Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur

Last updated
Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur
Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur title card.png
Directed by Charles Jones
Story byDave Monahan
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Starring Mel Blanc
Jack Lescoulie
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation byA.C. Gamer
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • April 22, 1939 (1939-04-22)
Running time
8:06
LanguageEnglish

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones. [1] The cartoon was released on April 22, 1939, and is the first Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Jones. [2]

Contents

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur is set in a chronologically twisted Stone Age and features Daffy Duck going up against a caveman named Casper (who is a caricature of Jack Benny) and his pet Brontosaurus Fido.

This is the last cartoon with the Vitaphone intro, which was first used in The Phantom Ship in 1936.

Plot

Casper the Caveman (Jack Lescoulie impersonating Jack Benny) and his pet Fido the Brontosaurus go hunting for breakfast and come upon Daffy (Mel Blanc). Casper uses a slingshot to fire a rock at the duck (which Casper calls his favorite vegetable), who, until he realizes the danger, is casually floating along in a lake. He revs up to incredible speed, though barely keeping ahead of the rock. Finally, Daffy slides to a halt and, disguised as a traffic cop, causes the rock to wait while a swan crosses, as though at an intersection. After that, Daffy waves the rock through and takes off in the other direction. The rock realizes it has been tricked and backtracks, but Daffy races between Casper's and Fido's legs. Fido, bending down to peer between his legs to see where Daffy has gone, has his head impacted by the rock. The dazed dinosaur performs a silly dance before floating to the ground, asleep.

Upon seeing Daffy behaving decidedly, unlike a regular duck in water, Casper says, "Gosh, that duck acts like he's crazy." Daffy replies, "That is correct; absolutely one hundred percent correct!" and snaps the rubber of Casper's slingshot into the caveman's face. Casper decides to dive in after the duck and strips down. As he dives in, Daffy holds up a sign that indicates no swimming is allowed. Casper freezes in mid-dive, then retreats to shore and gets dressed, ranting that other cave dwellers get to go swimming.

After ordering Fido to retrieve Daffy, which results only in Fido tying his neck in a knot, the two leave. Daffy, however, knows that Casper will not give up, so he paints an image of himself on a rock. Indeed, Casper returns with a club and bashes the image; the reverberation courses through his body. Daffy gives the caveman a glass of bromo-seltzer, which cures the issue and results in Casper thanking the duck and offering to shake hands. Daffy gives him a card advertising "...the biggest, most luscious Duck..." Casper and Fido head off in the direction indicated on the card, following a series of billboards (parodying advertising techniques of the era, including references to "The Breakfast of Champions" and "The Pause that Refreshes") Daffy has erected. They eventually reach an inflatable balloon duck, which Daffy is pumping up. Casper is terrified by this until Daffy hands him a knife. Casper marches over and stabs the giant, angry-looking balloon duck. The explosion proves lethal enough to blow up Casper, Fido, and even Daffy.

Afterwards, the three of them have ascended to Heaven, lounging on clouds. Fido plays a harp while Daffy and Casper think about their mistakes. Daffy laments that "maybe this wasn't such a hot idea after all." The short ends with Casper looking at the audience and saying Jack Benny's line "Good night, folks."

Production notes

Most of Chuck Jones-directed cartoons from this era (such as the ones featuring Sniffles the Mouse) were very heavily inspired by Walt Disney's cartoon shorts, placing more emphasis on story and animation than gags. Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur shows the faintest hints of deviation from such cartoons, which eventually led to the fast-paced Jones cartoons of the 1940s, such as The Dover Boys and The Draft Horse .

This is also an important milestone in the evolution of Daffy Duck's personality. While Tex Avery and Bob Clampett had depicted Daffy as completely insane, irrational, and uncontrollable in their previous cartoons with the character, Jones depicted Daffy here as somewhat more thoughtful and calculating. Jones and Friz Freleng continued to develop Daffy's personality in this direction throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

In the music video for Was (Not Was)'s Walk the Dinosaur, the cartoon in question is show on its television.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Blanc</span> American voice actor and radio personality (1908–1989)

Melvin Jerome Blanc was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy radio programs, including those of Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, The Great Gildersleeve, Judy Canova and his own short-lived sitcom.

