Daffy Duck runs amuck in these cartoons. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the funniest and most influential cartoons starring Daffy Duck.
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00:00 "And away!"
00:02 "Zoinks!"
00:03 "And away!"
00:04 "Zoinks!"
00:05 "And away!"
00:06 "Zoinks!"
00:07 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the funniest and most influential cartoons starring Daffy Duck.
00:14 "Don't let that bother you, Jack!"
00:16 "Okay, buddy, you asked for it!"
00:18 Number 10 - Design for Leaving
00:23 Each Warner Brothers director put their own spin on Daffy.
00:27 Robert McKimson often cast him as a swindler, taking advantage of Porky in The Prize Pest and Dime to Retire.
00:33 "F-f-f-f-five dollars? Well, uh, well, uh, okay. I just gotta get rid of that mouse. Here, one, two, three, four, five."
00:41 He'd also don a slick salesman persona in cartoons like Design for Leaving, which stands out due to Daffy's pairing with Elmer Fudd.
00:48 Usually, Daffy finds himself at Elmer's mercy. In this case, it's Daffy who targets the hunter, but not with a rifle.
00:55 "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ow, ow!"
01:01 From the second Elmer opens his door, Daffy bombards him with rapid-fire salesmanship, not taking no for an answer.
01:08 Adorning Elmer's house with chaotic gadgets, the short finds Daffy at his most relentless, but also his most charismatic,
01:15 with Mel Blanc giving one of his most dynamic performances as the character.
01:19 "Say, that's a good question. What do you say we find out?"
01:23 [Gunshot]
01:25 Number 9, Baby Bottleneck. Of all the Termite Terrace directors, Bob Clampett might have had the looniest eye for comedy.
01:33 With Daffy arguably being the looniest looney tune, he was a natural fit for Clampett.
01:38 Baby Bottleneck would go down as one of Clampett's most unhinged Daffy cartoons.
01:43 [Daffy's theme song]
01:49 Daffy might not be a stork, but he joins the delivery business with Porky.
01:53 The premise leads to some cheeky one-liners, one of which proved too edgy for the Hayes office.
01:59 "Baby alligator to Mrs. Pig."
02:01 [Daffy's theme song]
02:05 It's in the visual humor where the cartoon shines the most, unleashing a literal assembly line of gags.
02:11 After Daffy and Porky get into an argument about sitting on an egg, they find themselves on the assembly line,
02:17 leading to a finale that takes the insanity into overdrive.
02:21 [Daffy's theme song]
02:28 Number 8, Drip Along Daffy.
02:30 In their earlier pairings, Daffy was usually billed as Porky's sidekick.
02:34 By the time Drip Along Daffy came along, the duck had firmly asserted himself as the star.
02:40 The cartoon's opening title card spells this out for us.
02:43 [Daffy's theme song]
02:49 Even then, Porky found a way to steal the spotlight back.
02:52 Porky seems content with letting Daffy go up against an outlaw named Nasty Canasta,
02:57 whose tiny legs hilariously should not be able to support his massive upper body.
03:01 "Listen, Humber, if you're not out of town by sundown, you better come a-shootin' with your six guns a-blazin' and a-firin'."
03:09 Setting us up for a high noon showdown, the short culminates in a classic anticlimax that sees Porky save the day.
03:16 Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese,
03:19 this cartoon gets to the root of Porky and Daffy's dynamic, with the latter being the true comedic relief.
03:25 "I told you I'd clean up this one-horse town."
03:28 [Daffy's theme song]
03:31 Number 7, Draftee Daffy.
03:33 For a while, Daffy was a source of anarchy with little to lose.
03:37 While still maintaining his eccentric persona, Draftee Daffy tapped into what would become a defining character trait,
03:43 the need for self-preservation.
03:45 "I guess he's gone now."
03:47 "Oh, well now, I wouldn't say that."
