Daffy des bois

Robin Hood Daffy (1958)

*** (out of 4)

Not quite as great as RABBIT HOOD, here's another Chuck Jones directed take on the Robin Hood legend. This time out Daffy Duck is wearing the tights and after running into Friar (Porky Pig) he must convince him that he is the real Robin. Of course, with Daffy this isn't going to be too easy and he keeps making one big mistake after another. ROBIN HOOD DAFFY contains some very good animation and a rather cute story but at the same time I don't think it comes together as good as it could have. Yes, it's a good movie but it's still middle-ground in terms of Looney Tunes and some of the classics they've done over the years. Some of the highlights includes a scene towards the end where Duffy flashes past the man he's trying to "take" and we see a great scene of him going into some water up up a draw bridge. The animation here is very effective and so is the laugh. The rest of the film contains some fast action but none of it is as funny as it should have been.

This time, Robin Hood (Daffy Duck) tries to convince Friar Tuck (Porky Pig) that he really is Robin Hood, but the circumstances keep working against him. Maybe "Robin Hood Daffy" isn't the greatest cartoon from the Mel Blanc/Chuck Jones crowd, but it's still great. With some of the things that happen to Daffy here, you just have to remember what we learned in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" about a given cartoon character: you can drop anything you want on his head. And let me tell you, Daffy has a lot more to worry about than that! Anyway, this is another cartoon from the Golden Age. You may just feel like Robin Hood after viewing this.

Genre: Animated short, duck, pig, slapstick, based on Robin Hood.

Main characters: Daffy Duck (acting as Robin Hood) and Porky Pig (acting as Friar Tuck).

Actors: Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck and Porky Pig).

What happens: Starring Daffy Duck as Robin Hood, he meets the hysterical Porky Pig as Friar Tuck. Friar Tuck is looking for Robin Hood, but he refuses to believe that it IS Robin Hood…

My thoughts: This is a very slapsticky Daffy Duck short (and as you may know I am not awfully fond of slapstick) however I like it quite a lot! I like how even though it has SO much slapstick, there is always a teeny bit of wit to top it off! I also love how they sometimes speak in old fashioned English like "I am whom thoust seekest. I am Robin Hood" and stuff like that. I also like the background animation, well-drawn wonky forests and paths. I also like the song at the very beginning.

Recommended to: Daffy Duck fans and admirers (like me) and people who like slapstick and wit in a cartoon! Enjoy! :-)

Daffy is a Robin Hood type who fights the sheriff and is famous from his wanted posters. His reputation is given a knock when he falls into a river and is laughed at by a fat friar pig (Porky). All Daffy's attempts to prove himself and impress the jolly Friar just seem to backfire and he can't convince him that he is the Robin Hood that Porky seeks.

I'm a really big fan of Daffy Duck and always feel that he is at his best when he is in his early persona of being manic and wacky. Even when he becomes more cynical and greedy he still manages to be one of my favourite Warner Brothers characters. Here he is very much the butt of the film's jokes - a role that I'm never totally happy to see him in as I do like him as a character more than a fall guy. However here the jokes are funny and imaginative so I didn't mind so much in this case. The character he plays is basically a fall guy but the ways in which he falls had me laughing out loud - whether it was the rope swing or the shaft fight, I was loving it!

I don't like to see Daffy just plain mocked but he takes it very well here and is funny himself rather than just being a patsy. Porky is also good but doesn't manage to steal the show from Daffy in the way he often can in these combination films of theirs. With no other characters to speak of, Daffy carries the film very well and gets the majority of the laughs - I still prefer to see him giving rather than getting, but this is funny nonetheless.

Overall this cartoon is very funny with a good sense of cruel wit running through it. Fans of the original little black duck may be upset to see him take such punishment but I personally was relieved that Daffy managed to make this film as funny as he did.

Often hilarious and nearly always sumptuous, this is a solid Daffy Duck cartoon. The animation is in general very nice, with crisp colourful backgrounds, and smooth character movements. Though there was once or twice where objects such as the tree were a tad static. The music though was fantastic, very rousing. While not perhaps the most rollicking take on the Robin Hood story, I would say the Errol Flynn film takes that title, it is entertaining, with some good visual gags and a fun script. Whereas in cartoons like The Ducksters, Porky is the butt of the joke, but here, it is Daffy and he seems to be taking it well as he makes a rollicking Robin Hood figure, and Porky is an effective Friar Tuck. I would also like to praise Mel Blanc for his brilliant voice characterisations. All in all, not the absolute best Daffy cartoon, but solid enough. 9/10 Bethany Cox