Release Date:

February 14, 1948

Main Character(s):

Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd

Summary:

During duck season, Daffy Duck outwits both Elmer Fudd and a hungry fox.

That’s Not All, Folks:

The production number is 1069 and was released as a Looney Tune.

The cartoon was produced in Cinecolor, resulting in it being finished early. It also uses the 1948-1949 green rings with the red background.

This cartoon is a rare instance where Daffy always comes out on top.

This is Davis’ only Elmer Fudd cartoon.

Most prints of the cartoon (such as when it was restored for the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 Blu-ray set in 2012) inexplicably use the 1950 Merrie Melodies end card.

According to my brother Will, this is the very first Warner cartoon I ever saw. If it was, I am glad it was this one as ever since I first started watching these cartoons in 2013, this has always been one of my all-time favorites and it always will be. If there is one cartoon that I think SHOULD’VE ended up in the 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons, it’s definitely this one.

The fox resembles the one in “The Foxy Duckling”.

The title is a parody of the novel “What Makes Sammy Run”.

What I Like About This One:

The rendition of “A-Hunting We Will Go” over the opening credits.

As guns are heard firing, a periscope peeks out of a bush and after the camera pans to a tree, Daffy sneaks past with a towel. After he hears a gunshot, he runs behind another tree scared as his legs shake. Slightly startled by the audience, he tells us: “Oh! Oh, it’s you! You… you gotta excuse my nerves! You see, it’s, it’s duck season and confidentially I’m a duck!” (animated by Basil Davidovich)

Daffy sneaks along again and after he’s shown to be disguised as a dried flower, he expresses his disgust at this: “What an existence! I gotta use all these tricks just to take my morning shower!” He pulls up a shower curtain out of nowhere and showers while singing a brilliantly-sung rendition of “King for a Day”. The fox and Elmer sneak up on him at the same time and believe they’ve grabbed him, only for Daffy to step out of the shower still singing. Both are very peeved to see their fingers tied together in knots (animated by Davidovich).

As Daffy dries off and finishes his song, Elmer and the fox start grabbing him before he starts doing some fast-talk: “Now just a minute! Fellows! Let’s be sensible about this thing!” He first turns to the fox and asks, “You want a duck, right?” before turning to Elmer, “And you want a duck, right? Well, BOTH of you can’t have me!” (animated by Davidovich) Daffy makes a sporting proposition where the first one to make it up to a pine tree on a hill “will get tender, juicy me as first prize!” It’s actually a ruse to send them away as after he gets them to start racing, he yells “So long, chumps!”, only to see that the fox has zoomed back (via the starting pistol’s gun smoke forming into his shape) and is on to him: “Not so fast, my little feathered friend” (animated by Bill Melendez).

Being carried off by the fox, Daffy calls out to the still-running Elmer that he’s been deceived. “I’m YOUR duck, Elmer! A tasty morsel fit for a king! Don’t let this moron have me!” As the fox runs up a hill, Daffy squirts some muddy-looking oil to make it slippery. The fox starts sliding backward down the hill just as Elmer reaches the hill and then slides down facing the fox with his gun poised to shoot (animated by Melendez).

Elmer sends the fox running away with, “Now ya cwooked wascal!” The fox doesn’t pay attention to where he’s running, and runs smack into a tree which knocks him out cold after flying backward from the hit(animated by Melendez). It’s also revealed that the fox flying backward has knocked Elmer back first into the oil as Daffy congratulates him: “I knew you’d make it, Elmer! I knew you’d come through for YOUR duck!” and gives him a wacky kiss. Getting up with his backside covered in oil, Elmer corners him, “MY duck? You are so wight! (laughs)” (animated by Don Williams)

Daffy then gives Elmer an over-dramatic sob story: “Ok, Elmer. You win. I’m glad it’s over, glad do ya hear? I couldn’t have stood it much longer. It’s too much for one duck to bear. After all, I’m only flesh and feathers. Morning, noon, and night bang bang rat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Machine guns. Anti-aircraft. Boom! Boom! Bam!” as he zooms into the air and acts as if he’s been shot. “Black bursting. Ducks going down in flames”. As he lands, it becomes more dramatic: “Guns! Guns! They’re everywhere! But ya can’t see ‘em! And then… one day it happens… they get ya!” as he crowns Elmer with a mallet. “Your only defense is… escape”. Daffy runs off as Elmer begins to collapse only to zoom back briefly to finish, “But ya gotta be awful quick!” before zooming off again, leaving Elmer to finally collapse from the hit (animated by Williams).

Later, Daffy is seen admiring himself in a mirror in tune to a lovely instrumental of “King for a Day” while saying: “Oh, you handsome duck, you. Oh, you rogue. Huh. You gorgeous hunk of feathers you, heh.” (animated by Davidovich) Elmer disguises as a sexy female duck which Daffy starts romancing in the pond: “Well, hello, my little siren of the swamps. You look lonesome, my pet. What you need is a man around here. Someone who is young, lithe… athletic”. He dives into the water and finds rubber boots instead of webbed feet, making him realize this is Elmer disguised. “Ah-ha, an impostor!”, he gurgles. He returns to the surface and continues playing along: “Let me take you away from all this! Let us flee to glamorous Hollywood! I can get you a screentest with Warner Bros. You’ll be rich! You too can have a swimming pool! Beautiful paintings! Which reminds me. I have some lovely etchings up in my apartment. Uh, wait right here, I’ll bring ‘em down!” (brilliantly animated by Emery Hawkins)

Daffy sneaks off and revives the still-unconscious fox by opening his eyelids and blowing a duck call. Seeing Elmer’s duck disguise, the fox grabs him but as he runs off with it, the disguise’s neck stretches, which makes the fox stop. “What kind of a duck is this!?”, he asks as he opens the disguise up. Elmer points his gun at him in response which makes the fox close it in fright. Elmer runs after him still in the disguise and is heard saying: “I’ll get you, you cwazy chawacter!” As he leaps into the air, a rope grabs one of the rubber boots, sending Elmer flying back down with it and getting stuck in the boot. “How am I ever gonna catch that scwewy duck?”, Elmer asks sadly. The rope is revealed to be Daffy’s doing as he answers: “Precisely what I was wondering, my little nimrod!” The fox suddenly grabs Daffy by the throat, which briefly makes Daffy believe he has laryngitis (animated by Hawkins).

The fox runs into the distance with Daffy only to be confronted by Elmer pointing his gun at him. After sending the fox away (animated by Davidovich), he grabs Daffy once and for all and plans to kill him by pinning him against a tree. Daffy now goads the fox into claiming him. “Hey, come back! Are you gonna let this rank outsider make off with YOUR duck!?” Elmer’s shooting is prevented by the fox plugging his fingers in the rifle barrel, which makes all of Elmer’s shotgun shell spill out. Now angry with each other, Elmer and the fox get into a fistfight with Daffy cheering them on from the tree (animated by Melendez).

While the fight is still going strong, a dog ranger shows up and nails two separate signs against the tree with one saying “Duck Season Closed” and another saying “Fox Season Open”. The ranger stops the fight by blowing his whistle (animated by Williams). Elmer and the fox silently look at the signs, before Elmer turns to the fox with an angry killer expression as the fox, realizing he’s screwed, runs off into the distance. The ranger pulls out a horse for Elmer to pursue him on. As Elmer chases the fox into the distance (animated by Melendez), the ranger is revealed to be Daffy in disguise. Daffy confides, “Obviously, I am dealing with inferior mentalities!” (animated by Williams)

Where Can I Watch It?

At archive.org!

Carrot Rating:

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