Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur is a 1939 Merrie Melodies short directed by Charles Jones.
Plot[]
A note from the director:
- For no particular reason, this story is set in the stone age, millions and billions and trillions of years ago, probably before some of you were even born.
Casper, a caveman, and Fido, an apatosaurus, go duck hunting and find Daffy. Casper slingshots a rock at Daffy, but Daffy manages to avoid it by disguising himself as a traffic cop. When the rock realizes that it has been tricked, it backtracks towards Daffy but ends up hitting Fido. Fido proceeds to perform a dazed dance.
Daffy snatches Casper's slingshot and tricks Casper into thinking that swimming is not allowed to prevent him from pursuing him. Subsequently, Casper and Fido leave, but Daffy, knowing that Casper won't give up, paints himself on a nearby stone. Casper, holding a stone club, sees the painting and bashes it, but the force backfires and makes Casper dizzy. Daffy gives Casper a glass of water, which cures the dizziness and earns him Casper's trust. Daffy, however, gives Casper a card advertising a rare, gigantic duck living nearby, which Casper and Fido begin to hunt, following billboards (parodying advertising techniques of the 1930s) planted by Daffy. They eventually reach the giant duck inflatable balloon pumped up by Daffy, terrifying Casper until Daffy gives Casper a knife with which to stab the duck. Casper does so, and the ensuing explosion kills them all.
The three lounge on clouds in angel garb. Fido plays a harp while Daffy and Casper lament their mistakes. Daffy says, "You know, maybe that wasn't such a hot idea after all," and Casper says, "Good night, folks."
Caricatures[]
- Jack Benny - as Casper Caveman
Overview[]
Jones' Direction[]
Most of Chuck Jones-directed cartoons from this era (such as the ones featuring Sniffles the Mouse), were very heavily inspired by Walt Disney's cartoon shorts, placing more emphasis on story and animation than on gags. "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur" shows the faintest hints of deviation from such cartoons, which would eventually lead to the fast-paced Jones cartoons of the 1940s, such as "The Dover Boys" and "The Draft Horse".
This is also an important milestone in the evolution of Daffy Duck's personality. While Tex Avery and Bob Clampett had depicted Daffy as completely insane, irrational, and uncontrollable in their previous cartoons with the character, Jones depicted Daffy here as somewhat more thoughtful and calculating. Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng would continue to develop Daffy's personality in this direction throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
Censorship[]
- A fade to black between two scenes near the end of this cartoon are removed when this cartoon aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the United States.[4]
Availability[]
Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Daffy Duck Cartoon Festival Featuring "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur"
Cartoon Moviestars: Daffy Duck and Company
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes: Vol. 3, Side 9: Porky and Daffy
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3, Disc Four (restored)
Looney Tunes Collection All Stars Volume 4
Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 7, Disc 2
Looney Tunes Collection Volume 3
Streaming[]
Notes[]
- This is the first Daffy Duck cartoon to be directed by Chuck Jones.
- This is likely the final Merrie Melodies cartoon to re-use the same opening Color Rings background for the opening credits, as subsequent color Merrie Melodies cartoons since then have their own custom-made title card backgrounds for their opening credits.
- This marks Daffy Duck's first death. He would later die in "Draftee Daffy" and "Show Biz Bugs".
- This is the last cartoon to have the credits shown in Color Rings. In addition, this is the last cartoon to have the bylines "VITAPHONE Presents", which had started with "The Phantom Ship" in 1936. After this cartoon, the bylines "WARNER BROS." "Present" will appear on the screen instead, starting with "Porky and Teabiscuit", but in a banner.
- This cartoon premiered with Dark Victory.
- This cartoon fell into the public domain in 1967 when United Artists did not renew the copyright in time.
- An Italian redub of this short has its original opening music cue altered with 1941–45 Merrie Melodies opening music theme.[5][dead link]
- Clips from this short were used in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Memorial".
- Disney and KCTS also used a clip from this short in the Bill Nye the Science Guy episode "Dinosaurs" for a "What's wrong with this picture?" gag involving the depiction of humans and dinosaurs coexisting.
- The music video for the Was (Not Was) song "Walk the Dinosaur" features clips of this short playing on a television set.
- This is the last color short to feature Daffy Duck for three years, until the 1942 Merrie Melody "Conrad the Sailor", also directed by Chuck Jones.
Gallery[]
_-_Home_Sweet_Home.jpg "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Home Sweet Home.jpg (434 KB)")
_-_Hunting.jpg "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Hunting.jpg (669 KB)")
_-_Signs.jpg "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Signs.jpg (1.55 MB)")
_-_Daffy_Duck_and_the_Dinosaur_(1939)_-_Giant_Duck.jpg "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Giant Duck.jpg (301 KB)")
_-_Daffy_Duck_and_the_Dinosaur_(1939)_-_Heaven.jpg "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (1939) - Heaven.jpg (317 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2011/11/story-of-casper-caveman.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFG1o7lY7FU
- ↑ Walz, Gene (1998). "Bringing a Bit of Hollywood to Miami", Cartoon Charlie: The Life and Art of Animation Pioneer Charles Thorson. Great Plains Publications, page 152. ISBN 978-0969780496.
- ↑ https://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-d.aspx
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vUzQcYWDI