Yankee Doodle Daffy

One thing that I always say about "Mister Ed", "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie", is that it sucks to be Wilbur, Darrin and Maj. Nelson, respectively. I say that because these things that they have to experience at the hands of Ed, Samantha and Jeannie, have got to be mind-numbing. In that respect, it sucks to be Porky Pig in "Yankee Doodle Daffy". In this cartoon, Porky is a talent scout to whom Daffy tries to show the skills of his nephew, Sleepy McGoof. Most of the cartoon has Daffy putting on a series of wacky skits, while Sleepy sits there sucking on a lollipops. No matter what Porky does, he can't seem to get away from them.

This one was a little bit more routine than some of the other Looney Tunes cartoons, but it's still worth seeing.

This is definitely one of Daffy Duck's best. However, I wonder why the term "Yankee Doodle" was used in the title. The cartoon was released during WWII, and Yankee Doodle was used in the title of a number of cartoons at that time, e.g., Tom and Jerry's _Yankee Doodle Mouse, The (1943)_ (qv). With that term as part of the title, one could expect to see soldiers; airplanes; military maneuvers; the bashing of Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, or Tojo; or at least something related to the war in some way. This cartoon has nothing remotely related to WWII. Perhaps 'Friz Freleng' (qv) figured it wouldn't matter to his audience.

Daffy invades casting agent Porky's office just as he is heading off to vacation. He is doing everything he can to get a role of some kind. It is the usual frenetic, no holds barred craziness, dominating the scenery. Daffy is like an amphetamine junky, never stopping. It's a decent cartoon with lots of action.

Yankee Doodle Daffy is an enjoyable cartoon. It isn't the best though, the pace is a tad too fast and the title is enough to leave you puzzled as it has little to do with the cartoon itself. But Daffy himself elevates it, he is absolutely brilliant here, uproariously funny as you'd expect. Porky is once again sidelined but he is good, and Sleepy is entertaining with a voice that is totally unexpected, though they could've perhaps made the ending longer I felt it ended rather abruptly. Other than Daffy, I immensely enjoyed the song and dance routines, especially the Carmen Miranda impression. The pictorial signs while maybe ambiguous to a newcomer to Looney Tunes were also a hoot. There are some great gags and the plot allows Daffy to have fun. All in all, I enjoyed the cartoon, in spite of the head-scratching title. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Despite the the title, this has nothing to do with the 1942 film biopic of George M. Cohan or the song. The plot has pushy talent agent Daffy trying to persuade producer Porky to give Daffy's client a job. The client in question is an adorable little duck with a lollipop named Sleepy Lagoon. It's not until the end of the short that we find out if Sleepy has talent or not as most of the time is spent on Daffy himself performing. This is a funny short with early Daffy, meaning more zany and silly than the later smart-mouthed foil for Bugs. Daffy's most of the show here but Sleepy is good, too, and Porky is fine as the ever-suffering straight man. The vocal talents of Mel Blanc are, as always, wonderful. The colors, animation, and music are all great. Not one of the best Daffy & Porky shorts but a good one.