Duck Dodgers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the animated television series, see Duck Dodgers (TV series).
Duck Dodgers is the fictional star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. He is actually the famous (but still fictional) cartoon star Daffy Duck, cast in the role of an intergalactic future "hero".
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[edit] Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century
Duck Dodgers first appeared in the 1953 cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, directed by Chuck Jones. Jones created a spoof of the popular Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Flash Gordon science fiction serials of the 1930s, casting the brash, egomaniacal Daffy Duck as the hero of the story. The cartoon is widely praised as one of the greatest and funniest Warner Bros. cartoons of all time. As of 2006 it is available in the DVD compilation Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1.
The plot of the cartoon involves Duck Dodgers' search for the rare element Illudium Phosdex, "the shaving cream atom". In the future, the only remaining supply of the element is on the mysterious "Planet X." After leaving Earth (after accidentally putting their rocket ship in reverse and burying them in the launch pad), Dodgers diagrams a ridiculously complex path for reaching the planet, including three-dimensional cardinal directions such as "south by downeast." Porky Pig, playing the role of the "Eager Young Space Cadet," suggests instead following a path leading from Planet A to Planets B, C, D, and so on. Dodgers scoffs at the cadet's plan, comes up with an identical one and marvels at his own genius.
Dodgers is about to claim Planet X in the name of the Earth when Marvin Martian lands on the same planet (in a ship called the "Martian Maggot") and claims it in the name of Mars. The stage is set for a battle of wits (or lack thereof) between the two cartoon stars.
Porky Pig, as he does in a number of Jones' cartoons, plays the role of the straight man, getting the job done and foiling the villain while Daffy Duck blusters and repeatedly gets himself blown to smithereens.
Considering the period in which the cartoon was produced (the Red Scare was in full swing during the 1950s era), some scholars have used the cartoon to parallel the futility of the Cold War and the arms race. They note that by the end of the cartoon, the planet that Duck Dodgers and Marvin the Martian are fighting over has been destroyed, and the remaining area claimed by Daffy at the end is barely more than a pebble in size. The dismissive attitude to Dodgers' pyrrhic victory is epitomized by Porky's cynical response to his boss's overblown proclamation: "B-B-Big deal."
[edit] Duck Dodgers sequels
There were two additional short film sequels to "Duck Dodgers". The first sequel, also produced by Chuck Jones, was titled Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century and was released in 1980. The plot of this sequel cartoon was nearly a carbon copy of the original, and while it was visually impressive, it was largely disappointing to fans.
The second short, titled Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension, was a 3D cartoon released in 1996 to select venues. These included the flagship Warner Bros. Studio Store in Manhattan, and Warner Bros. Movie Worlds on the Gold Coast, Australia and in Bottrop-Kirchellen, Germany. It included a range of interactive effects including a splash with water. Unlike the other Dodgers cartoons, Porky Pig did not appear.
A third short, titled "Attack of the Drones" was made in 2003 and was part of a series of new shorts, but because of the failure of Looney Tunes: Back in Action they were not released theatrically. The shorts sometimes air on Teletoon in Canada and as of now can be seen on You Tube.
[edit] Further appearances
Duck Dodgers also made an appearance in a 1993 episode of the TV series Tiny Toon Adventures, where Daffy Duck's pint-sized protege and student Plucky Duck also visited the futuristic world of Duck Dodgers.
An SNES and Game Boy game called Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions, as well as a Nintendo 64 video game, entitled Duck Dodgers, have also been produced.
The original cartoon also appeared in a 1994 episode of the science fiction series Babylon 5, where it was revealed that Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century was Security Chief Michael Garibaldi's "second favorite thing in the universe".
Portions of this cartoon can be seen and heard in the background in a scene from the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Duck Dodgers appears in the 2003 feature Looney Tunes: Back in Action when Daffy notes that the only character that could save the film's proverbial day was Duck Dodgers; he then realizes that Dodgers is his alter ego.
From 2003 to 2005, Dodgers starred in his own series; see the series' article for more information.
