Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement

Premiered April 1, 1980.

Three Easter/Spring-themed cartoon shorts starring some of your favorite Looney Tunes characters!

With Easter approaching, the pressure is on for hens, since Easter is peak egg producing season. Foghorn Leghorn tells his employees they need to speed up production so they have enough eggs for the holiday. Foghorn puts extra pressure on Miss Prissy, who hasn't laid a good egg in months.  She keeps laying oddly-shaped eggs.

This changes when she lays a golden egg!  She thinks it's bad news and tosses it down a hill.

Nearby, Daffy Duck and Sylvester are hungry and scrounging for food.

When they decide to steal an egg from a chicken coop, they wind up stumbling on the golden egg.

This creates a conflict between Daffy and his feline "pal," because they both have dreams of using the egg to gain riches.

Elsewhere, a chocolate factory in Mexico is producing Easter candy.  The factory's owners hire Daffy to guard the chocolate from the local mice.  The town's mayor collects all the money the people have in an attempt to buy chocolate bunnies for the kids.  Daffy takes the money, but he sends the mayor away without any candy.

When all hope seems lost, Speedy Gonzalez, fastest mouse in all Mexico appears on the scene and is determined to save Easter for the children.

But Daffy takes his duty as security guard seriously and pulls out all stops to defeat Speedy.

In the special's final short, as winter turns to spring, Daffy flies north with a flock of ducks.  But Daffy's tired of the same old routine and decides to try a different method of migration.

He tries hitch hiking and skiing, but gets nowhere.  Daffy eventually finds a horse and decides to ride it up north, but the horse is not on board with this idea.

J.A. Morris says:
Longtime readers of this blog know that we're huge fans of classic Warner Brothers cartoons and that Daffy was a big part of our childhood.  However, this Easter special is a big step down in quality from the earlier Daffy shorts.

It's worth noting that when Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement premiered on NBC, the network also aired The Daffy Duck Show as part of its Saturday morning lineup.  This show mostly consisted of cartoons produced in the 1960s by the Depatie-Freleng company that also featured Speedy Gonzalez, Foghorn Leghorn and Sylvester shorts.  NBC did not have the rights to air Bugs Bunny cartoons, which is why everyone's favorite "Wascally Wabbit" doesn't appear in this special.

The positive part of this is that in Bugs' absence, we get to see Daffy interact with characters like Sylvester and (briefly) Foghorn Leghorn, something rarely seen in the classic shorts.
The show opens with Daffy talking to his animators, a nice (if obvious) call-back to the classic "Duck Amuck" cartoon.  It's a fun bit (Daffy calls the animator a "Van Gogh of vandalism!") but ultimately it just makes you notice that this Easter special is inferior.

The two Easter-themed shorts were entertaining and the Speedy toon made me smile a bit (especially Daffy's encounter with a vat of chocolate), and Mel Blanc does a nice job with all the voices.  The last short deals with duck migration and has nothing to do Easter.  It's the weakest portion of the special.  However, this special isn't a "forgotten classic" by any means.  Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement rarely made me laugh, but it's generally enjoyable and fans of Daffy and the other characters will want to seek it out if they haven't seen it.

This special is available on DVD.  It can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6.

Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement is mildly entertaining, especially the Speedy short, and nicely animated.  I'm giving it a marginal endorsement for Looney Toons fanatics, but it's not likely to become a part of anyone's annual Easter viewing.

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 and a half Easter Eggs.

RigbyMel says: 

As J.A. Morris, says this special was produced by the Depatie-Freleng company, which also produced things like the classic 1970s Dr. Seuss specials featuring the Lorax and the Cat in the Hat as well as the Pink Panther cartoons.   Unfortunately, their work with Looney Tunes characters is not generally characterized as being classic at all.  In fact, many cartoon historians cite the Depatie-Freleng era as the nadir of Looney Tunes production.    I think I am inclined to agree with that school of thought.

To my eye,  Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement feels like a cheaply animated rehash of things that had been done better previously.  The timing seems off and the music cues are nowhere near as cleverly deployed.  It even sounds like Mel Blanc is phoning in his voice characterizations a bit.  It's not utterly awful, but it really does not stand up well when compared to the classic Looney Tunes shorts.
 

It's nice to see Daffy and pals cutting up Easter-style on screen, I just wish the production values and scripting were up to classic standards.

