Daffy - The Commando

I have always been a big Looney Tunes fan, and especially of Daffy. Daffy-The Commando is not quite one of my favourites, I'd personally put Duck Amuck, the Hunting Trilogy and Duck Dodgers in the 24.5 Century over this, however it is a very interesting, very funny and very bold cartoon.

The animation is beautiful, especially in the detailed backgrounds and ravishing colours. The music has energy and is fitting with the style of music at the time, the dialogue as always is fresh and funny and the gags are great with the standout being the fight over a nickel in the phone booth.

Story-wise it is exciting and interesting from a historical perspective. For its time, it is quite bold especially with the ending, which could account for why it was apparently banned, but rather than be offended by the boldness I appreciated it.

Daffy has always been one of my favourite cartoon characters due to his manic and zany persona even with some greediness creeping in in some of the cartoons but to me this didn't make him less likable, and he is on top form here. The support characters are also memorable, as well as the brilliant vocal talents of Mel Blanc.

Overall, a great cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Incredibly weird yet entertaining Daffy Duck cartoon, Daffy teases and annoys a German bird (representing a German fighting in the Second World War) - now we have to cheer for Daffy when THAT part comes up! However, this short is also quite disturbing - you are likely not to take it for a light comedy. Warner Brothers must have been pretty brave to make this short - ESPECIALLY while the World War was going on.

For people who are very disturbed by the prospect of WWII and for Germans - not recommended. People who love Daffy Duck and like the prospect of him teasing with the Nazis in the war, will certainly like this cartoon.

Also Daffy, as being around for only six years, is in his old crazy self - very entertaining for any fan of old Daffy Duck episodes.

Despite being slightly disturbing, this cartoon is also actually quite funny.

Enjoy "Daffy - the Commando".

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.

This is a good cartoon, and a good example of wartime humor - which by 1943, when the war was really beginning to bite back home in the US, had quite an edge.

The phone booth gag is "Is that you, Mert?" a fossilized gag phrase from the period, taken from "Fibber McGee and Molly". It was a catch phrase that audiences of the period would react to as a conditioned response. If you like old cartoons, it helps to be familiar with old-time radio of the period, because the cartoons mined radio for gags constantly (and Mel Blanc was a star in both, as a regular on the number one-rated Jack Benny show). The cartoons are full of show catch phrases, advertising slogans, and caricatures of movie and radio stars and minor characters.

The pinup picture is startling. I remember glimpsing it on my VHS copy and grabbing the remote to rewind and slow-motion. It is quite explicit, and seems like it could have got Friz Freleng in hot water at the time. You can see on the back wall at the first appearance of "Shulz", when he marches across the bunker floor to report.

For real unvarnished Freleng/Warner Brothers wartime humor, check out the "Private Snafu" series, which were intended for distribution to the troops only.

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.