Release Date:

November 27, 1954

Main Character(s):

Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Nasty Canasta

Summary:

Daffy Duck as “The Masked Avenger” with Porky Pig as his “Comedy Relief” attempts to capture Nasty Canasta in his hideout for a 10,000-dollar reward, but repeatedly fails to get Canasta’s attention.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1300 and was released as a Merrie Melodie.

The cartoon is a follow-up to “Drip Along Daffy”, but with Canasta slightly redesigned, Daffy having a new hero name, and Porky just sitting on the sidelines not doing anything to help (but still nonchalant throughout the whole thing).

Daffy’s “Freesco Kid” disguise is a parody of the “Frisco Kid”.

The “Gravediggers” joke book that Canasta gets amusement out of is authored by Burke and Hare. Burke and Hare were notorious murderers in Scotland in the early 1800’s.

The title is a pun for the song “My Little Buckaroo”. The song itself doesn’t actually appear in the cartoon. There is a Warner cartoon from 1938 with the title though and that uses the song (in case you don’t remember, Merrie Melodies were originally song-centered cartoons before they became the studio’s color cartoons in the 1930’s up until 1942. Starting in 1937, the Merrie Melodies were no longer always song cartoons. The Looney Tunes were the cartoons that featured the star character-first Bosko, then Buddy, and then Porky for several years- and were in black and white although a select few from 1942 and 1943 were made in color. Starting in 1941, the Looney Tunes no longer had to feature continuing characters, so other than the color and black and white formats, differences between Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were almost non-existent. From 1944 onward, every Warner cartoon was made in color and from that point on, there was officially no longer a difference between Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, which is why I believe that this is the reason the general public refers to the Warner cartoons as just “Looney Tunes”).

Canasta’s walls look like pages from a book.

Milt Franklyn scored this cartoon.

Daffy pronounces “avenger” as “e-venger”.

The cartoon uses the 1955 red-purple rings with the blue background.

Favorite Scene:

Daffy’s attempt to cheat at cards against Canasta.

What Happens in This One:

Over the opening credits and up to the point where they are identified as “The Masked Avenger” and “Comedy Relief” respectively, Daffy and Porky ride out west on their horse and mule, respectively as Porky sings an original tune written by Michael Maltese for this cartoon and surprisingly without stuttering once, “Oh, I got a horse, Lazy Will, Lazy Will. When I wanna ride, he just stand still. He won’t go up or go down hill. Giddy up, giddy up, Lazy Willie. Giddy up, giddy up, giddy yup, yup, yup. Giddy up, giddy up, Lazy Willie. We rode into town one bright sunny day; in a cloud of dust, we galloped away; he was on my back yelling ‘Yippee-yi-yay1’; that no-good horse, Lazy Willie. Giddy up, giddy up, giddy yup, yup, yup. Giddy up, giddy up, Lazy Willie-”. Daffy suddenly stops upon seeing something, “Whoa, Tinfoil!” (animated by Ben Washam)

What Daffy saw is revealed to be a “Dead or Alive” wanted poster of Canasta: “10,000 Dollars Reward? Hmm. Nasty Canasta, eh?” The camera pans down to reveal what all Canasta is wanted for, which include bank robbery, train robbery, buggy robbery, gag stealing, candy stealing, cattle rustling, pig stealing, horse stealing, sheriff scaring, and square dancing in a round house. Daffy decides, “This looks like a job for-”, before his cape falls in front of his face, “-The Masked Avenger!” (animated by Washam) Porky asks, “I-i-it does?” Daffy adds, “And besides, it isn’t the principle of the thing. It’s the money” (animated by Richard Thompson), before he continues (with his horse letting out a burp at one point), “The Masked Avenger- Righer of wrongs! Doer of heroic deeds!- rides again! Hi-ho, Tinfoil! Away-y-y-y-y!” (animated by Washam)

On their way to Canasta’s hideout, which is marked by several signs such as “Canasta’s Hide-Out”, “This Way In”, “Robber’s Roost”, and “Here It Is!”, Daffy vows, “I’ve got you now, Canasta. All your cunning will avail you but not!” (animated by Washam) Canasta’s hideout is then seen up close with some more signs, “Nasty Canasta the Smiling Rustler”, “Used Cattle”, “Sale!”, and “Todays Specials”. Daffy walks up to the door with Porky following him before he instructs, “You wait here and guard the entrance while I go in and fix his little red wagon”. Daffy then kicks the door open with his guns drawn, “Stick ‘em up, Canasta! I’m the Masked Avenger!” He walks in while continuing, “The jig is up! This is it! (animated by Lloyd Vaughan) This is a showdown, you show-off! This is the last! The very last roundup! It’s the end of the trail for you, buster!” Canasta is too busy playing solitaire to turn around and look as Daffy sheepishly goes on, “Uh, bronco buster? What-what’s the matter? Didn’t ya hear me? I-I said I was the Masked Avenger. Look, s-s-see my mask? Hmm? It’s a very nice mask. Quite stylish. Don’t ya think, hmm?” He then stares at the camera in annoyance before walking away (animated by Washam).

