Duck Amuck (1953)

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

28 February 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.

Plot Keywords:

Animator | Daffy Duck | Audio Problems | Animation Filmmaking | Breaking The Fourth Wall Via Iris Shot

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Daffy Duck / Bugs Bunny (voice)

Also Known As:

Duck Amuck (Greece) (festival title) [el]
Farce au canard (France) [fr]
Repe raivona (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15191) | UK:U | Canada:G (Nova Scotia)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In animation historian Jerry Beck's 1994 poll of animators, film historians and directors, this cartoon was rated the second greatest cartoon of all time.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Daffy Duck: Stand back, musketeers, they shall sample my blade! Touche!
[suddenly realizes that there is absolutely nothing behind him]
Daffy Duck: Musketeers? Hm? En Garde, eh? My blade? Hey, psst. Whoever's in charge here! The scenery! Where's the scenery?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Behind the Tunes: Blanc Expressions (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Captains of the Clouds

A Timeless classic

From the very first second you notice the scenery changing behind poor Daffy Duck, you realize this is NOT going to be your ordinary cartoon. Sure enough, with Daffy's ever changing wardrobe trying to keep up with his ever changing background, you can see Daffy Duck's blood pressure boil. My favorite scene is him dressed as a singing cowboy in a blank background. The second he strings his guitar, and no sound is heard, he gives a (what the %^*#) stare straight to the camera as he props a small sign questioning where is the sound. No sooner said... the soundtrack comes alive with what sounds like a needle being put on a 78 rpm record. Just as Daffy plucks the guitar, the sounds of a machine gun in High Fidelity erupts! A honking car horn next emits from his plucking the strings before a furious Daffy smashes the guitar to bits (with the accompanying sound of a donkey laughing). The cartoon is timed in perfect rhythm and one gag is topped by another, before the zenith is reached at the end. There will NEVER be another cartoon that can top this one for sheer character self implosion. Daffy Duck was never to shine any brighter than this one (Although Duck Dodger's in the 24 1/2 Century is another Gem... but there, Daffy is pure ham... even more than his Space Cadet side-kick Porky Pig). Mr Chuck Jones... we are deeply at your debt for this masterpiece.