Elmer Fudd has always been a lovable and funny character, who particularly shines in his legendary partnerships with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny (especially the latter). He's not the brightest bulb on the block, but that's part of his charm.
A vast majority of his cartoons range from very good to classic. Unfortunately every Looney Tunes character has had at least one misstep, and 'What's My Lion' is one such example for Elmer, along with 'Yankee Dood It' 'Good Night Elmer' and especially 'Pre-Hysterical Hare' (down there with the worst of Looney Tunes in general), didn't care for 'Heir-Conditioned' much either.
There are a few things that save it. The best thing about it is Milt Franklyn's music, he's done better and there has always been a personal preference to Carl Stalling but Franklyn's music is still vibrant, dynamic and energetic. The ending while predictable is amusing, and Rocky the Mountain Lion is fun enough and very well characterised by Mel Blanc.
However, Elmer disappoints here. Not helped by him being side-lined in favour of Rocky and a pretty dull chemistry between the two, Elmer is bland here and even for a dim-witted character he's more a dope (he's never been this dopey since 'Good Night Elmer' perhaps) than usual and it's annoying rather than endearing. He's also stiffly animated, and although it is hard to come close to Arthur Q. Bryan, who was unbeatable as Elmer, a very ill-sounding Hal Smith is a very poor replacement, it did agreed sound like he had had something drastic done to his throat or something.
Animation-wise, Elmer's stiff character animation is not the only thing that looks bad. Everything looks ugly and cheap, with flat colours and the drawing looking scratchy, rushed-looking and stiff. Aside from the ending, 'What's My Lion' feels tired rather than energised and is lacking in wit and more importantly in effective laughs, which are too few in the first place.
In conclusion, a lacklustre at best effort, Elmer deserved better than this. Has some historical interest, but apart from a few redeeming merits there is not much to recommend with 'What's My Lion'. 4/10 Bethany Cox