<i>Merrie Melodies</i> Cartoon series owned by Warner Bros. (1931–1969 and 1988–1997)

Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the Looney Tunes franchise and featured many of the same characters. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it was revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black-and-white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inki</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Inki is the lead character in an animated cartoon series of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies short films by animator Chuck Jones. Five Inki cartoons were made between 1939 and 1950.

Gossamer (<i>Looney Tunes</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Gossamer is an animated character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is a large, hairy, orange or red monster. His body is perched on two giant tennis shoes, and his heart-shaped face is composed of only two oval eyes and a wide mouth, with two hulking arms ending in dirty, clawed fingers. The monster's main trait is his uncombed, orange hair. He originally was voiced by Mel Blanc and has been voiced by Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Joe Alaskey, Jim Cummings, Kwesi Boakye, Eric Bauza and currently Fred Tatasciore.

<i>Robin Hood Daffy</i> 1958 animated short film by Chuck Jones

Robin Hood Daffy is a 1958 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on March 8, 1958, and stars Daffy Duck as Robin Hood and Porky Pig as Friar Tuck.

Fido may refer to:

<i>Rabbit Fire</i> 1951 American animated short film directed by Chuck Jones

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, the cartoon is the first in Jones' "hunting trilogy"—the other two cartoons following it being Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! It is also the first cartoon to feature a feud between Bugs and Daffy. Produced by Edward Selzer for Warner Bros. Cartoons, the short was released to theaters on May 19, 1951 by Warner Bros. Pictures and is often considered among Jones' best and most important films.

<i>Rabbit Seasoning</i> 1952 American film by Chuck Jones

Rabbit Seasoning is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Released on September 20, 1952, the short stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.

<i>The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie</i> 1979 animated feature film directed by Chuck Jones

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie is a 1979 American animated comedy package film directed by Chuck Jones, consisting of a compilation of classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts and newly animated bridging sequences hosted by Bugs Bunny. The bridging sequences, which had been produced in 1978, show Bugs at his home, which is cantilevered over a carrot-juice waterfall. The film was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bugs Bunny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Lescoulie</span> Radio and TV announcer and host (1912–1987)

Jack Lescoulie was an American radio and television announcer and host, notably on NBC's Today during the 1950s and 1960s; a newspaper source lists his date of birth as May 17, 1912. Lescoulie was also known for his voice impersonation of comedian Jack Benny.

Beanstalk Bunny is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on February 12, 1955, and stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. The cartoon's story is derived from the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk".

This is a list of all cartoons featuring Porky Pig. Directors are listed in parentheses.

<i>A Pest in the House</i> 1947 film by Chuck Jones

A Pest in the House is a Merrie Melodies animated short film released on August 2, 1947. It is directed by Chuck Jones and stars the characters of Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.

<i>A Star Is Bored</i> 1956 American film

A Star Is Bored is a 1956 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on September 15, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. The cartoon expands upon the rivalry depicted between Bugs and Daffy, in such films as Chuck Jones' 1951 short Rabbit Fire, this time placing the action in a show-biz setting. In this 7-minute short, Daffy must double for Bugs in any slapstick that Warners deems too dangerous for its top star. After each disaster, Daffy shouts "MAKEUP!". The director directing the scenes has an Erich Von Stroheim accent.

<i>Nasty Quacks</i> 1945 film

Nasty Quacks is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin, released on December 1, 1945, and starring Daffy Duck.

<i>You Were Never Duckier</i> 1948 American film

You Were Never Duckier is a 1948 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The cartoon was released on August 7, 1948, and stars Daffy Duck and Henery Hawk.

<i>Daffy Dilly</i> 1948 film

Daffy Dilly is a 1948 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The cartoon was released on October 30, 1948, and stars Daffy Duck.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3</i> 2005 DVD compilation of Looney Tunes animated short films

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.

Malibu Beach Party is a 1940 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on September 14, 1940.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 86. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 70–72. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Walk the Dinosaur Music Video; Retrieved September 22, 2024.
Preceded by Daffy Duck Cartoons
1939		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.