RigbyMel's rating: 

1 and a half Easter Eggs.

Looney Tunes: "A-Haunting We Will Go"

Premiered April 16, 1966.

Daffy Duck's nephew (Mel Blanc) is out trick or treating.  He knocks on Witch Hazel's (June Foray) door.  Her appearance scares him and sends him running home to Uncle Daffy (Blanc).  Daffy says there's no such thing as a witch, telling his nephew "she's just a nice old lady trying to get along".

 Daffy's nephew gets a scare.

Witch Hazel is frustrated with being a witch, she needs a vacation.  When Speedy Gonzales (Blanc) show up in a hole in her wall, asking to "borrow a cup of cheese", she gets an idea.

 Witch Hazel feeds Speedy some poisoned cheese that turns him into a Witch Hazel lookalike!

 Speedy in mid-transformation

Despite his change in appearance, Speedy still acts like himself, running around, bouncing off walls.  She says Speedy can fill in for her, while she goes on a Hawaiian vacation.

 Witch Hazel turns Speedy into...Witch Hazel?

Daffy shows up looking for a witch and gets Speedy instead.  Speedy decides to have fun as a witch and makes up a potion for Daffy.  This turns Daffy into a bizarre looking flower-headed creature.

Witch Hazel returns from Hawaii, realizing it was a mistake to entrust Speedy to take over her role.  She turns him back into a mouse and Daffy back into a duck.

 Witch Hazel suddenly gets an appetite for duck and  a mad chase ensues.

J.A. Morris says:

This short was produced near the end of the Looney Tunes series,  and it shows.  It's basically an inferior remake of Broom-Stick Bunny (which we reviewed here).  Much of the plot and gags are borrowed from that short.  Speedy even sings "A cup of tea, a cookie, and you-oooo", while preparing a potion for Daffy.  That's taken directly from Broom-Stick Bunny.  Daffy's transformation is lifted from the classic Duck Amuck short.

 Daffy's house, decorated for Halloween.

The plot is pretty weak here, and has one big hole.  Why does Witch Hazel need a replacement to fill in for her when she wants a vacation?  Why can't she just go to Hawaii when she feels like it?  She is a witch, after all.    

A-Haunting We Will Go was directed by Robert McKimson.  His work in animation dates back to 1920s (working for Walt Disney), and he helped shape the appearance of Bugs Bunny.  McKimson also created Foghorn Leghorn and Speedy Gonzales.  He directed dozens of classic Looney Tunes (including one of my favorites, the offbeat Rebel Rabbit),  but this isn't one of them.

It does contain some nice visuals, plus, any cartoon that features Mel Blanc and June Foray together is worth watching at least once.  A-Haunting We Will Go can be found on dvd and Amazon streaming video.  But you're better off re-watching Broom-Stick Bunny.

My rating:
2 and a half Jack O'Lanterns.

Looney Tunes: "Gift Wrapped"

Premiered February 16, 1952.

On Christmas morning, Sylvester (Mel Blanc) wakes up and sneaks a peek at his Christmas present.  It's a rubber mouse, which doesn't satisfy him.

He hears the song "Jingle Bells" emanating from a present for Granny (Bea Benadaret).  Sylvester looks inside and sees Tweety (Blanc).

He switches the gift tags and when Granny hands him the present which now has his name on it, proceeds to swallow the bird!  Granny quickly knocks the bird out of the cat.

Sylvester tries to get Tweety several more times, always coming up empty.

Tweety points to a giant box and tells the cat it's his present.  Inside is Hector the bulldog (Blanc again), who swallows Sylvester.

Granny forces Hector to "drop him!"

It appears that Granny will spend Christmas day disciplining her pets!  Will any heavenly peace be found in the house this Christmas?

J.A. Morris says:

This short can be summed up in one sentence: It's like most other Sylvester & Tweety shorts, except it takes place at Christmas.  If you enjoy their cartoon battles, you'll like "Gift Wrapped." There's lots of great gags, involving fishing rods and pop guns.  And because it's a Warner Brothers cartoon, we get the obligatory stick of dynamite.  Sylvester tries to catch Tweety in many clever ways, my favorite is directing a toy train into his mouth!

The character Granny is usually associated with voice actress June Foray, who voiced Granny for sixty years.  However, in Gift Wrapped, she's voiced Bea Benaderet, who originated the role.

