My Favorite Duck

My Favorite Duck (1942)

**** (out of 4)

One of the all-time greatest animated shorts finds Porky Pig going out to the country for some rest and relaxation but instead he runs into Daffy Duck who wants to make sure that pain and torment is all he gets. MY FAVORITE DUCK is without question one of the funniest animated shorts ever made because there's just so much great action and I'd argue that neither Porky or Daffy were ever better than what we get right here. It's hard to pick out one or two favorite scenes because the entire short is just one bit of greatness after another. If I was forced to pick a highlight it would probably be the sequence where Porky finally snaps, burns to a crisp and then starts his revenge. The film manages to be downright hilarious at times and the level of violence is just priceless.

In this cartoon, Daffy hasn't "grown up" yet. He doesn't have the character flaws like greed and vanity we came to love; he's just a troublemaker, another tool for the artists to use to explore their craft.

And explore they do! Gravity, point of view, and finally, even the "reality" of the cartoon itself are discarded, each for precise comic effect, thirteen years before the classic `Duck Amuck' did it.

They even use music in unexpected ways. An often-missed gag revolves around the songs assigned to each character. For Porky, it's a peaceful "Moonlight Bay", an old song, even in the 1940's. Daffy sings the more current swing piece made popular by Cab Calloway, "Blues in the Night" (My Momma done told me, when I was in knee pants).

Each song helps to define the characters, so you don't think it's unusual for them to be singing as they go about their business, but Porky accidentally starts off Daffy's song, reacts, then corrects himself. "My Momma done told me ... nghhh! ... We were sailing along". He looks directly at us to register his annoyance as he realizes his mistake, just in time for us to realize we've been set up.

It's not only a hilarious cartoon; it's an example of animation stretching the limits of the medium as both an artistic and comedic exercise.

Visually this is much more like a cartoon from the late 40s rather than 1942. It shows the way for the future, refined Chuck Jones style. The long perspective shots and the stylized backgrounds are rare for that time and the timing and nature of the dialog is unmistakably Chuck Jones (his first cartoon with writer Michael Maltese). If it wasn't for the early loony trickster characterization of Daffy this could easily be mistaken for a release from '49 or '50. Daffy also tries to exploit "duck season" as he would ten years later with Bugs in the "Duck Season/Rabbit Season" toons. Don't miss this one! It's on volume 6 of the Golden Collection and, for the first time in many years, you can really enjoy the full impact of the color scheme.

My Favourite Duck isn't an immediate favourite, but it is still a delightful Looney Tunes cartoon. My only minor complaint is the slightly blocky animation of Porky, but other than that I had no other problems. The animation in general is crisp, colourful and smooth, the music is stirring, the pacing is cracking and the story is engaging. The dialogue is witty and inventive and there are enough clever sight gags to amuse as well. Favourite scenes? The perfect harmonisation of Moonlight Bay and the surprise ending. Both Daffy and Porky are wonderful here, Daffy especially is superb and just carries the cartoon, and Mel Blanc is superb as always. Overall, delightful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Porky Pig is out for a camping trip in the woods when he comes across a crazy duck. Porky's patience is pushed to the limit but, as Daffy points out, duck hunting season is closed and it's a $500 fine for even hurting a duck…..a fact that Daffy is happy to exploit.

Daffy is one of my favourite characters mainly because I like him in almost all his incarnations – be he the crazy duck or the bitter, twisted duck. Here he is the manic crazy duck who goes hooting over the horizon, and it works well. The plot sees Daffy just trying to wind Porky up, the film does what you expect it to and the punch line is pretty obvious.

However the actual action is very funny and is totally made by a great performance from Daffy – he sets the mood of the film. The downside of the film is the animation quality on the characters themselves. Porky looks really basic and like he was drawn without as much care and attention as normal, but Daffy looks fine and the backgrounds are all OK.

Overall this is a great short if you are a fan of Daffy in his manic state. Crazy ducks = good fun in my book, so I really liked this!