A Squeak in the Deep (1966) User Reviews

Not much cop

[bob the moo · 31 January 2004]

Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales both see a poster for a boat race with a big cash prize for the first boat to reach Hawaii. With them both in joint lead, Daffy decides to take direct action to try and beat Speedy.

As a big fan of Daffy Duck, it saddens me to watch his collaborations with Speedy Gonzales. They are generally very poor in terms of characters, animation and laughs. The plot here is just an excuse for the two to fight on the open seas in a series of antics that are OK without ever really being very funny.

The animation is as basic as I have come to expect from these later cartoons - very basic colours, backgrounds and foregrounds. In terms of development of character, Daffy is poor. He is neither the scheming Daffy nor the loco Daffy, he is just dull. Speedy is a little ball of Mexican clichés but I wouldn't call him a character.

Looking basic, plot wise basic and lacking in any sense of humour or spark, this is yet another reason why I hate Speedy Gonzales and why I always prefer the early Daffy.

A Squeak in the Deep was only a slightly amusing modern-day Looney Tune

[tavm · 4/10 · 29 November 2008]

This was one of the latter day-Warner cartoons (as evidenced by the "modern" visual intro to Looney Tunes and the less instruments version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down") that was actually produced by another company (The original cartoon studio having closed in 1963 before reopening the following year after this short). That company was DePatie-Freleng whose former Warner employees stayed at the lot before moving after success with The Pink Panther cartoons. In this one, Daffy and Speedy compete in a boat race in order to win the prize money. Daffy cheats until Speedy suggests joining forces. That's all I'll say about the plot and just mention that not much funny stuff happens until Daffy gets stuck in a porthole and Speedy keeps hitting his butt until the duck agrees to the deal. That happens near the end so this wasn't a laugh-out-loud outing for me. It's nice, however, to hear Mel Blanc singing as both characters here. So on that note, A Squeak in the Deep is worth a look for you Warner completists out there.

A rather weak cartoon, but not quite among the worst of the Daffy/Speedy cartoons

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 29 March 2014]

Regarding the Daffy/Speedy cartoons, I don't dislike them as much as most do but am indifferent to them on the most part, though there are some decent ones. A Squeak in the Deep is not quite as bad as Speedy Ghost to Town, A Haunting We Will Go, The Chocolate Chase(if we're counting post-1969 cartoons as well) and See Ya Later Gladiator(didn't care for Rodent to Stardom either). However, despite Mel Blanc doing the best he can with the voices(if a touch abrasive), the energetic music and one funny gag with Daffy getting stuck in the port-hole, A Squeak in the Deep is rather weak. As is with most of the Daffy/Speedy cartoons the animation is very limited, looking very sparsely drawn and flatly coloured, rushed-looking as well. The dialogue is completely lacking in freshness and wit, the worst of the lines being groan-worthy(certainly don't expect a memorable final line), and the gags are unimaginative and some drawn-out. A lot of the material has a tendency to feel like it would have belonged better in a Speedy and Sylvester cartoon too. The story has no spark and even for Looney Tunes is very predictable to the point you know and don't care what happens. Neither Daffy or Speedy work, and certainly not together. Speedy is annoying with some doing and spouting of some stereotypical things that can be taken either way and seems only there for conflict and a plot-device. Even more disappointing is Daffy, he is one of Looney Tunes' greatest characters but has very little to do here and his personality doesn't shine at all, a sad waste really. Their chemistry does not gel, not helped by that it always was an odd chemistry that rarely made sense unless there was a good reason for them to be together or for Daffy's pursuit of Speedy. All in all, you can do with worse but A Squeak in the Deep was weak stuff. Worth seeing one time but not a cartoon to warrant more viewings. 4/10 Bethany Cox