The Wise Quacking Duck

The opening shot in this Clampett cartoon is a beautiful panoramic reveal that gives a real dept to the surroundings. It introduces us to the Meek farm where the man of the house has been ordered by his wife Sweety Puss to kill a duck for din-dins (or she'll cook his goose, if you know what I mean). In a scene that seems a bit drawn out (no pun) by today's standards, Meek creeps up on Daffy while his animators take great care animating his shadow. Then they discards it like Peter Pan's once it has served it's purpose (very convenient). How's this for useless trivia: this timid character shares the same voice and wife as the Love Bird from Sylvester's debut 'Life with Feathers' (1945). He does however get to utter that one line that elevates any film to instant greatness: "Wat have I done?" (two conditions: it has to be said earnestly, and variations that are not in the first person don't count).

Daffy shows us how to do a gruesome headless duck routine with the help of a ketchup bottle and a built in turtle neck sweater. Then he takes the fight into the Meek household giving this poor guy the pie, some tongue, the Daffy drawn on the wall bit and finally the big bang boom razzmatazz routine (it was wartime after all). At first we think Meek and his Puss must be quite well off, judging by the size of their furniture. The oven, where a lot of the gags take place, is especially monstrous. But when you realize Mr. Meek is really not much taller than the average duck, it becomes less impressive. Daffy sure had a habit of repeating himself in the early days (he even mentions it himself). In this one he sneaks in the old gag about reading the bumps on your head twice. At that point the meek can't stands no more and goes all Popeye on him. Daffy's last stand involves an uncomfortably long strip-tease. (I am not sure if this was what the G. I.'s were hoping for). Meek sure enough falls for it, but then of course we're glad never to find out what his 'Sweety Puss' looks like.

5 out of 10

A question before discussing this cartoon: why, in cartoons back then, did these characters like Daffy and Bugs Bunny, always kiss their adversaries on the lips then run away? Is that supposed to be funny? Was that a standard gag in those days? It looks stupid and gets annoying. Daffy does it a half dozen times here, and Bugs did it frequently. By the mid 1940s, you stopped seeing it in the cartoons.

I wonder if "Mr. Meek" was a caricature of actor Donald Meek, a good classic-era comedian who looked the part of a small, very timid man. In this early Daffy Duck cartoon, "Mr. Meek" has to go kill a duck or his wife, "Sweety Puss" will cook HIS goose, or so he says.

Of course, who know who first sees first: Daffy, and Daffy is too smart to let this guy chop his head off. Our favorite cartoon duck puts on a funny act, pretending to have his head chopped off and poor Mr. Meek goes away sobbing. He's no killer, and Daffy takes advantage of his compassion by beating the man home (how did he know where the man lived?) and tormenting him further at his residence, trashing part of his house, too. Daffy goes insane, which is what he does best!

Once again, a dimwit unsuccessfully tries to do away with Daffy Duck. In this case, soft-spoken Mr. Meek has to cook a duck for dinner or his wife will cook his goose (heh, heh). Some of the gags here have appeared in so many cartoons that I easily predicted them (namely the one about lumps). But the highlight here is Daffy's striptease; it reminded me of what Jane Fonda did at the beginning of "Barbarella". If we in the 21st century find that scene wacky, just imagine how it must have looked to moviegoers in 1943! Anyway, this is a true display of Daffy's talent back when his first name actually described his personality (it was after WWII when he became a sociopath under Chuck Jones's direction). OK, so we could also be cynical and say that Bob Clampett gave Daffy a too vulnerable rival, and so Daffy didn't have to do all that he could. Well, I still say that "The Wise Quacking Duck" is a really funny cartoon. And I don't think that any live-action actor would have dared do that striptease.

I have always loved Looney Tunes and Daffy Duck is a big part of why. The Wise Quacking Duck is an example of Looney Tunes and Daffy at their finest. The kissing joke is rather old-fashioned, but that is not enough to spoil the fun. And fun there is. The writing is deliciously fresh and witty, again Daffy has the best of it and as ever Mel Blanc delivers them with relish. The sight gags are just as imaginatively timed and very clever, the striptease especially is genius and the ending is a delight. Daffy is an absolute hoot, deliciously off-the-wall and manic yet instantly likable. I find this persona more appealing than the still effective greedy one he's adopt later. Mr Meek is a good character also and works well with Daffy, if never really coming up to Daffy's level character wise. The animation is colourful and beautiful to look at, especially the panoramic view at the start and the music and pacing crackle with energy. So overall, classic Daffy, a must see. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This Daffy Duck episode stars the crazy (and luckily not very greedy) Daffy and a weedy, pathetic (pathetic at first and then a bit less later) man who is trying to hunt him, because his wife forced him to (luckily she does not appear in any part of the episode). The hunter is searching for a duck and he quickly comes across Daffy eating seeds. Daffy is not to be easily killed however...

I enjoyed this episode because Daffy, who is very unconventional and off-the-wall here (entertainingly so), is so good and because of the animation, the plot-line and the man who tries to hunt Daffy. The humour is also very good, fun and wacky. It is a bit odd for Looney Tunes humour, but will appeal to a great deal of viewers. A good deal of the jokes are old fashioned as well (like the kissing one, which I like for some reason, which ccthemovieman pointed out), stuff that would not be made today, for anyone's viewing, which is another highlight to the cartoon.

I recommend this to people who enjoy old Looney Tunes and to people who like Daffy Duck, especially when he's CRAZY. Enjoy "The Wise Quacking Duck"! :-)