The Up-Standing Sitter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Up-Standing Sitter is a 1948 [1] Warner Bros. cartoon in the Looney Tunes series, directed by Robert McKimson, starring Daffy Duck. All voices are by Mel Blanc. The title is a play on the expression "up-standing citizen" and on standing being opposite of sitting (a fact which figures into the film's closing gag.)
[edit] Plot synopsis
Daffy Duck, working for a baby-sitting agency, is sent to a farm to sit for a hen who is literally "sitting" on an egg and wants to take a trip. Soon after the hen leaves, the egg hatches, producing a yellow chick whose shape, voice and attitude are similar to that of Henery Hawk.
The chick first calls Daffy "Daddy", then "cousin", "uncle", etc. When Daffy points out he is not a relative, the chick says he is not supposed to talk to strangers, and runs away with Daffy in hot pursuit of his charge. The chick first simply eludes Daffy, and then begins to torment the duck with one violent gag after another (anticipating Home Alone by decades).
At one point, Daffy (whose voice is identical to Sylvester's but electronically sped up)[2] invokes a phrase more closely associated with the cat: "Sufferin' succotash!"
In the process, Daffy also incurs the wrath of the barnyard's bulldog, especially as many of the chick's gags lead to Daffy crashing into the dog's house, (re-)splintering it. The film's final joke has Daffy over the dog's knee as he applies a loud and painful spanking to the duck. Daffy calls his agency and tells them he will have to do his next "sitting" job standing up.
[edit] References
- ^ Despite having been released in the 1947-1948 season, the cartoon uses 1948-1949 opening and closing sequences. This was the one of the latest cartoons released in the pre-1948 package.
- ^ That's Not All, Folks!, 1988 by Mel Blanc, Philip Bashe. Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-39089-5 (Softcover), ISBN 0-446-51244-3 (Hardcover)
