Farce au canard

The Duck has been a favorite cartoon character of audiences from his inception, but in Chuck Jones' hands, Daffy was at his greediest, all too human like best (worst?).

In this cartoon, Daffy Duck is manipulated by some unseen, omnipotent force that keeps changing the scenery, the sound, and even the appearance of Daffy himself, much to his horror. The humor in most of the gags go deeper than the usual Warner Bros. cartoon, with claustrophobia, an exact duplicate of Daffy and instant deformity inflicted upon him has us laughing at our own fears.

But it's Jones' vision of Daffy that is the true star of this and many other of his cartoons. The other directors, the great Friz Freleng and the unfairly maligned Robert McKimson, never really had the grasp of the new Daffy Duck that emerged in the mid 40's, but he really was a new creation of Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones, only faintly reminiscent of the crazy antics that handlers such as Frank Tashlin, Tex Avery and Robert Clampett portrayed him as possessing. That old Daffy was wild and wacky and good, the new Daffy always has us humans at a disadvantage by making fun of our own weaknesses.

Chuck Jones has to be the greatest Looney Tunes director ever, he directed Whats Opera Doc, Rabbit of Seville and the classic Duck Dodgers, but this surreal masterpiece is his pure genius. The cartoon focuses around Daffy, who thinks he is in a Musketeer set, then as he progress left, the background fades, leaving only Daffy hiding behind the frame of the film asking where the scenery is.

From that moment, Daffy goes on to one wacky situation to another and so on. This episode producers one of the best lines ever said in a Looney Tunes cartoon

"Hey Come Here, Come Here, Give me a close up, A Close Up! (Screen Blackens except the top right corner). This is a close up? A CLOSE UP YOU JERK, A CLOSE UP!!!!!!!! (Camera zooms in)"

That line has got to be one of my favourites. SO is this cartoon

Already as a boy I could understand the humor in 'Duck Amuck' - but perhaps not it's meta-ambitions! If I knew then how good this short movie is I would never ever let my father erase it!

Quotes like: "NOW WHAT?" and "Give me a close-up!" can't leave my head! Duffy (or Daffy) has since this movie always been my personal cartoon favorite.

Don't miss this incredible masterpiece, then you will miss one of the best movies ever made!!!

Rating: 10 of 10.

This is probably the most clever and inventive short I have ever had the opportunity to watch. It shows Daffy Duck, being made VERY VERY ANGRY by being drawn into many different messes. Daffy Duck is perfect in this episode. He is well-animated, nice enough and gets angry easily when necessary (In some episodes, I feel as if he is being unnecessarily cruel and he's not in this one, he's trying to be nice!).

This short also has some MASSIVE humour. Just when you have finished laughing, yet ANOTHER joke comes on - and of course - you HAVE to laugh again!

Recommended for all Daffy Duck and cartoon animation fans! Enjoy!

Daffy D'Artagnon strikes again! Except......where's the scenery? A paintbrush adds scenery - but it's the wrong kind! So it's Daffy Duck, farmer, and on this farm he had an igloo......duh? Skiing eskimo Daffy, skiing right into Hawaii.....eeeeeeeeeeeee.

And so is Daffy Duck subjected to the whims of an offscreen animator, erased, redrawn, his voice changed, everything is done to him except the proper contextualization, which steadily drives Daffy bonkers. A demand for a closeup gets an iris-out, then we see just how bloodshot Daffy's eyes are.

A rubbery black background blob smothers Daffy, so he destroys it and demands the picture begin - so we iris out to THE END - NO! NO!!!!!!!

Two Daffys (the result of the film projector sticking between frames) nearly come to blows, then eventually we get the answer to the mystery that has Daffy yelling his lungs out - and the audience laughing at a film parody to end all such. It's been said this cartoon breaks the fourth as well as fifth and sixth walls - but they forgot to mention the seventh and eighth walls it breaks as well.