03:50 [Daffy's theme song]
03:51 With World War II ongoing, Daffy is all about patriotism, until the little man from the draft board,
03:58 no, seriously, that's his name, comes knocking.
04:01 "Howdy doody, son."
04:04 [Draftee's theme song]
04:10 With geeky glasses, a onesie ensemble, and a slow manner of speaking,
04:14 the draft board man is among the least intimidating Looney Tunes characters.
04:18 This only adds to the humor, as Daffy runs rampant around the house, inexplicably encountering the little man around every turn.
04:26 Bob Clampett once again brings his lightning speed timing to the table, with Daffy sending himself to hell and back again.
04:33 "Anyway, I sure put it over on that dope from the draft board."
04:36 "Oh, well now, I wouldn't say that."
04:39 "No, no, no!"
04:41 Bugs is the winner we all like to see ourselves as, but in reality, we're probably closer to Daffy.
04:49 Few shorts better exemplify their rivalry than "Showbiz Bugs," directed by Frizz Freeling with a story from Warren Foster.
04:56 "Try not to trip me up with those big feet, please."
05:00 "I'll try, Daffy. We're on!"
05:02 Challenging the rabbit for top billing, Daffy receives nothing but crickets, while Bugs absorbs the applause.
05:08 Getting himself cut in half and blowing off his beak in pursuit of attention, this is Daffy at his greediest and most self-destructive.
05:16 Yet, a part of us still wants to see him come out on top.
05:20 "Swallow the match!"
05:22 He does, but at a price that serves as both a victory and a loss.
05:28 The ending delivers a perfect punchline that needs no encore, even if Daffy could give one.
05:34 "Hey, what more?"
05:36 "I know, I know, but I can only do it once."
05:39 No Looney Tune demands to be taken seriously more than Daffy.
05:46 What better way to present himself in a dignified light than by casting himself as a swashbuckling hero in an epic?
05:52 Daffy presents his skyscraper-sized script to Jack Warner, or J.L. as he casually calls him.
05:58 "That night, Mallord Chamberlain receives the noble visitor."
06:02 "M'lady, the fair Melissa is indisposed, Mallord."
06:05 Side note, Daffy's middle name is Dumas.
06:08 While Daffy takes center stage, he casts his fellow Looney Tunes in supporting roles.
06:13 This results in several rare pairings.
06:16 It's among the few times we see Daffy with Sylvester, and one of Melissa Duck's only appearances.
06:21 "Partying is such sweet stuff."
06:24 "But you will be safe here, my beloved."
06:27 It also allows these characters to play against type, with Porky as a villain and Daffy sporting multiple masks.
06:33 It's a standard seven minutes, but we totally watch the feature-length version Daffy pitches.
06:38 "Coming, Melissa!"
06:47 Daffy goes from playing the scarlet pumpernickel to channeling Errol Flynn again in Robin Hood Daffy.
06:53 Just 'cause Daffy wears the green outfit doesn't automatically make him the king of the outlaws.
06:57 He needs to convince Fryer Porky, as well as the audience.
07:01 "Pull! Ha ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin!"
07:04 To prove himself, Daffy engages in all of the typical Robin Hood activities, continually missing his mark.
07:14 The funniest bit finds Daffy swinging from tree to tree.
07:17 "In the way!"
07:19 "Yikes! In the way!"
07:23 Speaking of which, the backgrounds are some of the most visually pleasing in any Chuck Jones cartoon.
07:29 But that doesn't take away from the pain Daffy experiences.
07:32 We never learn whether Daffy really is Robin Hood or if he just desperately wanted people to think he was.
07:38 Either way, he changes professions by the end.
07:41 [Gunshots]
07:43 Number 3. Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a half century.
07:51 Duck Dodgers may be Daffy's most famous alter ego, headlining this Buck Rogers send-up.
07:56 Aesthetically, Duck Dodgers is one of Chuck Jones' most ambitious shorts.
08:00 "I claim this planet in the name of the Earth!"
