally escapes Woody's grasp, running out the shop as Woody laughs hysterically, but not before the man gets his revenge. As Woody laughs, the mangrabs him and chucks him through the window as he slams into a pole.

Now THIS is Woody Woodpecker. There's a reason he's Stanley Kubrick's favorite cartoon character. (That's entirely true by the way... look it up) And it seems many people agree on this being a great Woody cartoon, as it's usually ranked as the BEST one and was ranked #43 in the best cartoons EVER. Another huge selling point to this cartoon is that it was the first to feature Woody's design as we know it today, besides the blue neck (which I honestly prefer). Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if there's ONE Woody cartoon you should watch... it's this one. And you're in luck, because this time, instead of putting some shoddy Dailymotion link, I can send you the entire cartoon from the official Youtube channel! You can view it here!

All of the gifs used in THIS review come from animationfan69.tumblr.com. Give em' a watch!

[asexualpersononhere]

Hannibal's Opera Taste

Recently I have been listening and learning more about opera and it has made me curious about what operas Hannibal would like.

First one is Alban Berg's Wozzeck, it has this slightly off sound when you listen to it; it can be more complex considering one of the early statements in it is that it is easy to be moral when you are rich

Another one I think he would like is Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, especially if you consider the riot that happened when it first was performed. This one is a ballet, but my point still stands

Some i feel are more obvious, Dido and Aeneas, Barber of Seville, and Don Giovanni

If i am completely honest there are a lot of operas that could fit the bill, especially if one of the conditions you consider is tragedy

Some of them sound a bit more classic opera, while others are a bit more strange sounding and i feel that fits

Might make more if i think of ones that would really fit

[schweizercomics]

Hey, friends! Opera fella Alek Shrader is launching his kickstarter for the HOUSE OF BARTOLO (a classic horror movie aesthetic production of Rossini's BARBER OF SEVILLE) set that I got to design and do the art for; it's a 2 foot/60 cm-wide model of Bartolo's gothic villa, at roughly the 28mm (1/56) scale common to gaming.

You can follow the kickstarter campaign (no obligation) so that you'll be notified when it launches in mid-June.

The set comes with figures of the entire cast (each leaning into a classic horror movie type (Abrogio is a Frankenstein, the notary is an invisible man, Berta is a creepy nurse, Almaviva is a dracula but his disguises are a headless horseman, an opera phantom, that kind of thing, Figaro is a wolfman, etc).

It was a real joy to help make and I'll talk about it more at length in the coming weeks, but I'm told that Kickstarter campaigns tend to have better legs if folks are following them ahead of time, so I wanted to help Alek out by spreading the word. If you know anyone who might be keen on this sort of thing, I hope you'll steer them towards it!

[supercantaloupe]

i just keep finding things. good afternoon to Cowboy Barber Of Seville

[pedrospookie]

back on my Rossini kick

this is what happens when you let me sing coloratura again