Canasta lights a cigarette in a rather bizarre way: he takes his old one out and tosses it aside, puts the paper for a new one in his mouth and pours tobacco in there, and then lights a match and also puts it in his mouth before the cigarette sticks out. Daffy comes in wearing a Mexican-like outfit and carrying a whip in one hand and a gun in the other while speaking in a Mexican accent, “Ah ha! I am the Freesco Kid! Come along quietly, senor, or I shall whip you!” Daffy only succeeds in causing the whip to wrap around his body before he says in his normal voice, “Well, you don’t have to come along quietly. You can make a little noise if you want to”. With Canasta still not paying attention, Daffy says, “Well, uh….. adios, senor” before leaving (animated by Washam).

After he is heard saying, “Come on! Step it up! Undo me!” (implying that Porky is helping Daffy dress up in his various guises), Daffy comes in wearing a Superman outfit, “I’m Super Guy! You’re coming with ME!” Upon getting no response once more, Daffy says, “I said I’m… I’m Super Guy! Uh, Captain Video? Uh, the Green Fathom? Uh, Mark of Zero?” (animated by Washam) Daffy watches Canasta still playing solitaire, “Trick or treat?”, before suggesting, “Say, uh, why don’t ya play your red jack on the black queen?” Canasta grabs him by the throat and asks, “Do you play cards?” (animated by Thompson)

With his neck squeezed in from Canasta’s grabbing of him, Daffy walks away while answering hoarsely, “Brother, d-do I play cards? What a silly question!” He then comes back in wearing his Masked Avenger outfit without his mask while shuffling a deck of cards between his hands and with his neck and voice back to normal and laughing, “Do I play cards? It is to laugh! What a patsy!” After shuffling the cards, Daffy requests, “Cut the cards”, to which Canasta literally slices them in half with a meat cleaver. Nervously sweating after seeing some of the feathers on his hand also having been sliced off, Daffy comments meekly, “Nice cut”. Daffy then deals, “Well, let’s get on with it”, but deals Canasta only one card, “Uh, there’s yours”, and gives himself the rest of the deck, “And here’s mine”. Daffy asides while chuckling, “I’ve got a royal straight flushed full house with four aces high!”, and then asks Canasta, “What’ve YOU got, stranger?” Canasta shoves his gun in Daffy’s mouth and replies, “I got a three of clubs”. Daffy responds, “Beats me” (animated by Vaughan).

While Canasta is reading a “Gravediggers Joke Book” while laughing over it, Daffy puts some tobacco for a cigarette in his mouth, puts the cigarette in, only for it to make a small explosion and leave part of Daffy’s beak charred. Canasta still laughs while Daffy spits out the tobacco and ruined cigarette. Daffy challenges him to arm-wrestling, “Care to, uh, Indian-wrestle?” Once Canasta accepts, Daffy starts ranting, “Trifle with me, will ya, you-you-”, only for Canasta to slam him through the table. Daffy walks back up to him and comments, “I think you’re pretty tough, don’t I?” He begins to walk away before realizing something, “Okay, buddy. I TRIED to be peaceful, but oh NO, that wasn’t for you! So-” As he’s saying this, he twirls his gun around but ends up pointing it at his own forehead by mistake, causing him to shoot off the feathers on said forehead and his hat to land back on his head with a “honk” sound effect (animated by Abe Levitow).

Porky, having opened the door, makes a suggestion, “Hey, A-A-A-Avenger? Eh, w-w-why don’t ya plain old arrest him?” Daffy replies, “You may have something there, Comedy Relief” before attempting to do so, “Alright, Canasta. On your feet. You’re under arrest”. Canasta gets up and holds out his hands as Daffy puts handcuffs on them, “I’ll just snap these barnacles on ya”. As he attempts to drag Canasta off to jail, oblivious that Canasta’s tremendous strength has allowed him to easily pull the chains apart, Daffy says to himself, “I’ll donate the 10,000-dollar reward to a worthy cause. Namely me”. Upon realizing they’re not moving, Daffy attempts to push Canasta by the legs, “First, I’ll buy some fancy duds (strains) and then I’ll (strains), I’ll get me a diamond-studded watch fob!” He then goes up to Canasta’s head and attempts to pull on it, “I’m just crazy about diamond-studded watch fobs! (strains)” and then attempts to pull him by the arm, “A trip to Bermuda and a- (strains)”, before attempting to lift him up with a board, “Everybody needs to get away to Bermuda! (strains) Once in a while!” The board falls down and also breaks the chair under it, leaving Daffy laying on the ground chest-first (animated by Ken Harris).

While breathing heavily, Daffy removes his shirt while vowing, “Alright, Canasta! That does it! I’m gonna give you a fist beating, frontier-style!” Porky encourages, “Atta-b-b-boy, Avenger! Go on! Eh, f-f-fix his little red wagon!”, before walking away to sit down on the front porch, “He’ll, eh, k-k-kill ‘em!” Daffy is still swinging his fists, “Come on! Come on, put up your dukes!” Canasta reveals his very muscular body, which tears apart his shirt, and causes Daffy to realize he’s screwed, as he continues meekly, “Well, come on. Come on. What are ya? Chicken or something? Huh?” Canasta punches Daffy in the face (animated by Levitow). Porky, who’s outside whittling, ends up bouncing up and down on the porch as the house shakes from the indoor and offscreen fight as he comments, “Oh, he’ll eh, m-m-m-murder ‘em!” After the fight ends, a beaten up Daffy comes out with a literal red wagon, “I told ya I’d fix his little red wagon. You should’ve seen it. The wheels were busted. The axle was all bent. And it needed a- a new coat of paint. Now…now I’m goin’ home to Mother!” (animated by Harris)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