Cartoon Discussion Of The Week (1/25/08): Wise Quackers

[Marty26]

Somebody posted Wise Quackers on Youtube. I've wanted to see this cartoon for years. Now, I finally have a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48uPLkeH3Cs&feature=related

If I'd known this, I would've made THAT my CDOTW this week instead of A Squeak In The Deep. Perhaps this could be thought of as CDOTW 2?

[Tom Stathes]

Speaking from generalized Warners ignorance here, is this short usually hard to see?

[Jon Cooke]

Speaking from generalized Warners ignorance here, is this short usually hard to see?

"Wise Quackers" hasn't aired on TV in the USA since the early 1990s (due to its "slavery" theme). I actually posted about it on Misce-Looney-ous (http://toolooney.blogspot.com/2008/11/wise-quackers-1949.html) back in November.

It was a nice surprise to see it included on the upcoming Saturday Morning DVD set from WB.

[Tom Stathes]

Oh, ok, but not lost or anything. Gotcha.

[Mr. Semaj]

Somebody posted Wise Quackers on Youtube. I've wanted to see this cartoon for years. Now, I finally have a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48uPLkeH3Cs&feature=related

If I'd known this, I would've made THAT my CDOTW this week instead of A Squeak In The Deep. Perhaps this could be thought of as CDOTW 2?

We could merge "Squeak in the Deep" with the Daffy & Speedy thread, and use this as our weekly discussion, since the majority was probably going to ignore the former thread anyway.

[Jon Cooke]

We could merge "Squeak in the Deep" with the Daffy & Speedy thread, and use this as our weekly discussion, since the majority was probably going to ignore the former thread anyway.

You know, that's not a bad idea. What do you think, Marty?

[Marty26]

You know, that's not a bad idea. What do you think, Marty?

:befuddled Alwight.

I did a standalone thread for ASITD since I thought it'd be interesting to see the responses for a Daffy/Speedy cartoon getting its own CDOTW. I originally wanted to do Mucho Locos, but it isn't on Youtube (Jon, you should remember that I PM'd you about possibly posting it - you don't have to do it right away). My only options, from what I saw, were either Quacker Tracker (already recently discussed in the All Purpose D/S Thread), A Squeak In The Deep, and some Alex Lovy D/S cartoons. And I decided to do ASITD.

Anyway, feel free to move it. This will be the new Cartoon Discussion Of The Week. So Jon, Matthew, whoever; could you please change the thread's title to "Cartoon Discussion Of The Week (1/25/08): Wise Quackers"?

I just hope the original CDOTW doesn't scare anybody away from this one.

[Marty26]

Thanks Jon!

[Marty26]

I guess I'll give my thoughts on the cartoon right now.

This cartoon seems to be a semi-remake of The Wabbit Who Came To Supper. With Daffy Duck replacing Bugs Bunny and, instead of responding negatively to a letter from Uncle Louie about inheriting three million dollars for not harming any creatures (especially ducks!), Daffy's vowing to be Elmer's personal slave. This was probably one of the last cartoons to use the more necky Elmer Fudd design used since The Hair-Brained Hypnotist (coincidentally, also directed by Freleng) - with the last one being, I believe, Each Dawn I Crow. Freleng's Daffy design is also interesting in that it's sort of a mix between the Jones and McKimson designs of that era. He'd use a similar design in the following year's His Bitter Half and Golden Yeggs. While 1952's Cracked Quack would show him switching to a more beaky Chuck Jones-ish design. The finale, with Daffy impersonating Abe Lincoln, probably would've been a riot if I didn't see it used to better effect in Southern Fried Rabbit. Elmer's two dogs doing all those imprecise mathematical calculations to go after Daffy was pretty funny, though. As was Elmer responding to Daffy's intercom transmission when he's crashing into the field from exhaustion.

Overall, not the greatest Daffy Duck cartoon, but a good one nonetheless. And probably one of the last non-McKimson directed Daffy cartoons to still use the manic/crazy Daffy.

