Dough for the Do-Do is a 1949 Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng.
Plot[]
A newspaper shows Porky traveling to Africa to hunt the rare dodo bird, worth four sextillion dollars. Porky uses his airplane to go to Dark Africa, then Darker Africa, and finally lands in Darkest Africa, per the route shown in the cartoon, somewhere in the vicinity of the Sudan. When Porky lands, a sign tells him that he's in Wackyland ("Population: 100 nuts and a squirrel"), while a scary voice booms out "IT CAN HAPPEN...HERE!" Soon he sees many strange, weird, and oafish creatures around, ranging from a three-headed stooge to a band composed of rubber bands.
Porky meets with a resident who provides "Information About The Dodo". Revealing the location, it ends up sending Porky falling from a sky background that is just run on a conveyor by the same resident. Doors open to reveal a castle surrounded by a moat as a light-up sign states "The Dodo". The Yoyo Dodo appears, driving the drawbridge like a boat to the other side. Porky asks him if he truly is the last of the dodos, and he confirms it before playing tricks on him. These tricks includes drawing a door with a pencil, appearing on the Warner Brothers shield and sling-shoting Porky into the ground, and pulling a wall of bricks that Porky smashes into (including dropping a parachute brick carrier that releases another brick). Finally, Porky dresses as another dodo, announcing himself to be the last dodo. Yoyo handcuffs himself to Porky, claiming, "I've got the last Dodo!" and runs with Porky to claim the reward. Porky reveals himself, and still handcuffed to Yoyo, runs off with him, now proclaiming "Oh no, you haven't! I-I'm rich! I-I've got the last D-D-Dodo!" Once they disappear over the horizon, scores of dodos appear to confirm this, before dancing and hooting. "Yes, sir! He's got the last dodo!"
Caricatures[]
Availability[]
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
Much like "Porky in Wackyland", this short was subject to censorship when shown on TV (though Cartoon Network and Boomerang aired both this one and Porky in Wackyland uncut). However, Dough for the Do-Do was only edited on ABC to remove the following:[2]
- The black Al Jolson duck passing by Porky and saying "Mammy, mammy" (similar to the Nickelodeon version)
- The three-headed Stooge slapping itself and poking itself in the eyes (the only part that wasn't censored on Nickelodeon or Sunset/Guild Films)
- The Do-Do popping into frame on the Warner Bros. shield and slamming Porky into the ground with a rock from a slingshot (similar to the Sunset/Guild Films version).
Notes[]
- This is a shot-by-shot color remake of Bob Clampett's short "Porky in Wackyland", with some notable differences.
- In addition to reusing some of the animation from "Porky in Wackyland", this short also reused footage of the re-drawn Wackyland characters and the animation of the Rubber Band from "Tin Pan Alley Cats".
- This was the only Cinecolor short re-released as a Blue Ribbon to keep its original closing title and was the final Warner Bros. short to be produced in Cinecolor. All other shorts originally produced in Cinecolor and re-released as Blue Ribbons ended up with the reissue closing title. In fact, even some shorts originally produced in Cinecolor but were not re-released as Blue Ribbons got alternate ending titles for reasons unknown. But, two other shorts produced in Cinecolor but were not re-released as Blue Ribbons kept their original closing titles, which were "Riff Raffy Daffy" and "The Up-Standing Sitter".
- Between 1947 and 1949, several non-Bugs Bunny shorts were produced in Cinecolor to save money for the studio, with Arthur Davis having produced the most of all the Warners directors. All subsequent shorts after "Dough for the Do-Do" were produced in 3-hue Technicolor.
- The 1998 "THIS VERSION" is also present on the DVD release of this short, though no disclaimer at the closing title is present. The cue mark at the end of the short remains intact.
- This is one of the only post-1948 shorts without full credits, hence making it the first short without full credits since "Behind the Meat-Ball" (1945).
- The song "Rubber Band" by Jackal Queenston contains an audio sample of the "rubber band" scene from this cartoon. [3]
- Amazon Prime Video and iTunes Video have released a previously unreleased re-restored print of this short.
- Vitaphone release number: 1766[4]
TV Title Cards[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/1976motionpictur3301213libr/page/122/mode/1up?view=theater
- ↑ http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-d.aspx
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JN2blqeUOQ
- ↑ Liebman, Roy (2003). Vitaphone Films: A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts (in en). McFarland, page 297. ISBN 978-0786412792.