Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Chuck Jones

Writer:

Michael Maltese (story)

Release Date:

25 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Sci-Fi | Animation | Comedy | Short

Plot:

Space hero Daffy battles Marvin the Martian for control of Planet X.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Marvin The Martian | Duck Dodgers | Duck | Alien

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mel Blanc

...

Daffy Duck / Duck Dodgers / Porky Pig / Marvin the Martian (voice)

Also Known As:

Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

7 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (video release) | UK:U | Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #15464) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When this cartoon was released, it received the admiration of many notable science fiction directors, including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. When Star Wars (1977) was re-released in theaters, the cartoon was run preceding the feature at Lucas' request.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): On the sign outside Dr. I.Q. Hi's office, the word "stratosphere" is spelled "stratospere."

Quotes:

Duck Dodgers: Hah! Got the drop on you with MY disintegrating pistol! And brother, when it disintegrates, it disintegrates.
[fires; gun crumbles to ground]
Duck Dodgers: Well, whaddaya know... heh... it disintegrated!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Tiny Toon Adventures: A Quack in the Quarks (#1.2)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Powerhouse

A Real Hoot! One Of Daffy's All-Time Best

"No one knows his way around outer space like Duck Dodgers," proclaims Dafffy as he given the assignment to find a valuable material on Planet X (wherever that is, because they don't know here, either!).

This parody of "Buck Rodgers" is a hoot to view, right from the start with the wild 24th century look to it and exaggerations of the future. The color in this cartoon is absolutely bold and brilliant.

Duck's "eager young space cadet" is Porky Pig, who calls Daffy "Your Heroship, Sir!" Although our "hero" wants to take credit, it's the little assistant who points to way to Planet X. Upon arrive, "Dodger" plants a flag and proclaims in belong to Earth. A second later, we see the arrival of Marvin the Martian, who claims it for his planet!!!

There's a lot more of this craziness, making this one of the better Daffy cartoons. This animated short is very, very entertaining. Cartoon historians label this as one of Daffy Duck's all-time best, and who's to argue?