The Daffy Duckaroo (1942)

Singing cowboy Daffy retires to the Painted Desert (still wet). He falls for an Indian maiden with a Brooklyn accent, but her very large boyfriend catches them. Daffy dresses in drag, which... See full summary »

Director:

Norm McCabe (as Norman McCabe)

Writer:

Melvin Millar (story)

Stars:

Mel Blanc, Sara Berner

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Sara Berner	...	Daisy June (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Daffy Duck / Little Beaver / Horse / Tire Indian (voice) (uncredited)

Storyline

Singing cowboy Daffy retires to the Painted Desert (still wet). He falls for an Indian maiden with a Brooklyn accent, but her very large boyfriend catches them. Daffy dresses in drag, which fools him for a while until Daffy's wig falls off. The boyfriend chases Daffy into the Petrified Forest (where Daffy freezes and breaks tomahawks). The Indian sends smoke signals from a phone booth and his tribe attacks Daffy, trapping him under his house trailer. They steal his tires, but return them because they don't fit.

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Plot Keywords:

animal character name in title | daffy duck character | little beaver character | three word title | reference to lifebuoy soap | 

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Genres:

Family | Animation | Short | Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Vitaphone production reel #802A.

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Quotes

Little Beaver: [after breaking his tomahawk over Daffy's head] Boo Hoo Hoo He broke my little hammer!

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Alternate Versions

This cartoon was colorized in 1968 by having every other frame traced over onto a cel. Each redrawn cel was painted in color and then photographed over a colored reproduction of each original background. Needless to say, the animation quality dropped considerably from the original version with this method. The cartoon was colorized again in 1990, this time with a computer adding color to a new print of the original black and white cartoon. This preserved the quality of the original animation.

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Connections

References Painted Desert (1938)

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Soundtracks

Who Calls?
(uncredited)
Music by Johnny Marks
Played when Little Beaver attempts to seduce Daffy

User Reviews

Daffy the Singing Cowboy

Daffy Duck is one of Looney Tunes' best, most interesting in personality and most iconic characters and one of my favourites in animation. His best cartoons are cartoon masterpieces and there is good reason as to why Daffy is used frequently.

'The Daffy Duckaroo' is not one of his best cartoons by any stretch of the imagination and is an uneven cartoon, but there are a lot of good elements and when it's good it's very enjoyable. Considering that Daffy is such a great character it was a little frustrating that 'The Daffy Duckaroo' wasn't better. The plot is thin and rather familiar and some of the cartoon may not bode well with the easily offended.

It is also let down by its tacked on, misplaced and heavy-handed ending, that is just an attempt to address a topical gag that doesn't gel with the rest of the cartoon and reminds us at how it was made in WWII. It also brings one of the best scenes to an abrupt stop which is a shame. A lot of cartoons were made in this period, not all of them did this.

However, the animation is very good. The black and white is crisp and there is meticulous background detail and smooth character drawing.

Carl Stalling to me was always the best Warner Brothers/Looney Tunes composer as well as the most consistent. 'The Daffy Duckaroo' is another example of consistent greatness, his music is lushly orchestration, cleverly synchronised, vibrant, characterful and not only fits and adds to the action but actually enhances it.

Regarding the gags, while there could have been more and could have been more witty, they are still clever and funny, the highlights being Daffy in drag, the chase sequence and the Charles Boyer impersonations. Daffy, even in reasonably early development, has his manic, energetic and witty persona and carries the cartoon with aplomb.

Mel "The Man with 1000 Voices" Blanc is characteristically brilliant.

Overall, decent but uneven. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Looney Tunes #2 (1942-1943 Season): The Daffy Duckaroo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leon Schlesinger Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

7 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1