This one’s really important, as far as the evolution of Warner Bros cartoons goes. It introduces Daffy Duck (not yet named), and with him, a heretofore unseen type of cartoon character. One that fought back against those trying to hunt him, one that ignored the cartoon’s ‘script’, one that acted in absurd ways just for the heck of it. In other words, it introduced the ‘screwball’ character, an archetype that would prove to be one of Tex Avery’s favorites, and one that needed to exist in order to eventually have the likes of Bugs Bunny around.
There’s some solid gags throughout, but the pacing still isn’t quite there. Some gags, like drunk fish rowing a boat and singing “On Moonlight Bay”, go on for entirely too long. Others, like a duck eating an electric eel, feel pointless. And some are references that have been lost to time, like a reference to old-school comedian Joe Penner.
It’s the gags with the duck that would eventually be called Daffy that shine the most. Switching roles with the dog in the water, helping Porky with his gun, and, most noticeably and importantly, referring to himself as “just a crazy, darn fool duck”, along with what would become his signature ‘whoo-hoo’ hopping around. It was something audiences hadn’t seen before, and it stuck with them, more than anything else in the cartoon.
Later cartoons would do most of what this one did, but better, so it’s not entirely necessary to bother with this one outside of historical interest. But if you want to see Daffy’s true origin point, and the introduction of the ‘screwball’ character type, then this is the cartoon for you.
Review by DanikaVIP 5BlockedParent2020-04-11T04:07:54Z
This one’s really important, as far as the evolution of Warner Bros cartoons goes. It introduces Daffy Duck (not yet named), and with him, a heretofore unseen type of cartoon character. One that fought back against those trying to hunt him, one that ignored the cartoon’s ‘script’, one that acted in absurd ways just for the heck of it. In other words, it introduced the ‘screwball’ character, an archetype that would prove to be one of Tex Avery’s favorites, and one that needed to exist in order to eventually have the likes of Bugs Bunny around.
There’s some solid gags throughout, but the pacing still isn’t quite there. Some gags, like drunk fish rowing a boat and singing “On Moonlight Bay”, go on for entirely too long. Others, like a duck eating an electric eel, feel pointless. And some are references that have been lost to time, like a reference to old-school comedian Joe Penner.
It’s the gags with the duck that would eventually be called Daffy that shine the most. Switching roles with the dog in the water, helping Porky with his gun, and, most noticeably and importantly, referring to himself as “just a crazy, darn fool duck”, along with what would become his signature ‘whoo-hoo’ hopping around. It was something audiences hadn’t seen before, and it stuck with them, more than anything else in the cartoon.
Later cartoons would do most of what this one did, but better, so it’s not entirely necessary to bother with this one outside of historical interest. But if you want to see Daffy’s true origin point, and the introduction of the ‘screwball’ character type, then this is the cartoon for you.