[Mr. Semaj]

The first time I saw this was at the humble age of five on a VHS collection of Daffy Duck shorts. Somehow, the slavery references went right past me, though it's clearer now to see why it got banned.

This has some excellent background art (as from many Paul Julian renderings), and some clever gags, particularly the dinner table stuff.

[Glowworm]

I watched it on Youtube last year. It was decent-I love the part where Daffy accidently rips Elmer's face off and performs surgery on him! I also like the part where the neigbour borrows Elmer's hammer so he can hit him on the head with it. In my opinion the Lincoln joke at the end is funnier in "Southern Fried Rabbit"-even though this cartoon came first.

[Marty26]

I watched it on Youtube last year. It was decent-I love the part where Daffy accidently rips Elmer's face off and performs surgery on him! I also like the part where the neigbour borrows Elmer's hammer so he can hit him on the head with it. In my opinion the Lincoln joke at the end is funnier in "Southern Fried Rabbit"-even though this cartoon came first.

Yeah, that hammer joke was definitely the funniest part of the cartoon. As for Daffy accidentally ripping Elmer's face off, that probably would've been funnier to me if I hadn't already seen that joke used in Don't Axe Me (yes, I know DAM came out almost a decade after this cartoon). Although seeing Daffy paste Elmer's face back onto his head upside down was pretty funny.

[larriva9/11]

Honestly: re Elmer's face, that didn't seem so much a "ripping off" effect as something more Silly Putty-like.

Makes for an interesting comparison with "The Rabbit Of Seville", though...

[speedy fast]

I like this cartoon. It's easily one of the top five Daffy and Elmer cartoons (though I like Design for Leaving better). It's on the old video Tales From the Duckside.

Honestly, I don't think this cartoon is very offesnive or politically incorrect. Of course I'm not black, but most of the un-PC jokes seem subtle. It's a shame that this wasn't released in any of the Golden Collections (though the fact tha it'll be on one of the saturday morning sets means that Warner isn't against releasing it on DVD).

[larriva9/11]

Also re the shenanigans w/Elmer's face: can't help thinking of this
http://www.metapeeps.com/images/famous_images/Jake_Tucker.jpg

[cartoonfan4ever]

I don't remember ever seeing that cartoon before, but the gag with the dogs drawing out their plan in the dirt and then immediately crashing into the tree is familiar. I guess that gag was in another cartoon?

Anyway, the thing with the dogs and the one with the neighbor borrowing the hammer are my favorite gags.

[speedy fast]

I don't remember ever seeing that cartoon before, but the gag with the dogs drawing out their plan in the dirt and then immediately crashing into the tree is familiar. I guess that gag was in another cartoon?



Parts of Wise Quackers appear in 1001 Rabbit Tales. Just the begnning, and parts near the end where hte dogs plan to get Daffy.

If the whole cartoon was in that movie, I wonder if it would have stopped being shown, or if that sequence would have just been cut (just like how A Sheep in the Deep has been cut from the movie since the 1990s, though I don't know why).

[cartoonfan4ever]

Parts of Wise Quackers appear in 1001 Rabbit Tales. Just the begnning, and parts near the end where hte dogs plan to get Daffy.

Ah ha! That's where I remember that from. Thanks.

[Glowworm]

Yeah for years I'd see those clips from "Wise Quackers" in 1001 Rabbit Tales and wonder what cartoon it was from-eventually I started to figure out that it might be from this one.

Also-it's not the face ripping that makes me laugh-it's more the fact that Daffy puts it back on upside down "You know,I think he looks better this way.":D The gag after it is hillarious though when Daffy accidently slashes something off with the razor and then performs surgery on Elmer in order to put it back on.

[Marty26]

Ah ha! That's where I remember that from. Thanks.

A similar gag was also used by Yosemite Sam in Sahara Hare.