Superior Duck

I must be the only one who didn't like this. I saw this as part of Boomerang's Looney Tunes block and was excited at the prospect of a Chuck Jones I hadn't seen before. This very late cartoon from him though is full of painfully stale bits lifted from earlier cartoons.

The plot is purportedly about Daffy as a superhero, but it quickly derails into "Duck Amuck" territory. It feels like a sloppy effort here, with pretty much every other Looney Toon other than Bugs making a gratuitous cameo.

A never-before-seen Looney Tunes short is always something of a treat, but I was disappointed in this one. I still rate it a 4 out of 10 for even existing.

It is sad really, speaking as a huge Looney Tunes fan and seeing as the idea seemed good. To me, a good number of the later 80s-and-after Looney Tunes cartoons have been enjoyable, if not a patch on the classics, but Superior Duck is down there among the weakest.

What it does have that is noteworthy is the superman cameo at the end, which was a lot of fun and makes one wish that the rest of the cartoon was as inspired (a couple of the verbal mistakes were reasonably amusing). Apart from some character designs lacking in smoothness, the animation is bright and colourful with the colours being pleasantly vibrant and the backgrounds lively, detailed and fluid if not exactly imaginative. The voice acting is also decent, with Eric Goldberg having the lion's share and doing very well, Thurl Ravenscroft has a very distinguished narration voice and Jim Cummings is spot on as Taz.

There is one exception however and that is Frank Gorshin as Foghorn (he is pretty good as Daffy though), who sounds far too abrasive and harsh that the sharp wit of the character is completely lost. The dialogue here is not much to write home about, with serious need of more sharpness and wit. As aforementioned, a couple of the verbal mistakes early on were reasonably amusing but got increasingly predictable and rather groan-worthy, while the gags are somewhat pale and less-well-timed retreads of one from previous (and much better, we're talking classics like Duck Amuck) Looney Tunes cartoons. With the timing not as imaginative, the humour not as sharp and the notable (and much-missed) absence of Mel Blanc they just feel limp.

Story-wise, Superior Duck is rather messy. The pacing feels rushed, with a constant hasty feel to it as a result of the cartoon being far too short, and it was not very focused, instead feeling pointlessly random and never feeling sure what the real story is supposed to be. The music doesn't really fit, not as annoying or as discordant as a lot of Bill Lava's scores for the 60s Looney Tunes cartoons but it does overbear the cartoon stylistically and lacks energy. Even more disappointing is the treatment of the Looney Tunes characters, here they are saddled with cameos varying in length (most of the time far too brief) and with at least half of them they're pointless (something that few other 80s-and-after Looney Tunes did), the things (like their personalities) that makes them so famous and so great as characters just doesn't come through.

In summary, not a complete waste of time, but rather uninspired late effort. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Lame later effort from Chuck Jones that doesn't provide a single laugh. The "joke" is that Daffy is a superhero in some futuristic sci-fi city but he can't even get through his introduction without arguing with the narrator. It calls back to classic Daffy cartoons like Stupor Duck, Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, and Duck Amuck. You'd be better served going back and watching those shorts instead of this dud. The music is loud and annoying as is often the case with later Looney Tunes cartoons. The animation is colorful but flat and unimpressive. Frank Gorshin does the voice of Daffy and Foghorn Leghorn (one of the many characters thrown in for no purpose other than Jones looking for a cheap nostalgia 'pop'). His Daffy is okay but his Foghorn is terrible. Tony the Tiger himself, Thurl Ravenscroft, is the narrator. It's a complete failure of a cartoon that has only one noteworthy bit: the Superman cameo at the end.

This cartoon is fantastic. Featuring verbal jokes mainly, like the narrator's hysterical goofs. With cameo appearances from nearly every Looney Tunes character, even Wile E. Coyote! Porky returns as the ever-faithful Space Cadet, and Daffy seems to have dumped his old disintegration-proof vest. He doesn't have much luck with the new one either. It has two main focuses: one on a single character amid a forest of cameos and determinedly trying to succeed; the second on the unlucky and quite dim superhero. The animation is brilliant--Chuck Jones manages to create the same effect with all-new animators. With the theme of the fall-guy superhero desperately trying to make do in a cruel world, few beat the hilarious story of Superior Duck.

There's not much substance in the writing, although it does manage to capture the old late 50s, early 60s Looney Tunes style well. After all, Chuck Jones did direct it. However, the short feels very phony, feeling the need for cameos and the reuse of old story pieces and gags. Even something for Looney Tunes, this cartoon doesn't make sense. If only all of the cameos were taken out and it was a sequel to Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, it would've been better. In the end, it's a bit torturous to watch but will not leave much of an impact at all.