Cazar o no cazar

To Duck or Not To Duck (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Elmer Fudd and his beloved dog Rover are out duck hunting when they com across Daffy Duck. Soon Daffy and Elmer are in a boxing ring where you know the duck isn't going to play by the rules.

If you're a fan of Daffy and Elmer then you're obviously going to want to check this early teaming out. I don't think this here is one of the best shorts together as the series would eventually get much better but there are still plenty of nice laughs here that make it worth viewing. There's no question that the highlight happens early on when there's some "duck shot" being fired at Daffy as he flies through some clouds. As you'd expect the animation is of the highest quality.

After Elmer declares himself to be a great sportsman, Daffy Duck challenges him to a boxing match to see if he's such a great sportsman without his rifle and hunting dog. This cartoon uses one of the most memorable gags that I can remember from any cartoon. As the boxing referee goes over the rules, he uses Elmer as a dummy on what not to do (None of this, or this, or like so). That will never leave me and I hope to use that tactic to my own advantage someday (Hee, hee, hee!) The boxing match is pretty much the only highlight of the cartoon. Everything leading up to it is so-so, but it is a very memorable sequence of comedy. I especially liked when Elmer's dog, Laramore, was pelted with garbage from the all-duck crowd when he booed what was going on in the ring. This is just a classic cartoon for the Warner Brothers team.

My IMDb Rating: 9/10

Few of the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts dealt with physical activities more hilariously than "To Duck... or Not to Duck", as over-energetic Daffy challenges gullible Elmer to a boxing match weighed heavily in his own favor. If you thought that the White Sox scandal of 1919 was screwed up, then you ain't seen nothing yet! Quite simply, it's the sort of thing that only Daffy could do. I noticed in one scene that Elmer's pants fell down and it looked like you could see his butt! They actually got that on screen in 1943! Of course, these cartoons were always looking for ways to push the limits. I'd better be certain of that or my name isn't Lee Eisenberg...and it isn't! (just kidding: it is)

While the Daffy Duck of the `50s and `60s was funny, there is no beating the Daffy from the `30s and `40s and here is proof of that and who can forget the famous Daffy laugh which inspired the Woody Woodpecker laugh? I don't know if it was because of Woody that the Daffy laugh was absent in the `50s and `60s but I don't think so because both Woody Woodpecker and Daffy Duck were performed by Mel Blanc.

Unlike many other reviewers on this website, I did not enjoy this short that much. Personally I found it too short, a little boring, plot-less and mediocre. I felt the animation was not worked on nearly as much as it could have been (unlike other Daffy episodes at the time) and I also found the slapstick a little overdone, especially as I expected something with hardly any slapstick in it all (like a lot of Daffy episodes at the time).

There were things I did like about it as well. The STYLE of animation for Daffy is one of my favoured ones and there also happen to be quite a few good gags on here. Also I quite like the referee, quite a nice jolly duck.

This short is mainly for those who prefer episodes with much Looney Tunes slapstick and the same sort of theme as episodes of the 50's and 60's and for people who like ALL Daffy Duck stuff.

I may have submitted quite a negative review, but don't forget some of you out there will enjoy this! ;-)

5 and a half out of ten.

Available on YouTube