As I'm making my way through my collection of VHS tapes and DVDs hoping to watch
all the significant Daffy Duck cartoons in chronological order, I've decided to jot down
a short description of each and plan on eventually deciding upon my favorite episodes.

01. Porky’s Duck Hunt, 1937, Looney Tunes, Tex Avery.

--Porky Pig, equipping himself to go duck hunting with his dog Rover accidentally shoots his
upstairs neighbor. Later, at the lake, Porky encounters a crazy duck and both survive a number
of Tex Avery hunting gags. Unsuccessful at bagging a duck, Porky comes home and accidentally
shoots his neighbor again.
--Notes: first appearance of Daffy Duck and his first team-up with Porky, both voiced by Mel Blank.
Daffy goes unnamed in this cartoon.

02. Daffy Duck & Egghead, 1938, Merrie Melodies, Tex Avery.

--Egghead, an early Elmer Fudd prototype, goes duck hunting at a lake and encounters Daffy Duck.
--Notes: this is essentially a color remake of Porky’s Duck Hunt but with different gags. At the time,
Merrie Melodies were longer color cartoons and Looney Tunes were black & white shorts. A fun gag
involves Egghead shooting a pair of gloves attached to fishing line out of his rifle, which pound and
choke Daffy, allowing Egghead to reel him in. About five minutes into the cartoon, Daffy sings
“Merry Go-Round Broke Down” (the theme music for later Looney Tunes cartoons).

03. What Price Porky, 1938, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--Porky feeds his chickens corn, much of which is stolen by a gang of black ducks led by the great
Ducktator, “General Quacko.” All-out war breaks out between the farm chickens and the invading
ducks. Newborn chicks and ducklings are born wearing egg-shell helmets and armed with battalion
armaments.

04. Porky & Daffy, 1938, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--Boxing coach Porky has trouble waking up his boxer, Daffy Duck. Resorting to clanging
a giant bell over Daffy’s head, Porky accidentally discovers this not only wakes him up but
also energizes Daffy into a skilled fighter. Porky uses this again at the end of the cartoon when
Daffy is knocked out and facing a ten-count during his fight with The Champ, a fighting Cock.

05. The Daffy Doc, 1938, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.

--Dr. Quack is operating (assisted by Dr. Daffy Duck, “also a Quack”) and asks Daffy to make
sure everything is quiet. It starts off well enough, but Daffy’s uncontrollable nature just can’t help
itself. Dr. Quack kicks him out of the operating theater. Ousted, Daffy decides to find a patient of
his own and sees happy, healthy passerby, Porky Pig. The most notable gags revolve around
getting trapped in an Iron Lung, which alternately inflates and deflates their body parts.
--Note: in these early Daffy Duck cartoons, there is little to no effort to even try to match Daffy's
bill to what he is saying.

Of these first five features, "The Daffy Doc" is my clear favorite. This is a good representation of the
early, manic version of Daffy Duck, which is just zany, ridiculous, and fun. The film-going audience of
this era very much appreciated Daffy's arrival on the screen. Apparently, cartoon characters just didn't
act this way before Daffy's premiere, and he proved to be quite popular and became an almost immediate
success. Daffy soon surpassed Porky Pig (Warner's Biggest cartoon star in the 30s) in popularity, only to
lose out to Bugs Bunny, who arrived a little later on as kind of the rabbit equivalent of the early Daffy. Daffy,
by that time, had calmed down and became more calculating in his exploits, but he was still a winner and at
least a decade away from becoming a second banana fall guy.

06. Daffy Duck in Hollywood, 1938, Merrie Melodies, Tex Avery.

--I.M. Stupendous, producer at Wonder Studios (If it’s a Good Picture, it’s a Wonder) encounters Daffy Duck,
who’s trying to break into pictures. Rejected immediately, Daffy decides to stick around the set of Director
von Hamburger (a pig version of Josef von Sternberg) and messes with him and his production, which needs
to be completed today. The cartoon ends with Daffy finding a film library and cutting together a clips feature
and substituting it for von Hamber’s work, which I.M. loves. Daffy becomes the new Director and von Hamburger
sticks around to mess with him.

07. Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur, 1939, Merrie Melodies, Chuck Jones.

