The Wise Quacking Duck
The Wise Quacking Duck | |
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![]() Title card | |
Directed by | Robert Clampett |
Story by | Warren Foster |
Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
Animation by | Phil Monroe |
Color process | Technicolor (three-color) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 minutes |
Language | English |
The Wise Quacking Duck is a 1943 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett.[1] The cartoon was released on May 1, 1943, and stars Daffy Duck.[2]
Plot[]
The cartoon begins with Mr. Meek (voiced by Darrell Payne) carrying an axe in his hands. He turns to the audience and explains that his wife, Sweetypuss, told him that if he did not bring home a roast duck for dinner, she would 'cook (his) goose'. (A parody of Wallace Wimple and his wife "Sweetie Face".) The scene cuts to Daffy eating corn while singing "I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" minding his business. A shadow of Meek is shown getting ready to chop off Daffy's head. Then Daffy jumps and shouts "WATCH IT, BUB!!!" directly in his face.
After a brief talk to Meek, he flicks his beak at his face and marches to a hay stack. Meek chops the stack various times and on the last chop, he thinks he kills the duck. Daffy fakes his death by squirting ketchup and throwing his feathers around ("You crushed my little head!") This fools Meek by pretending he is beheaded and runs rapidly.
Meek feels sad and returns to his house, where Daffy is seen putting many sugar cubes into a cup of coffee. Meek guiltily tells him that he has killed a duck. Daffy cheers up Meek into giving him a cup of coffee and asks how many lumps (of sugar) his wife usually gives him. Meek shows Daffy a 'lump' (a bump on his head), and Daffy hits him on the head (giving him another 'lump') and pours cream on it. Daffy dances on the cakes and pies, singing "Shortening Bread", and Meek immediately recognizes the duck he thought he killed ("Say. That's that Daffy Duck.") Daffy then utters 'YOU AIN'T JUST WHISTLING DIXIE!!!', then throws a pie at him, leading into a war between himself and Meek.
Daffy goes into army plane mode, by dropping an egg on Meek as a "Secret Bomb Site." Next, he goes into battle weaponry mode, by making various sounds and smashing household items. After all the fun and games are over, Meek gets mad, which causes the egg to fry on his head.
Daffy runs off, but is caught by Meek with a shotgun. He puts it up to Daffy's face and orders him to get in the oven. Daffy goes into his stripper mode and performs a striptease to the tune "It Had to be You."
The war continues through some parts of the cartoon, including a fortune teller (referring to Jerry Colonna). Going back to the curve run scene, Meek points his gun to Daffy's face again ("No no. Not twice in a same picture.") Meek blows the feathers off him and throws him in the oven. When he hears Daffy screaming in the oven, he feels guilty and opens the door. The cartoon ends with Daffy bathing himself in gravy ("Say. Now you're cooking with gas.")
Crew[]
- Supervision: Robert Clampett
- Story: Warren Foster
- Animation: Phil Monroe
- Additional Animation: Robert McKimson, Rod Scribner, Virgil Ross, Manny Gould, Thomas McKimson, Art Babbitt
- Layouts and Backgrounds: Earl Klein and Michael Sasanoff
- Voice Actors: Mel Blanc, Darrall Payne
- Musical Direction: Carl W. Stalling
- Producer: Leon Schlesinger
Home media[]
The short is presented uncut on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 in Disc 3 and on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 Blu-ray set, Disc 1.
References[]
- ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 140. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 70-72. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links[]
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Wise Quacking Duck |
- 1943 films
- English-language films
- 1943 animated films
- Looney Tunes shorts
- American films
- Films featuring Daffy Duck
- Films directed by Bob Clampett
- 1940s American animated films
- Films produced by Leon Schlesinger
- Films scored by Carl Stalling