Controversy
The same year MGM produced The Cat Concerto, Warner Bros. released a very similar Bugs Bunny cartoon called Rhapsody Rabbit, directed by Friz Freleng, with Bugs against an unnamed mouse. Both shorts used near identical gags, and they even used the same piece by Franz Liszt. Even the ending is similar. Bugs is also upstaged by a mouse.
Both MGM and Warner Bros. accused each other of plagiarism, after both films were shown during the 1947 Academy Awards ceremony. Technicolor was accused of sending a print of either cartoon to the competing studio, who then allegedly plagiarized their rival's work.
It was often suggested by animation historians that this cartoon was rushed to its release - meaning it was released before the shorts produced during the same time to qualify for the Academy Award. Its production number is #165, while the other shorts released during the same year have production numbers around #155.
Read more about this topic: The Cat Concerto
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