Benaderet was a veteran of many film, TV and radio programs.  She's somewhat forgotten today, but she performed on radio shows like The Jack Benny Show, Fibber McGee and Molly and The Mel Blanc Show.  Benaderet also provided the original voices for Miss Priss (Foghorn Leghorn's love interest) and Betty Rubble in the original Flintstones series.

Bea Benaderet poses with her "alter ego," Betty Rubble.

Her most prominent "live action" role was Kate Bradley in Petticoat Junction.

Gift Wrapped is available on DVD, it can be found on volume 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.  

I've been a fan of Sylvester and Tweety shorts for as long as I can remember.  Placing these characters in a Christmas setting makes them even more enjoyable!

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 candy canes!

RigbyMel says: 

I remember seeing and enjoying this short when I was younger,  whether on Saturday mornings or as part of some sort of holiday programming, I am not certain.   It's still pretty darned funny and the Christmas-ness of it lends itself well to cartoon gags and mayhem around the tree in classic Warner Brothers style.

Don't know that mistletoe will go over well in this scenario ... ! 

Fun fact:  the "Night Before Christmas" narration at the beginning of this short was performed by Daws Butler who is probably best known for his work in various Hanna Barbera cartoons.  He voiced Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear and Elroy Jetson among other characters.

Shish-kebab!  (Oh dear!) 

This is a great Looney Tunes short wrapped up with Christmas packaging to excellent effect.

Plus we get gorgeous background paintings like this one! 

If you're a fan of Warner Brothers cartoons, this one is well worth adding to your annual viewing.

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 candy canes!

Looney Tunes: "The Stupid Cupid"

Premiered November 25, 1944.

"Say, keep your arrows out of other people's businessesses... buster! You shot me last year, and look what happened. Tied down. No more fun. Now look at me. A has-been. A hen-pecked duck. A canvasback Cassanova. And it's your fault, you bare-backed bandit. So beat it, bub. Take a powder. Scram!"
-Daffy Duck

Cupid (Frank Graham), who bears a striking resemblance to Elmer Fudd, is flying around, shooting his arrows at males of various species.

They all turn into love-struck Romeos.

Cupid eventually tracks down Daffy Duck (Mel Blanc).

But Daffy had enough of Cupid's arrow last year.  He was shot, got married, had a bunch of kids and is "tied down".

But Cupid nails him again, prompting Daffy to fall for a chicken.  She's not interested, but Daffy chases her around the coop.

In the middle of the chase, her husband, a muscle-bound rooster shows up and is out for blood.

J.A. Morris says:
This is a great Looney Tunes short.  I'm a huge fan of the old Warner Brothers cartoons, but this is one I haven't seen many times.

It was directed by Frank Tashlin, who later went on to helm live action films like The Girl Can't Help It and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?  Tashlin was a master of sight-gags, and this cartoon is full of them, as these screen caps indicate.

Check out this sequence below.  A bluebird is shot by Cupid's arrow.

We see him morph into an airplane.

 

Great stuff.

 


There are some aspects of this toon that haven't aged well.  We try not to judge works of the past by today's standards, but these aspects keep me from giving it a higher rating.  My co-blogger goes into this in more detail below.
The animation in The Stupid Cupid is outstanding and Stupid Cupid is must-see for Daffy fans and all fans of classic cartoons.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Valentine Hearts.

RigbyMel says:

This is great classic Looney Tunes, as J.A. Morris says.    The animation is top-notch and the gags (mostly) still play well.

Cupid takes aim at Daffy

That being said, I have two issues with it, both of which stem from it having been produced in the 1940s when cultural mores were a little different than they are in the early 21st century.  

Bulldog struck by Cupid's arrow whilst chomping on cat

First, there is a gag involving a dog chasing a cat.   The dog gets shot with one of Cupid's arrows and wishes to be amorous with the cat in a very Pepe Le Pew fashion.   The cat's reaction is to pull out a gun and shoot himself in the head nine times (thus, taking out all nine lives).    This feels very uncomfortable on a number of levels.

Secondly,  I feel kind of bad for Mrs. Daffy and the chicken who is the recipient of Daffy's new amorous attentions.  They didn't do anything wrong.  I guess we can blame that on Cupid's arrows?   Love is strange.

That being said,  this is a fun, silly cartoon and worth checking out if you're a fan of classic Warner Brothers animation.

RigbyMel's rating:

2 1/2 Valentine Hearts.