To Duck or Not to Duck

To Duck or Not to Duck
Looney Tunes (Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd) series
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Voices by Mel Blanc
Arthur Q. Bryan (uncredited)
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Robert Cannon
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s) March 6, 1943
Running time 6 min
Language English
Elmer's hunting dog, Laramore, is knocked out of his own separate stand by the all-duck audience during the boxing match.

To Duck or Not to Duck is a Warner Bros./Looney Tunes cartoon released in theatres in 1943, directed by Chuck Jones and featuring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It is one of very few cartoons to have both Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck that does not involve Bugs Bunny in any form (and thus does not have Daffy and Bugs' famous "duck season/rabbit season" argument).

The cartoon has fallen into the public domain, as then-owner United Artists (successor-in-interest to Associated Artists Productions) failed to renew the copyright in time.[1]

Plot summary

Elmer Fudd is hunting ducks with his dog Laramore. After missing Daffy several times ("Confidentially, those hunters couldn't hit the broad side of a DUCK!" snickers Daffy to the audience) and leaving a duck-shaped hole in the clouds after each shotgun blast, Elmer manages to graze Daffy with a load of buckshot, merely blowing off his tail-feathers and causing him to fall. After Laramore retrieves Daffy and brings him to Elmer, Elmer then apologizes for shooting him, explaining that he had to "pwug" Daffy because he is "a gweat spoowtsman." Daffy heatedly retorts that Elmer doesn't know the meaning of fair play ("What chance does a poor little fluffy winged creature like me have against a well-equipped hunter like you?!") and that Elmer wouldn't be so tough without his big shotgun and other destructive hunting accessories, and challenges Elmer to a "fair" fight.

Elmer is unaware that he is led to a boxing ring surrounded by many duck spectators. The burly referee of the fight is also a duck named Ducky Wheeze. The odds are clearly against Elmer since the referee laughs while announcing his name followed by boos from the crowd, with only Laramore cheering from a separate stand, for which he is knocked down by brickbats thrown at him by the duck spectators. The referee also refers to Daffy as Daffy "Good to His Mother" Duck., while announcing his name followed by cheers from the crowd, with only Laramore booing from a separate stand, for which he is again knocked down by brickbats thrown at him by the duck spectators.

Before the match starts, the referee exhorts the two opponents to "fight clean", winking to the audience, who collectively shout, "Oh, brother!", and calls for "no rough stuff -- none of THIS! Or THIS! Or like SO!", each time demonstrating an illegal move on Elmer and knocking him silly. Daffy, in turn, picks up where the referee left off, asking, "You mean none of THIS? Or THIS?", manhandling (or duckhandling) Elmer similarly every time. Daffy clobbers Elmer with a hammer as the bell is rung. Elmer falls to the mat and the referee provides a quick ten-count. He declares Daffy the winner and new champion. Perplexed, Elmer protests, ("I'm not the one to compwain, Mr. Wefewee, but I thought you said no wough stuff! None of THIS! Or THIS! Or wike SO!") giving it back to both the referee and Daffy in extreme exasperation.

Availability

See also

References

  1. ↑ Looney Tunes DVD and Video Guide: Looney Tunes in the Public Domain
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.