--Hungry caveman Casper (a Jack Benny caricature) wants breakfast. He wakes up his pet apatosaur, Fido,
and they go hunting, soon encountering Daffy Duck. A number of gags ensue, climaxing in a scene where
Casper (given a knife by Daffy) cuts into a huge inflatable duck, which explodes and kills all three of the main
characters.
--Notes. This early effort by Chuck Jones is notable for beginning the change in Daffy’s personality from a
completely insane uncontrollable force to one that was more calculating and devious.

08. Scalp Trouble, 1939, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--in charge of a frontier fort, General Daffy and his sorry lot of troops (including Porky Pig) must fend off the
attacks of a nearby Indian tribe.
--Notes: as this features racially-insensitive Native American gags, it was rarely shown later on television.

09. Wise Quacks, 1939, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--Mrs. Daffy Duck reveals to Daffy that she is about to hatch their first ducklings, and Daffy, nervous at the
prospects of impending fatherhood, decides to brace his nerves drinking distilled Corn Juice. Meanwhile,
Porky reads about the news in a local farm publication and decides to come visit his old pal. The ducklings
soon hatch and one is captured by a hungry eagle. An inebriated Daffy chases him down to rescue his child,
but runs afoul of a whole flock of eagles.

10. Naughty Neighbors, 1939, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--Hillbilly feuding family leaders, Porky Pig (the McCoys) and Petunia Pig (the Martins) call for an end of
hostilities. While those two get chummy, the rest of family (mostly bearded anthropomorphic chickens and
ducks) have difficulties maintaining the peace. Porky eventually has to use a feud pacifying grenade to pacify
both sides.
--Notes: Daffy has only a brief cameo in this film and is shown blowing an alarm through a cow’s horn that the
fighting has resumed, and then is shown briefly in the fight.

Of these next five efforts, very little stands out for me as being "Must See Daffy." If I had to choose, I guess
I have a certain fondness for "Wise Quacks." I enjoy seeing Daffy all Corn-Juiced up, and the last born of his
four ducklings has the wonderful mannerism of nodding or shaking his head right before saying "No" or "Yes"
going against the corresponding head motion. And at the end, when Daffy and the Eagles have all gotten
smashed on the corn juice, I like how it appears that Mrs. Daffy is going to hit Daffy again on the head with
her rolling pin, but she instead smashes the source of the problem, his drinking jug.

Both "Naughty Neighbors" and "Scalp Trouble" I had to buy off a private collector in the early 1980s to see.
Despite the numerous releases, remasterings, and reissues of these cartoons in numerous formats over the
years by Warner Brothers, they just never get around to some of them. I spent a lot of time in the 1970s and
early 1980s recording every Looney Tunes broadcast I could trying to get copies of everything. It's difficult.

Daffy's voice was based on the lisp of producer Leon Schlesinger, who, according to Chuck Jones, had no sense of humour whatsoever. It wasn't until late in to the process of making the short "Porky's Duck Hunt", that the realization came upon the production team that they would have to actully SHOW the film to Leon before it could be released. When the day came, they sat in the viewing room with their resignation letters in hand, and when the cartoon ended there was complete silence in the room until Leon burst out: "Jethuth Chritht! That'th a funny voithe! Where'd you ever come up with the voithe for that thcrewy duck?!?!?"

This one really freaked me out so badly when I was a kid, if it's the one I remember.

11. Porky’s Last Stand, 1940, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.

--Porky owns a primitive road-side restaurant/farm and employs Daffy Duck. When an angry
customer orders a hamburger, Daffy attempts to fulfill the order only to discover that mice have
stolen the food supplies. Daffy then spots a young calf out the window and attempts to kill it with
a large mallet but ends up facing a large bull instead.

12. You Ought to Be in Pictures, 1940, Looney Tunes, Friz Freleng.

--in a combination live-action and animated feature, the audience gets to see producer Leon
Schlesinger and other studio staffers interacting with Porky and Daffy. Daffy, hoping to move
in on Porky’s career, convinces the pig that he’s wasting his time and talent in cartoons and
ought to be making live features. Porky is hesitant, but Daffy strong arms him into meeting
with Schlesinger and quitting his contract. Doing so, Porky spends most of the remaining film
trying to get onto the live lot (including disguising himself as Oliver Hardy) and avoiding being
thrown out by the security guard. Meanwhile, Daffy tries to sell himself to Schlesinger as
Porky’s replacement. Porky returns and beats up Daffy off camera.
--Note: both Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett can briefly be seen rushing out of Termite Terrace
when the lunch whistle sounds.

