Release Date:

July 20, 1946

Main Character(s):

Daffy Duck

Summary:

Comic book maniac Daffy Duck is overly excited about the latest adventures of Dick Tracy and accidentally knocks himself out. He dreams that he is detective “Duck Twacy”, who must search for stolen piggy banks, which have been apprehended by a gang of Chester Gould-inspired criminals.

That’s Not All, Folks:

Despite the production number being 4-15 (the 4th Merrie Melodie in the 15th release season), the cartoon was released as a Looney Tune.

This is Clampett’s last Daffy cartoon and the last cartoon where he is credited. His last two cartoons, “Bacall to Arms” and “The Big Snooze” have Clampett uncredited due to him leaving before they were released.

The cartoon was ranked number 16 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons and is in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons book.

The scene where Daffy first encounters the gangsters became a meme almost a year ago in May 2024. And way before that (around the fall of 2014, in fact), I memorized all of the gangsters’ names off the top of my head.

This is the first cartoon to use the 1946-1955 Looney Tunes opening theme as well as the 1946-1955 Looney Tunes closing theme. This is my second favorite opening theme for the Warner Bros. Cartoons (my favorite is the 1955-1964 Looney Tunes opening theme, but we’ll get to that later) and this theme also signifies that we are now firmly in the peak era of Looney Tunes (1945-1964).

A clip from this cartoon is seen in the 2014 film, “Son of Batman”.

This is the first Warner cartoon to have backgrounds by Philip DeGuard, who would gain fame as Jones’ background artist beginning in the early 1950’s.

Daffy would later be a comic book maniac again this time on horror in the 1988 cartoon “The Night of the Living Duck”, one of two cartoons that was specifically made for the compilation movie from the same year, “Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters”.

“Powerhouse” plays during the scene where Daffy is pacing back and forth in front of his mailbox, during his phone calls up to the point where he realizes his own piggy bank has been stolen, and during the scene where he walks up the wall and ceiling of the gangsters’ hideout declaring, “Nothing’s impossible to Duck Twacy!”

The cartoon was originally titled “Duck Twacy”.

One of the letters put in Daffy’s mailbox is addressed to Rod Scribner.

This is the last Clampett cartoon written by Warren Foster.

This is the last cartoon where Carl Stalling is credited as “Carl W. Stalling”. From the next cartoon onwards, he would be credited as just “Carl Stalling”.

What I Like About This One:

Daffy is first seen impatiently pacing by his mailbox to the tune of “Powerhouse” and wondering in anxiousness, “Sufferin’ succotash! Why don’t he get here!?” (animated by Izzy Ellis)

Excitedly digging through the mail, Daffy takes the latest issue of Dick Tracy and runs over the hill with it behind the barn (animated by Fred Abranz). About as excited as I would be when something I’d be anticipating arrives, Daffy says in ecstasy, “You’re here at last! And you’re mine, all mine!” (animated by Manny Gould)

Reading through Dick Tracy’s latest adventures, Daffy pleads for Tracy to not go into where “Noodle Nose” is attempting to throw a knife at him and is very relieved when Tracy dodges the attack. Seeing that the villains are at it again, Daffy covers his eyes and anxiously takes a peek at the outcome (animated by Rod Scribner). Upon seeing that Tracy is victorious, Daffy excitedly talks about what it would be like to be Dick Tracy and that “I’d show those goony criminals!” before accidentally punching himself and knocking himself silly (animated by Bill Melendez).

The dream starts with Daffy in his office apparently grilling a suspect and threatening, “I’m gonna pin it on ya, see! I’m gonna pin it on ya!” He’s actually playing pin the tail on the donkey (animated by Ellis).

Daffy then answers several phone calls about stolen piggy banks, and has one conversation in French while using a French phone (animated by Gould). Realizing this is some sort of piggy bank crime wave (animated by Scribner), Daffy wonders why people don’t put their piggy banks in a safe place, like he does in his safe. He opens his safe only to find his piggy bank has been stolen as well (animated by Ellis). Going dramatic (animated by Abranz), Daffy decides to phone Duck Twacy, “the famous de-tecti-tive”, and has a conversation with himself, before realizing, “HEY! What’s the matter with me!? I’M Duck Twacy!” (animated by Scribner)

On his way to find the gangsters’ hideout, Daffy bumps into Sherlock Holmes himself and tells him to beat it: “Scram, Sherlock! I’m workin’ this side of the street!” (animated by Gould) Daffy then takes a trolley driven by Porky in a silent cameo appearance to the gangsters’ hideout which is advertised by neon signs (animated by Melendez).

Making his way up the door, Daffy sees that under the doorbell is a mat labeled “Trap Door”. So he attempts to ring it from another direction, using a pole to ring the doorbell, but the floor opens exactly where he’s standing (animated by Gould), sending him sliding into an underground room. Seeing portable footprints that go up the wall, over the ceiling (knowing he’s defying gravity, Daffy proclaims, “Nothing’s impossible to Duck Twacy!”; animated by Ellis), and into a small hole, Daffy realizes these belong to “Mouse Man” who turns out to be a monstrous giant mouse (animated by Gould).

Daffy soon finds himself in the crowd of the other villains (animated by Gould): “Snake Eyes”, who has dice for eyes, “88 Teeth”, who has piano keys for teeth, “Hammer Head”, who has a hammer for a head, “Pussycat Puss”, a cat, “Bat Man”, a baseball bat, “Double Header”, a two-headed baseball pitcher, “Pickle Puss”, a pickle, “Pumpkin Head”, who has a jack-o-lantern for a head, “Neon Noodle”, a neon stick figure who can twist into any shape, “Jukebox Jaw”, who has a record player on his head, and “Wolf Man”, a literal wolf. Daffy tells them they’re all under arrest, but they simply roar at him before giving chase (animated by Melendez). He is then pinned to the wall by “Rubber Head”, who has a pencil eraser for a head and threatens with rolling R’s: “I’m gonna rub ya out, see! Rub ya out!” and does so by erasing Daffy who is in bewilderment at this: “Fantastic! And furthermore, it’s unbelieva-” (animated by Scribner) before opening a nearby door to finish his sentence: “-ble”. (animated by Ellis)

Daffy throws a grenade at Pumpkin Head, turning his, well, pumpkin head, into five pumpkin pies, with a sign: “35 cents each” (animated by Ellis). Although Daffy mows (animated by Gould) most of them down with a machine gun (animated by Melendez), Neon Noodle sneaks up on him and plays “guess who?” Daffy guesses, “Neon Noodle?” before realizing to his horror, “NEON NOODLE!?” Getting tangled up with him, Daffy twists him into a flashing “Eat at Joe’s” (animated by Ellis).

Finding the piggy banks in the same room the dead gangsters are lying in front of, Daffy spots his and starts kissing it, before we fade back to reality where Daffy is actually kissing a feminine pig in a muddy pigpen back home. The pig asks, “Shall we dance?” and kisses Daffy, which disgusts him. As Daffy goes off hoo-hooing, the pig confides, “I love that duck!” (animated by Gould)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