The Iceman Ducketh is a 1964 Warner Bros.Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon directed by Phil Monroe and Maurice Noble, with a story by John W. Dunn.[1] The short was released on May 16, 1964, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.[2] It was the penultimate Warner Bros. Theatrical Cartoon to feature Bugs Bunny and the last Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon to feature Bugs and Daffy together until Box-Office Bunny in 1991, and the last that the Chuck Jones unit worked on, though Chuck Jones himself was fired at an early stage of production and replaced by Monroe (by the time it was released, Jones had already produced two cartoons at his new studio, Sib-Tower 12 Productions).
At a trading post up in the Klondike, many fur trappers have come in to trade in their furs for big bucks after a successful fur trapping season. When Daffy Duck sees Garcon, the manager of the trading post, giving money to the last fur trapper, he checks in to ask if trading in furs for money is true. Garcon says it is true, but Daffy decides to go out and trap some fur for money, just as Garcon warns him that fur trapping season is over due to the approaching winter.
Scoffing at the idea of winter, Daffy vows to catch a fur just as winter sets in just as suddenly. Bugs Bunny makes a snow rabbit, telling the audience it will fool Daffy for a while, while he makes his getaway. Daffy comes up to the snow rabbit and warns him not to move or be pulverized. When the coal nose of the snow rabbit falls off, Daffy takes that as movement and proceeds to whack the snow rabbit to pieces until he hits a hibernating bear, whom the snow rabbit was built over. Angry at having his hibernation disturbed, the bear claws Daffy, who runs off thinking the bear missed until he falls to pieces.
Just as Bugs is tutting off Daffy's misfortune, Daffy catches up and pokes his rifle at him. When Bugs asks Daffy if he has got some antipathy towards him, Daffy states he is only after the fur, of which he finds Bugs' to be the softest he has felt. As Bugs starts bragging about getting his suits from "the same tailor as the Duke of Windsor," Daffy just states he is not interested in any "sales pitch" (Ken Harris animates this scene—his last work at Warner's). Daffy refuses to give Bugs a sporting chance and threatens to shoot him in the neck, but Bugs kisses him, plugs up his gun with his carrot and runs away. Daffy tries to shoot Bugs, but the gun expands from the carrot; as Daffy tries to dislodge the carrot, the gun explodes in his face. Daffy then snarls: "Ooooh, I LOVE him!"
Later, Daffy ignores a sign warning him there are hibernating animals, vowing that "I know one that isn't gonna get much sleep!" No sooner does he say that than he comes across an alarm clock, that rings and wakes up another hibernating bear. Thinking Daffy to be responsible for the rude awakening, the bear chases him straight into a cave where Bugs directs them. Bugs then seals up the cave entrance with a boulder, leaving the bear to pummel Daffy, who finally exits the cave looking a little worse for wear.
Further on, Bugs has come across a sign warning him that he is in avalanche territory just as Daffy comes running up. Bugs manages to inform him of where they are and instructs him to follow on tiptoe. Daffy obliges and, after a few seconds, asks Bugs if it is okay to talk yet. Bugs pretends not to hear, prompting Daffy to ask again in his loudest whisper. When Bugs again pretends not to hear, Daffy gets mad enough to simply shout his question, causing snow to fall all over him. Bugs informs him that it still is not safe then and Daffy sarcastically thanks him.
Back at his hole, Bugs goes down for a rest just as Daffy comes up with dynamite. As Daffy trails out the wire, Bugs moves the hole so he secretly places the dynamite next to Daffy, just as Daffy prepares a detonator ("I love doing this, especially because I DESPISE him!"). After the dynamite explodes on Daffy, Daffy states "I think I'm going to cry."
Bugs manages to take refuge in a tree, forcing Daffy to put firewood around the stump in an attempt to smoke him out, but the fire melts the snow on the tree, causing it to fall on Daffy and freeze him in an ice statue. Bugs takes this event to make his getaway, but Daffy manages to free himself and get blasted by his own gun while trying to free it from the ice statue ("Say, whose side are you on, fella?"). Using skis, Daffy pursues Bugs to the lake, firing his gun as he goes. Bugs creates an "invisible shield" by throwing out a bucket of water, which freezes into a shield, which Daffy crashes into. This gag spoofs Colgate commercials of the early 1960s ("I saw a guy do this in a toothpaste ad once").