13. A Coy Decoy, 1941, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--in a book store at night, themes and characters from book titles on the shelves come to life
and interact with each other. Porky Pig makes a brief cameo as a singing cowboy featured on
the cover of The Westerner, but Daffy Duck is the main character first appearing on the cover
of a copy of The Ugly Duckling. Throughout the cartoon, Daffy is pursued by a hungry wolf,
who, in one scene, uses a wind-up female toy duck in order to lure Daffy into his clutches.
Daffy manages to escape with help of such books as Hurricane and Lightning. At the end, Porky
reappears to see Daffy romancing the toy duck again and laughs that Daffy is dumb as nothing
can ever come of their relationship. Daffy and the decoy go off in a huff followed by four young
ducklings, one who blows a raspberry and remarks to Porky, “You and your education!”

14. The Henpecked Duck, 1941, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.
--Porky Pig is a judge residing over Inhuman Divorce cases. In the first case, Mrs. Daffy Duck
wants a divorce from her husband Daffy for what he’s done. In relating her tale, we see that
Daffy is rather henpecked by his wife, who while she is off visiting her mother, forces Daffy to
sit on “Junior,” their egg, to keep him warm. Daffy reluctantly agrees, but, once she leaves, he
can’t help himself and he starts playing with the egg and performing magic with it. Unable to
make the egg reappear, he attempts to fool his wife by replacing the egg with their door knob.
Daffy begs Porky to give him one last chance, and Daffy is able to make the egg reappear.
Junior them hatches, dons glasses and with a little hammer cries, “Case dismissed.”

15. Conrad the Sailor, 1942, Merrie Melodies, Chuck Jones.
--a crew of doglike cat sailors sings an opening song “Shovin’ Right Off Again,” which is song
again in refrain by Conrad, who is busily mopping the deck of a battleship. Conrad spots muddy
foot prints on the deck and spots Daffy Duck waving at him. Deciding to mess with Conrad for no
good reason, Daffy is then chased around the ship. A running gag features everyone stopping
what ever they are doing to salute a passing Admiral. This includes a canon shell who stops with
them as the Admiral passes by one last time at the ending of the film.
--Note: Nice production values on this one but ultimately an easily forgettable cartoon.

Of this third batch of five, I'll go with "You Ought To Be in Pictures" as my favorite. Not only is it
a very nice blend of live and animated action, but we're also treated to shots of Termite Terrace,
where the Warner Brothers Animation Department worked, and there's some really nice moments
with Leon Schlesinger interacting with his cartoon stars. Also, it is one of the very first instances
of Daffy becoming conniving and out for his own good over others. Also, he doesn't succeed in his
goal either. And while this certainly paves the way for Daffy to become a loser character in his later
cartoons, it's also good to show that such behavior shouldn't be rewarded.

I very much like the concept of Coy Decoy, but the coming-to-life books is done better later on in
the cartoon "Book Revue."

Yeah, I don't know. Mel Blanc kind of contradicts that later on in his autobiography, citing that Daffy's voice he
created to be problematic because Mel thought his long bill would make it that way. Plus, Daffy really doesn't lisp in
his first appearance. Even in his second appearance, you only really notice the lisp when Daffy sings the "Merry Go
Round Broke Down" song. Daffy's lisp comes on stronger later on. Another Mel Blanc story has Mel stating that the
real difference between Daffy's lisping voice and Sylvester's lisp is the duck is Jewish, but the cat isn't.

It's got some pretty moody moments; even the artwork highlights on the rubber gloves is rather
stylized. And Daffy, all ready to saw Porky open with a wood saw, can be a little frightening.
Even the sidewalk animation when Daffy goes after Porky is damn unusual.

But does Schlesinger sound anything like Daffy when he speaks? Or do they not have Schlesinger speak in the film?

