Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island

Theatrical Poster
Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island
Directed by:	Friz Freleng Phil Monroe (co-director) Friz Freleng (sequence director) David Detiege (sequence director) Phil Monroe (sequence director)
Produced by:	Friz Freleng Hal Geer Jean MacCurdy
Starring:	Mel Blanc June Foray Les Tremayne
Music by:	Rob Walsh Carl Stalling (classic cartoons) Milt Franklyn (classic cartoons) Eugene Poddany (classic cartoons) William Lava (classic cartoons)
Distributed by:	Warner Bros.
Release date:	5 August 1983
Running time:	78 min
Preceded by:	Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
Followed by:	Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island is a 1983 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences, hosted by Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. This was the first Looney Tunes compilation film to center on Daffy Duck, as the previous ones had centered on Bugs Bunny.

A note in the end credits dedicates the film to animator and story man, John Dunn, "who inspired it." Dunn died of heart failure in San Fernando, California on January 17, 1983, six months before the film's release. This film was released on DVD in North America for the first time on November 18, 2014.

Plot

Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales are shipwrecked on a desert island for months with nothing on it but a coconut tree. Daffy is sick and tired of eating coconuts and losing his sanity. They discover a treasure map which leads them to a magical, talking wishing well. The greedy Daffy proposes to use the power of the well, which obeys the commands of whoever holds the map. Rather than simply wishing for a heap of wealth, Daffy figures he can make himself and Speedy rich by transforming the barren island into a verdant tourist paradise and selling other people wishes for a hefty fee. Speedy and Daffy attire themselves in the white suits worn by Tattoo and Roarke in the television show Fantasy Island, with Speedy exclaiming "da plane, da plane" as an airplane carrying various Looney Tunes characters arrives on the island. As the customers step up for their chance at the well, their wishes are fulfilled through the events of a classic Looney Tunes cartoon.

Meanwhile, pirate Yosemite Sam and his first mate, the Tasmanian Devil, search for the map, which originally belonged to them. They had earlier lost their ship in a battle with Bugs Bunny. With a single black feather for a clue, they eventually find out that Daffy took it. In their pursuit of Daffy and Speedy, Sam inadvertently chases the former into volcanic soil. The map is lost to all because of this, causing the island to revert to what it once was. Daffy, Speedy, Sam, and Taz are trapped on the once-again-deserted island. The well gives them three wishes individually, but warns them to use them wisely, for they are the last wishes it will ever grant. Daffy and Speedy waste their wishes, Speedy wishing for a burrito, then Daffy angrily responding by wishing the burrito was stuck on the end of Speedy's nose. Daffy asks Sam to wish the burrito off Speedy's nose, but discovers that Sam already wished for a ship, abandoning Daffy and telling them after he sinks Bugs, he'll come back and pick the pair up. Daffy, now furious, shouts his catchphrase at Sam and Taz. The wishing well signs off with "That's all, folks!"

Classic Toons in Order

All are in the post-1948 package.

• "Captain Hareblower" (Pirate Sam Vs. Bugs Bunny)

• "Stupor Duck" (Daffy's wish)

• "Greedy for Tweety" (Granny's wish)

• "Banty Raids" (Foghorn's wish)

• "Louvre Come Back to Me!" (Pepe Le Pew's wish) (The Well: "I grant your wish to meet a girl of beauty unsurpassed, which, when compared with works of art, will leave the louvre outclassed.")

• "Tree for Two" (Spike and Chester's wish)

• "Curtain Razor" (Porky Pig's wish) (The Well: "Discovering new talent for the world to see; a wondrous thing for a producer to be.")

• "A Mouse Divided" (Sylvester's wife's wish)

• "Of Rice and Hen" (small scenes) and "Lovelorn Leghorn" (uses most of the cartoon)(Prissy's wish)

• "From Hare to Heir" (Yosemite Sam's wish)

Notes

• In this film, both Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales are depicted as allies, or frenemies, as opposed to the extremely hostile and antagonistic relationship they had in the DePatie-Freleng (1965-1967) and Seven-Arts (1967-1968) eras.
• Home media releases of the film, such as the original mid-1980s VHS and the 2014 DVD, have the movie's original soundtrack without any alterations. However, current TV broadcasts use an overdubbed audio version where the cartoon's soundtracks keeps echoing. Side effects of this include loud music in some scenes and cartoons, most notably on "Stupor Duck" and "Curtain Razor", making it hard to hear what the characters are saying. This was so the film can be use for foreign language tracks for international distribution. While the DVD uses the original English soundtrack, the overdubbed version can still be heard on the foreign language dub audio tracks such as the Spanish audio track.
• This is Friz Freleng's last film directorial before his retirement in 1986.

Edits

• When this film aired on The Family Channel in the 1990s, the entire "Stupor Duck" sequence was cut.
• Current DVD and streaming releases replace the original Saul Bass-designed Warner Communications opening logo and music with the 2000s Warner Bros. Family Entertainment opening logo.

Goofs

• While Daffy was introducing his guests to Fantastic Island, Tweety appeared to be much bigger to the point of sharing a similar height with Rocky (minus the hat). The same goes for Speedy, who stands about half Daffy's height, and Slowpoke Rodriguez, seen in line just before Foghorn's wish.
• Marvin the Martian's face is tan instead of black during the line sequences.
• After Granny takes a hurt Sylvester, Tweety, and Hector away in their wheelchairs, Sylvester is immediately shown standing back in line at the well.

Quotes

• Wishing Well: Your fondest wish, your fondest dream. I'll make you Super Duck Supreme!

• Wishing Well: Your wish shall be granted. Gaze into me and see. The next time that you see yourself, a nurse is what you'll be.

• Wishing Well: I am here to grant your wish; the Spirit of the Well. I will knock the cockiness out of that little cockerel!

• Wishing Well: I grant your wish to meet a girl of beauty unsurpassed, which, when compared with works of art, will leave the Louvre outclassed.

• Wishing Well: If that's his wish, and yours alike, I'll make Chester brave and strong, like Spike.

• Wishing Well: Discovering new talent for the world to see; a wondrous thing for a producer to be...

• Wishing Well: I hear your wish and I obey. The patter of little feet you shall hear this day.

• Wishing Well: Your mind is such a simple thing. Your wish I can foretell. You're wishing for a husband, and the ring of a wedding bell?

• Wishing Well: A very rich relative in poor health doth will to you his entire wealth.

• Wishing Well: There are some wishes in the well in truth; they're number three. Use these three wishes wisely, friends. For they are the last; there will be.

• Wishing Well: And now I say; without the jokes, (imitating Porky Pig) A-bee-a-bee-a-bee... That's all, folks!

Gallery

UK VHS Cover

DVD Cover

4 Kid Favorites: Looney Tunes Movies DVD with Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Tweety's High-Flying Adventure, and Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run

Videos

Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island CBS Intro

The preview to the CBS premiere of Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island, which aired on October 22, 1985.