Das Daffy Kommando

Daffy The Commando is a Looney Tunes short starring Daffy Duck that is another in a long line of World War II propoganda cartoons made to support America during the conflict. However, while some are done to educate people with shocking images, this is one of the few that are meant to have a good laugh against our enemies.

Here, in a Nazi bunker, Commander Von Vultur, a vulture who is with the Nazis, is in trouble with his superiors (known only as the Apes of Wrath, which is clever play on The Grapes of Wrath), with his job on the line if one more commando gets through. He and his assistant, Schultz, is about to have trouble, as another commando parachutes down. And unfortunately for them, that commando happens to be Daffy Duck.

This wartime cartoon is mainly aimed more towards comedy, as Daffy basically does the slapstick Looney Tunes is known for against his two foes. The voice actors all do a good job, with Mel Blanc doing a good job voicing Von Vulur, and the ending is a classic.

Daffy The Commando (1943)

*** (out of 4)

The nutty Daffy Duck finds himself behind enemy lines and going up against a German idiot who doesn't seem to know who he's dealing with.

DAFFY THE COMMANDO is another World War II spoof that was meant to rally up people in the United States. These political shorts are always interesting to view today and this here is a good one. The majority of the running time has Daffy being pretty nutty as he's constantly getting the better of the German guy who is rather dumb. The film also has a cameo from Hitler who has a rather funny meeting with Daffy. This isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination but there are enough laughs to keep it entertaining.

The Nazi leader is given the job of keeping commandos out of his territory. Daffy is a commando (for whatever reason). He is at his manic best as he launches a full scale assault on the bad guy. A good deal of propaganda here in the midst of the U.S. involvement. The little guy Schultz is the victimized enlisted man who is constantly being hit over the head with a giant hammer. Daffy seems to understand that this is really unfair. It's action packed.

This is a marvelous little bit of propaganda using Daffy to help lampoon the enemy, in this case the Nazis. I think my favorite bit is Daffy singing as he parachutes down, although the ending is a close second. Something I find myself wondering when I see this cartoon (which probably means I have way too much time on my hands) is whether the writers on the film Stalag 17 decided to name the guard in their film Schultz after this cartoon's Schultz and if, in turn, Schultz in Hogan's Heros was named after the guard in the film. My, such grand philosophical questions I ponder! Great short and most definitely worth seeking out. Most highly recommended.

Having just watched Donald Duck as a Nazi in one cartoon I decided to continue the Duck/propaganda theme and watch this Daffy Duck cartoon – my favorite of the two animated ducks. This one sees Daffy in the role of an Allied Forces commando trying to infiltrate enemy lines while at the same time Herr Von Vulture is on his last warning to stop such incursions.

I was looking forward to this because very early on we see that it is "zany" Daffy, which is my preferred version of his character and one I find very funny usually. I say usually because the comedy here is just a little bit too obvious and I didn't find it quite as funny as I should have done. Some moments are quite clever but mostly it is hammer-hitting as the majority of the action (although the final stroke is a good one). It is a shame because the characters are good – Daffy is in good form and Von Vulture is a funny creation, even if a little obvious. Works as a piece of propaganda but for zany, crazy Daffy, the material here is just too close to "ordinary" to work.