Duck Amuck (1953)

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

28 February 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.

Plot Keywords:

Animator | Daffy Duck | Audio Problems | Animation Filmmaking | Breaking The Fourth Wall Via Iris Shot

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Daffy Duck / Bugs Bunny (voice)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15191) | UK:U | Canada:G (Nova Scotia)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In animation historian Jerry Beck's 1994 poll of animators, film historians and directors, this cartoon was rated the second greatest cartoon of all time.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Daffy Duck: Stand back, musketeers, they shall sample my blade! Touche!
[suddenly realizes that there is absolutely nothing behind him]
Daffy Duck: Musketeers? Hm? En Garde, eh? My blade? Hey, psst. Whoever's in charge here! The scenery! Where's the scenery?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Penguin

Chuck Jones' Duck Amuck is his most abstract and funniest cartoon short

Duck Amuck is Daffy's frustrations of being trapped in an animated short that keeps changing scenery, has him playing a guitar with shooting sounds, fighting with himself in another frame, gets drawn in different sizes and colors, and basically is at the mercy of an unseen animator. This is Chuck Jones' and Michael Maltese's masterpiece of abstract animation. One of my favorite parts was at the changing scenery sequence when, after Daffy changes into a farmer outfit singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" in front of a barn background, it changes into a winter scene with a snow-house as the duck then sings, "And on this farm he had an igloo..." LOL! At the end, the duck demands to know who is behind the whole thing. All I'll say is that person says, "Ain't I a stinker?" Duck Amuck is definitely worth seeing again and again.