Stork Naked

Overworked with the high number of deliveries, the stork is covering a lot of ground. However his job is made a lot harder by the fact that, on each delivery he takes a toast. Meanwhile, Daphne Duck prepares of a little visitor - however the last thing Daffy needs is another child and sets up a defensive perimeter to stop him delivering.

I love Daffy Duck, but I greatly prefer him when he is crazy, in his early days - not only do I prefer his character but also the cartoons seemed to have more value placed upon them. Here we have a later cartoon that, despite all it's failings, is actually quite amusing. The plot sees Daffy defending against the arrival of a new child to his family and it sets up some quite funny gags and routines as the stork tries to get in the house. It is not hilarious but it is funny enough. The main problem I had with it was the actual plot - I didn't like the idea of Daffy basically trying to abort his own child (if you take the stork as the womb and the delivery as, well, the delivery - Daffy was trying to stop delivery). I know it is a child's cartoon but did we really need to see Daffy being so selfish to the point that he would abandon his children?

In this regard I didn't like his character here - greedy and foolish is one thing but here he is just too cruel. This is made harder because his wife (unlike the hen pecking version seen in Quackodile Tears) is actually quite sweet and would make a great mother. The stork is a funny character and plays a drunk pretty well!

Overall this is worth seeing even if Daffy is too black a duck this time (in terms of heart), the animation is OK without a lot of work being put into it and the material is amusing as long as you overlook the very obvious line with abortion (even if it was unintentional).

For many, this will be a good episode because they will find the slapstick funny and the drunk stork funny. For people with more heart and for people who enjoy episodes where Daffy is crazy or sly rather than mean and determined, this will not be such a good episode.

One good thing that can be said about this episode, is a new brief character called Daphne, wife of Daffy Duck. She is incredibly sweet and despite only appearing for less than a minute, she is definitely a highlight.

The animation is also quite good. Daffy has quite a good, thick-pencil style and same goes for Daphne and the stork. The backgrounds may remind you slightly of Dr. Seuss's illustrations, having a nice old style.

The stork is a very good character, you warm up to him at the very beginning and you find it funny when he becomes drunk.

Daffy is very mean to the stork and to what is supposed to be his baby, but luckily he is very nice to Daphne.

The episode introduces a stork going around the place bringing baby. One problem: Every time he delivers a baby, the parents have a toast and the stork always drinks too much. Later on, his next delivery is going to be for Daffy and for some reason the little black duck does not want a baby...

6 and a half out of ten.

"Stork Naked" featured something that I don't recall having seen in any other Looney Tunes cartoon: Daffy Duck's wife Daphne (although she only gets a few seconds on screen). But the cartoon mostly focuses on an inebriated stork trying to deliver Daffy and Daphne an egg, and how Daffy goes to great lengths to ensure that he doesn't deliver it. Personally, given how Daffy booby-traps his house, I wonder why he didn't worry about injuring himself or his wife, especially given what happens to him.

As for the common image of the besotted stork, I've always wondered how that originated. If it's the sort of story that we like to tell our children, why make him a drunk? Then again, it gives the story a crazier aspect, so maybe it's OK.

Overall, this wasn't the greatest cartoon ever, but still worth seeing.

Stork Naked is not one of my favourite Looney Tunes cartoons, but I have always really liked it. Daffy is not the most likable he's been, he has his sly moments but I can see where people are coming from when they say they prefer his manic side, as I do as well(The Henpecked Duck showed a very affecting side that makes you empathise with him greatly). While the ending is clever, it is easy to see why Daffy can be seen as cruel. This said, he does still has some very funny moments, revolving around his deviousness and the fact that the Stork manages to outsmart him every time even when drunk. The dialogue is smart and very witty, my favourites are "The guillotine! I forgot all about that silly thing" and "Crocka*hic* crocka*hic*  alligators!". The gags are imaginative and often hilarious, I liked how Daffy tried on a shirt that was much too small for him and when he falls foul of the alligators not once but twice. The animation is bright and colourful, and done in that distinctive Fritz Freleng style, while the music is full of the bombastic energy that is typical of the Milt Franklyn(and Carl Stalling too) scores. Daphne is not in much of Stork Naked, but I love her sweetness, a nice change from the bitches from Quackodile Tears and The Henpecked Duck that take on the role of Daffy's wife. The best character for me was the Stork, he is very funny and I do think it is him that we identify the most with here. Mel Blanc's vocals are just terrific. All in all, funny and very clever as well as well animated and scored. 9/10 Bethany Cox