Schlesinger talks in "You Ought to Be in Pictures." He sounds pretty normal, but who knows how many dubbing
takes he made to make sure he sounded good? I haven't seen anything saying that this isn't his actual voice.
But he did supposedly have a lisp, possibly made more pronounced in retelling of events.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1t7gb2

16. Daffy’s Southern Exposure, 1942, Looney Tunes, Norman McCabe.
--deciding the other ducks are stuck in a rut, Daffy decides not to fly south for the winter. Instead,
he hopes to have the run of the lake all to himself and also wishes to get a close look at “this
winter business.” He says this while looking at a picture of a Snow Queen. The lake soon freezes
over and Daffy begins to starve to death. Meanwhile, a fox and weasel living together in a cabin
express their displeasure at having nothing but beans to eat. Daffy follows the cooking smells of
their beans to their cabin, knocks, and the two, hoping to fatten him up first, disguise themselves
as friendly old ladies and invite Daffy in for dinner. The fox performs a nice song about various
foods while feeding an appreciative Daffy nothing but beans. After Daffy is fattened up, the two
shed their disguises and chase Daffy, who makes short work of them then races south.
--Note: Warner Brothers World War 2 cartoons start to get a little more free with their characters
recognizing and appreciating sexuality. Other than a few moments like that, Daffy is back to being
the zany, crazy duck again.

17. The Impatient Patient, 1942, Looney Tunes, Norman McCabe.
--seeking to delivery a singing telegram in a swamp to a Chloe, deliverer Daffy Duck develops
hickups. Daffy spies the nearby lair of Dr. Jerkyl, whose neon sign answers in the affirmative
when Daffy wonders aloud if he could cure hickups. The skinny Dr. Jerkyl decides to transform
into the monstrous female ogre “Chloe” in order to scare Daffy. Numerous chase scenes are
interrupted as a radio plays dance music and Chloe wants to dance. Daffy eventually mixes up
some chemicals that turn Chloe into a younger boy version of Dr. Jerkyl. Thinking he’ll behave
now, Daffy appears not to see Jerkyl picking up a hammer and muttering “He don’t know me
very well, does he?” Daffy, sporting a very large mallet, nods at this and utters the same words
just before some hammering begins off screen, and we hear the boy crying out.

18. The Daffy Duckaroo, 1942, Looney Tunes, Norman McCabe.
--crooning cowboy Daffy Duck retires from films and travels west in a donkey-pulled trailer
where he wants to be a lone… ranger. Daffy soon encounters an Indian camp, and, about
to flee, sees an Indian maiden whom he serenades and woos. Only, her boyfriend Little Beaver
“don’t allow her to have no other fellows,” and he shows up about this time. Disguising himself
as another Indian maiden, Daffy fends off the advances of Little Beaver---for awhile---but then just
seems to give in and start kissing the big Indian until Daffy’s wig falls off, then Little Beaver is
intent upon chasing him through the Painted Desert intent on violence.

19. My favorite Duck, 1942, Looney Tunes, Chuck Jones.

--on vacation, Porky Pig attempts to camp alongside a lake. Unfortunately for Porky, Daffy Duck
happens to live in that same lake and this cartoon takes place during Daffy’s screw-with-anyone
for-any-reason phase. The cartoon opens with a nice scene where Porky is singing while paddling
a canoe, and Daffy spreads out his legs and paddles himself like a canoe right behind him and butts
into Porky’s song. Screwball Daffy then inserts himself into whatever else Porky does after that, and
each time that Porky wants to fight back, Daffy shows him signs about this not being Duck Hunting
Season and even molesting a duck carries a hefty fine. A fun gag has Porky falling asleep while fishing
in his canoe, and Daffy turns it over, then pulls on the line causing the pole to pull out of the water. Porky
dives out of the water and swims in the air after his pole until he realizes what he’s doing and falls.
Eventually, one of the signs Daffy pulls out to defend himself from Porky indicates it is now Duck Hunting
Season, and Porky gets his revenge.
--Note: this is the second color Looney Tunes cartoon.