08:07 Maurice Noble's layouts and Philip DeGarde's backgrounds envision a polished yet appropriately loony future.
08:13 It's the character dynamics that propel this cartoon to one of the all-time greats, however.
08:17 Daffy once again fills the egotistical incompetent leader role,
08:21 while Porky's eager young space cadet is the true brains of the operation.
08:25 [Gunshot]
08:27 "What? Where? When? How? Who? Who? What? Oh, you, huh?"
08:31 Marvin the Martian also serves as a terrific comedic foil in a space race that ironically destroys Planet X.
08:37 Duck Dodgers would inspire follow-up shorts and a TV series,
08:41 but the original remains the Star Wars of Golden Age cartoons.
08:45 It was even a favorite of George Lucas'.
08:47 [Laughter]
08:49 [Gunshot]
08:52 Number 2. The Great Piggy Bank Robbery.
08:55 Before there was Duck Dodgers, there was Duck Twacey, a parody of Dick Tracy.
09:00 The Great Piggy Bank Robbery demonstrates Bob Clampett's tendency to go the extra mile.
09:04 "I shall ring the bell from here."
09:07 "Was that trip really necessary?"
09:13 When Daffy receives a comic book in the mail, the cartoon could have just jumped to him opening the first page.
09:18 Instead, he excitedly zooms across a sunlit hill before diving in.
09:27 "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, you're here at last!"
09:30 Every second that goes by, Clampett's unit packs in as much detail and humor as possible.
09:36 The premise surrounding a stolen piggy bank might be silly,
09:39 but the crew brings a surprisingly hard-boiled ambiance to the short through the backgrounds
09:43 and the inventive designs of Duck Twacey's foes.
09:46 It's some of the most creative imagery in any Looney Tune, as well as some of the funniest.
09:51 "Shall we dance?"
09:56 "Sweet!"
09:58 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:02 Porky's Duck Hunt. In his official debut, Daffy stole the show from Porky.
10:07 "Ha ha, it's me again!"
10:09 The Daffy Dock. Daffy doesn't get daffier than this.
10:20 (whistling)
10:26 The Abominable Snow Rabbit. What comes to mind whenever we meet someone named George.
10:33 "I will name him George, and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him."
10:38 "I'm not a bunny rabbit."
10:40 Hollywood Daffy. Daffy encounters a cavalcade of celebrity caricatures.
10:45 "Good morning, Mr. Weissmuller."
10:50 Porky's Pig Feet. A rare golden age cartoon where Daffy, Porky and Bugs share the screen.
10:57 "We tried all those lanes."
10:59 "Ahh! Don't work, do they?"
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11:19 Number 1. Duck Amuck. Duck Amuck isn't just the best Daffy cartoon.
11:26 It's a shimmering example of what animation can do, which is everything.
11:31 In under seven minutes, Daffy becomes a musketeer, a farmer and whatever this is.
11:37 "Oh, I feel all right. And yet I, I, uh..."
11:41 "Hey! You know better than that!"
11:44 He finds himself at the mercy of a mysterious animator, who can't seem to settle on a background or scenario.
11:51 While the Looney Tunes regularly broke the fourth wall, this cartoon broke down barriers in ways the audience never experienced before.
11:58 "Find that this is an animated cartoon. And that in animated cartoons, they have scenery. And in all the years..."
12:06 Chuck Jones might have been too ahead of the curve, hence why Duck Amuck shockingly wasn't nominated for an Oscar.
12:12 However, 1,000 professionals would rank it the second greatest cartoon of all time.
12:18 It finished just behind a Bugs Bunny cartoon, which is fitting considering how Duck Amuck ends.
12:24 "Who is responsible for this? This... I demand that you show yourself! Who are you? Huh?"
12:32 "Am I a stinker?"
12:38 What's your favorite Daffy cartoon? Let us know in the comments.
12:42 "No, you don't. Sorry."
12:49 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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12:57 [music]