Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943)
One of my favorites as a child, this Daffy short was featured on a VHS compilation I watched often. This is, yet again, Daffy tormenting Porky Pig; Porky is a show business agent who goes on vacation and Daffy storms his house with his client Sleepy Lagoon, desperate to convince him to represent him. Despite Porky’s protests about not working, Daffy makes it painfully clear he’s not taking no for an answer. He soon begins chasing him around, stalking him, and even engaging him in a hilarious Carmen Miranda impression. With all the antics, the short ends on a high note with Sleepy fumbling his big solo for Porky. It’s a hilarious high note to end on.
A Pest in the House (1947)
This short is the example of cringe comedy and I mean that in a great way. Not only is it absolutely hysterical but also proves the point that Daffy is great when giving someone a hard time. This time around he’s working off of Elmer Fudd who is running a hotel. They come across an irate hotel resident who doesn’t want to be disturbed. Enter Daffy who makes as much noise as humanly possible, prompting Elmer to face the wrath of the angry, violent resident getting socked in the face every single time. Daffy is so obnoxious in this short but he’s hilariously obnoxious. He just keeps making things worse, and Elmer pays the price every time with a sock in the face. I love it.
Duck Amuck (1948)
This meta-short finds Daffy pretty much becoming the victim of a sadistic animator as he realizes someone up above is tormenting his animated reality. Daffy breaks the fourth wall in an effort to reason with the weird animator who controls his fate at every turn. While the short is hilarious, it’s also a wonderful look at animation, covering everything from negative space, perspective, close ups, the importance of color, the use of horizons, movement, and implementing basic shapes. Whether or not they intended, “Duck Amuck” is a comedy that could also be used as a very stripped down course about the fundamentals of animation. Plus, it has a great final scene.
Boobs in the Woods (1950)
This is once again proof that Daffy works so much better when he’s bouncing his antics off of someone else. Daffy has always been established as a mean kind of self centered maniac, so it’s no surprise when he starts tormenting Porky Pig. The gags here are rapid fire as Daffy is a loon who makes Porky’s life miserable. It’s a hysterical short and I’m still not sure whether Daffy works better off of Porky or Bugs. All I know is never to leave home without my license to sell hair tonic to bald eagles in Omaha, Nebraska.
Robin Hood Daffy (1958)
Robin Hood Daffy is Daffy Duck in his prime. It’s Daffy Duck at his best. It’s Daffy Duck working beautifully off of Porky Pig and being just as funny, and sometimes even funnier than Bugs’ “Rabbit Hood.” Yes, I said what I said. Daffy plays Robin Hood who, of course, thinks very highly of himself as a hero and he’s looked after by the often put upon Friar as played by Porky. In an effort to catch the Sheriff and steal his gold, Daffy puts himself through immense torture. There are so many hysterical bits here paired with the excellent animation. From Robin’s mishap with water, to the iconic smashing in to repeated trees, it’s all just so absolutely hysterical. I love Daffy, but he always worked so much better when paired with others characters.
“Every Bugs Bunny Ever” will return next week