20. To Duck or Not to Duck, 1943, Looney Tunes, Chuck Jones.

--out hunting, Elmer Fudd manages to blow off Daffy’s tail feathers and causes him to fall. Elmer’s
dog, Laramore, retrieves the wounded duck. Elmer apologizes to Daffy for shooting him but he had to
because he is a great sportsman. Daffy rejects this and argues that Elmer with his guns has an
unfair advantage. This leads to a “fair” boxing match, where several ducks connive to make sure that
Daffy wins the fight. Elmer at the end, though, manages to give back as much as he was given.
--Note: great, nonsensical line uttered by Elmer’s dog in this one: “There’s something awfully screwy
about this fight or my name isn’t Laramore. And it isn’t.” Yet it was established that it was his name.

Of those last five cartoons, I'd be hard pressed to choose between which is the better of "To Duck or
Not to Duck" and "My Favorite Duck." Both are great Chuck Jones works, and both have what I call
"well-balanced violence" meaning both sides take punishment. One of the reasons I've always had
a hard time fully enjoying Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and even Speedy Gonzales cartoons is their
one-sided nature. Daffy gives and takes, wins and loses. His are among my favorite Warner Brothers'
cartoons, followed closely by the Foghorn Leghorn vs. Farmyard Dawg pairings.

Anyway, you can't go wrong watching either of these cartoons. I'm also fond of "Southern Exposure,"
which may be Norman McCabe's best effort with Daffy.

21. The Wise Quaking Duck, 1943, Looney Tunes, Robert Clampett.

--Mr. Meek has been told by his wife, Sweetypuss, that he’s to make her a duck dinner or she'll
cook his goose instead. So, the diminutive Mr. Meek approaches Daffy Duck with axe in hand. Daffy
gets rough with him, and, during the struggle, Meek hacks away at a hay stack that Daffy has taken
cover behind and Meek thinks he’s gotten Daffy, who cries out, slops a ketchup bottle about, and pushes
his head down his neck, then runs around like a headless chicken. Meek returns to the house sad at
what he has done, and Daffy follows him inside for more hi-jinx. Eventually Daffy, held at bay before
Meek’s shotgun, does a little strip tease, removes his feathers and enters the oven. Inside, Daffy cries
out in pain, and Meek opens the oven only to see Daffy bathing himself in gravy, and he says, “Now
you’re cooking with gas! Whoo-hoo!”

22. Yankee Doodle Daffy, 1943, Looney Tunes, Friz Freleng.
--Film Producer, Porky Pig, leaves his office with suitcase and golf clubs, and tells the audience that
he has ten minutes to catch his flight. He is stopped by Daffy Duck, who represents Sleepy Lagoon,
a duck child actor with a giant lollypop in his mouth, which he twists around in his mouth reshaping
his head in the process. The rest of the cartoon is essentially Daffy demonstrating himself what his
talents his client supposedly possesses while also foiling Porky’s every attempt to escape to his vacation.
Finally, Porky relents to see the kid perform, and the little duck sings a very impressive operative
baritone… almost, but he doesn’t quite make it to the end and wheezes out his final line.

23. Porky’s Pig Feat, 1943, Looney Tunes, Frank Tashlin.

--after Daffy gambles away the money he was was supposed to bring back after cashing a check,
Daffy and Porky are unable to pay for their lodging expenses at the Broken Arms Hotel. Forced to
stay by the Manager until they can provide the money they owe, Daffy and Porky make many
attempts at escaping, which all fail, cause damage, and increase the amount of their total bill.
Finally, stuck there for weeks, Porky and Daffy begin exclaiming about how their hero Bugs Bunny
always gets away from these types of situations. Daffy gives Bugs a call to ask for his advice, and
Bugs rattles off the exact list of what they’ve already tried to do. The adjoining door to their room
then opens to show Bugs is chained up in the room next to them, “Yeah, they don’t work, do they?”