Up a hill, Daffy drops a pebble that rolls into a giant snowball, in the hopes it will engulf Bugs. The snowball misses Bugs by a few inches, but engulfs three hibernating bears in the cave Bugs had earlier trapped Daffy in, and falls out the other end of the cave. After a brief boulder catapult gag, similar to those from the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, the snowball lands on Daffy, who runs up a tree just as the angry bears threaten to massacre him.
Later that night, Bugs decides to turn in for winterhibernation and bids Daffy and the bears goodnight. Daffy, now looking blue from the cold and worse for wear from an unseen fight with the bears (that might have taken place during the blackout between this scene and the snowball gag), simply curses over the mess he has gotten himself into while still clinging to the treetop.
Home media
"The Iceman Ducketh" is available, uncensored and uncut, on the Looney Tunes Superstars DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen.
Bugs Bunny is a fictional character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.
Daffy Duck is a fictional character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in which he is usually depicted as a foil for either Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig or Speedy Gonzales. He was one of the first of the new "screwball" characters that emerged in the late 1930s to replace traditional everyman characters who were more popular earlier in the decade, such as Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, and Popeye.
Box-Office Bunny is a 1991 Looney Tunes short film directed by Darrell Van Citters and starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It was shown in theaters alongside The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, as well as on the subsequent home media releases for the film. It is Warner Bros.'s first Bugs Bunny theatrical release since 1964's False Hare. It was issued to commemorate Bugs' 50th anniversary and is included as a special feature on the DVD for The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie. The short marks the debut of Jeff Bergman as the voice of Bugs, Daffy, and Elmer, following the death of Mel Blanc in July 1989.
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, Inc., 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.
The Heckling Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon, released on July 5, 1941, and featuring Bugs Bunny and a dopey dog named Willoughby. The cartoon was directed by Tex Avery, written by Michael Maltese, animated by soon-to-be director Robert McKimson, and with musical direction by Carl W. Stalling. In a style that was becoming typical of the Bugs character, he easily outwitted and tormented his antagonist through the short, his only concern being what to do next to the dog.
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.
Duck! Rabbit, Duck! is a 1953 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Charles M. Jones. The cartoon was released on October 3, 1953 and stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.
Ali Baba Bunny is a 1957 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on February 9, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
Bonanza Bunny is a 1959 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on September 5, 1959, and stars Bugs Bunny. In the cartoon, Bugs faces off with the French-Canadian claim jumper Blacque Jacque Shellacque during a fictionalized version of the Klondike Gold Rush.
(Blooper) Bunny is a Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, with music by George Daugherty, produced in 1991 by Warner Bros. Animation. Featuring the voice talents of Jeff Bergman and Gordon Hunt, the short is a parody of some of the specials produced for Bugs Bunny's 50th anniversary the previous year. The short never received its intended theatrical release and was shelved for six years. It was finally given a television premiere on June 13, 1997, after Cartoon Network discovered the film sitting unseen in the vaults. It is featured on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 as of 2003.
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".
The Abominable Snow Rabbit is a 1961 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and co-directed by Maurice Noble, with a story by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on May 20, 1961, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
Person to Bunny is a 1960 Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on April 1, 1960, and stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It is the last cartoon to feature Arthur Q. Bryan as the voice of Elmer, and was released shortly after Bryan's death.
People Are Bunny is a 1959 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson The short was released on December 19, 1959, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
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.
Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antagonizing characters. He speaks in an unusual way, replacing his Rs and Ls with Ws, so he often refers to Bugs Bunny as a "scwewy" or "wascawwy (rascally) wabbit". Elmer's signature catchphrase is, "Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits", as well as his trademark laughter.
The character that would evolve into Bugs Bunny appeared in four cartoon shorts before his first official appearance in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare. While this early version is commonly referred to as "Happy Rabbit", animation historian David Gerstein disputes this, saying that the only usage of the term was from Mel Blanc himself; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as April 1938, from a model sheet made by Charles Thorson which was used for the short Hare-um Scare-um. Bugs was also mentioned by name from an August 1939 review of the short in the Motion Picture Herald.
The Looney Tunes Show is an American animated sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and aired on Cartoon Network for two seasons from May 3, 2011, to November 2, 2013. The series differed from others featuring characters from the Looney Tunes, by focusing on stories conformed around a sitcom format involving the characters of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who live a surburban life together within a neighbourhood of fellow cartoon neighbours, dealing with various issues in their own way. Both the characters from the Looney Tunes, as well as the Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon shorts, were given a 21st century update, with episodes also including a musical short; the first series also included computer-animated shorts involving new antics between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
Hugo the Abominable Snowman is a character in the Looney Tunes franchise.
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.348. ISBN0-8050-0894-2.
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