| Daffy Doodles | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Daffy Duck and Porky Pig) series | |
| Directed by | Robert McKimson |
| Produced by | Eddie Selzer |
| Story by | Warren Foster |
| Voices by | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Richard Bickenbach, Cal Dalton, Don Williams |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 6, 1946 (USA) |
| Running time | 7 min (one reel) |
| Language | English |
Daffy Doodles is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Daffy is the notorious "mustache fiend", bent on putting a mustache on every lip in sight, while Porky is a policeman intent on capturing Daffy.
This cartoon is the first full-length cartoon that animator Robert McKimson directed. Mel Blanc provided the voices for the characters, and Warren Foster was the writer.
Contents |
A narrator intones that in a large eastern city, the residents are terrified and the police baffled - all because someone has been drawing mustaches on all the ads in sight (including some well-known ads of the time, such as for Campbell's Soup, Fisk Tire and RCA Records). Daffy eventually confesses to being the guilty party to the audience. As Daffy himself puts it, "Science is some folks' calling; others pilot a ship. My mission in life, stated simply, is: a mustache on every lip!" He then uses a variety of methods to accomplish this, even using a contraption to draw multiple mustaches at once.
Porky is then introduced as a policeman, set as a 'booby trap' - he's holding up a picture frame around his own face. Daffy passes by, trying to get Porky to break his 'pose'. He then puts a box in front of Porky labeled "Do not open until Xmas" and walks off. Porky notes that he won't be around for Christmas, so he opens the lid to take a peek. Daffy jumps out, drawing a mustache on Porky's face and runs off, leaving Porky with the realization that he's the mustache fiend.
To the tune of a very brassy rendition of 42nd Street, Daffy goes to a subway platform, and holds up a paintbrush to the incoming train, giving everyone on board a mustache. As he's about to leave, Daffy is stopped by Porky who chases after him. Daffy then acts as a conductor, holding the doors open for Porky and telling him in a rapid-fire sentence, "Hurry up - all aboard - get in there - we ain't got all day - push in - come on - let's go - push in there - that's it!" Porky jumps on the train, and just before it pulls out, Daffy gives him another painted mustache as he says a mispronounced "bon voyage!" (pronounced bon voy-ag-ee).
Porky is now searching the streets saying "I'll get that a-ba-we a-ba-we duck if it's the last thing I ever do", where he notices the various movie posters all defaced with a mustache (including posters for some Warner Brothers stars such as Peter Lorre, Humphrey Bogart... and even Bugs Bunny!). Meanwhile, Daffy comes across a giant billboard on top of a large building featuring a woman's face. Daffy is unable to resist, saying that "it'll be... my masterpiece!".
Porky, having come across more of Daffy's work (including a baby in a stroller with "Wet Paint" written on the side), sees something on the building in front of him. Looking through a telescope, he sees Daffy, a rope around his waist, painting a giant mustache on the billboard face. Porky gives chase and gets up to the billboard as Daffy is singing Sobre las Olas to the tune of "She was an acrobat's daughter" while still swinging from the rope. Porky clubs Daffy in the head, and Daffy wanders to the edge. As Porky approaches, Daffy warns Porky "One more step, and I'll jump!" Porky takes another step, Daffy jumps - but when Porky rushes to the edge, Daffy is on a ledge, painting yet another mustache on Porky's face. Porky says "I hate that a-ba-we duck".
Porky then chases Daffy around the ledge of the building (Daffy even once saving Porky from falling), then is chased by Daffy on a motorcycle. The chase ends back on the roof, where both of them crash through a skylight and Daffy again wanders off (Porky, noticeably, has a 'mustache' from the motorcycle's handlebar on his face). Porky chases Daffy through the building, getting three more mustaches painted on his face (twice with a stencil, once where Daffy paints a mustache in mid-air and Porky runs into it).
Porky then spots Daffy inside a mail chute and races downstairs to pull him out. Daffy then slaps handcuffs on himself and Porky, saying "Wait'll J. Edgar Whoozis hears of this!". However, Daffy's mania gets the better of him again and he draws another mustache on Porky's face - but this time is clubbed by Porky while still handcuffed to him.
Daffy then faces a dog judge and asks for mercy, not to be sent to "Sing Sing...Sing...Sing", adding "You might be a fiend yourself someday." The judge turns to the jury and asks for their opinion. The jury - all made up of mustached Jerry Colonnas - tell the judge "Ah, yes! Not guilty!" Daffy then swears never again to draw another mustache - "I'm doing beards now!" He then proceeds to draw a beard on the judge and draws 'paint' over the screen until it's all black.
Currently, the cartoon is only available on at least two VHS tapes, "Porky!" and also "Porky Pig & Daffy Duck Cartoon Festival featuring Tik Tok Tuckered".
Turner prints of the cartoon made prior to 1995 have the a.a.p. logo play as normal, but then the Blue Ribbon opening for Farm Frolics is shown, with the 1939-41 Merrie Melodies theme music playing over it. Only the last few seconds of this intro are the proper Blue Ribbon titles for this cartoon. The "dubbed version" has this cartoon's Blue Ribbon opening played in full.[1]