24. Scrap Happy Daffy, 1943, Looney Tunes, Frank Tashlin.

--overly patriotic Daffy is a guard at a scrap yard and sings rabble-rousing songs encouraging
everyone to gather scrap to help out the Allied War effort. He has so much scrap and has been
so successful, that news of his huge scrap pile reaches Adolf Hitler, who orders the scrap pile
destroyed. A Nazi submarine shoots a torpedo at the scrap yard, and, right before impact, it
ejects its payload of a billy goat, who starts eating the scrap. Daffy notices the goat and initially
gives him a tonic to help cure his hiccups. Then he notices the swastika the goat is wearing on its
collar. Daffy starts fighting with the goat only to have his mallet get stuck in the goat’s horns.
--Notes: there are some wonderful white line on black scenes depicting Daffy’s famous Duck
ancestors who encourage him not to give up. Then Daffy becomes a “Super American” parody
of the Fleischer cartoon Superman to win the day against the goat and the Nazi sub.

25. Daffy--The Commando, 1943, Looney Tunes, Friz Freleng.
--Commando Daffy Duck gets behind enemy lines, causing havoc for a Nazi Commander, Von
Vultur, and his servant, Schultz (whom Vultur typically abuses when things don’t go right). War-
time gags abound, including Daffy jumping into a plane and narrowly avoiding being shot by a
“whole mess of Messerschmitts.” Daffy tries to escape by crawling into a dark tunnel, which turns
out to be a huge howitzer barrow. Unharmed as he is shot out, Daffy becomes a human cannonball
and flies to Berlin, where he smacks a rotoscoped Adolf Hitler on the head with a mallet.

1943 is a great year for Daffy cartoons, and there's not a stinker in the bunch. And while all of
war propaganda stories are all excellent, it's hard to NOT single out "Porky's Pig's Feat" as the
best cartoon in this group of five. It really is everything I look for in a quality cartoon. Great story,
great gags, violence, the ultimate failure of the stars to succeed, and a wonderful ending. Frank Tashlin
produces an excellent film here, and you just can't beat Porky, Daffy, and Bugs meeting up together
all at the same time for the first time at the end of the cartoon.

I'm enjoying this thread.

As am I.

Sweet! I'll watch another five later on today.

24 1/2. A Corny Concerto, 1943, Merrie Melodies, Robert Clampett.

--if this is included as a Daffy Duck film, it should appear between “Scrap Happy Daffy” and
“Daffy -- The Commando” as it was released in September. There is some debate as to whether
or not Daffy Duck appears in this cartoon or not. I’ve decided… well, why not? The cartoon is a
Robert Campett parody of Walt Disney’s Fantasia. It is actually two musical shorts (set to the
waltzes of Johann Strauss). Each otherwise dialogue-free segment is introduced by Elmer Fudd,
who serves as Master of Ceremonies (in Deems Taylor’s role).


In the first, set to the music of “Tales of Vienna”: hunter Porky Pig and his dog are hunting Bugs
Bunny. The main gag here is each of them believes they have been shot, and, as they slowly pry
their hands away from their chests, they see they have not been. Before Bugs can reveal, however,
he falls to the ground and grows green in the face. As the others pry his hands away from his chest,
Bugs screams and is shown wearing a full brassiere beneath.


In the second short, we get a variation of “The Ugly Duckling,” set to the music of “The Blue Danube”:
here, the main characters are a mother swan, her three cygnets, and an actual black duckling, who’s
lonely and wants to be part of their family. This Daffy-looking fellow gets the stink eye and violence
from the mother swan every time he tries to append himself to the back of her brood. Meanwhile, a
hungry hep-haired buzzard captures the three baby swans, which infuriates the Daffy Duckling, who
briefly morphs into a P-40 Warhawk fighter and chases the “yellow” buzzard down, kills him and
rescues the cygnets, thus earning a place in their Mother’s family, who all learn to quack like him.

--Notes: these are modestly funny pieces, but the true artistry here is the animation synced up
to the music, and the wonderful coloring, especially in the Swan piece. I’ve also decided that I’m
not going to renumber my list as my “24 and 1/2” compromise fits in nicely in the Daffy Universe.
The biggest argument in favor of this being Daffy beyond his general appearance is this cartoon
features all of Warner's biggest cartoon stars at the time: Bugs, Porky, Elmer. If this is not Daffy,
it would be a great missed opportunity.

I've seen that one! It's a sort of minor masterpiece in its way.

Unlike when I was collecting these originally, almost every Warners Brothers' cartoon can now be
found on YouTube or Dailymotion in some form or another, sometimes edited, but mostly complete.