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The Iceman Ducketh is a 1964 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. It is directed by Phil Monroe and co-directed by Maurice Noble, with a story by John Dunn. This was the last Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon featuring Bugs and Daffy together until "Box Office Bunny" in 1990, and the last that Chuck Jones worked on, though he was fired at an early stage of production and replaced by Monroe (by the time it was released, Jones had already produced two cartoons at his new studio, Sib-Tower 12).
Title
The title refers to the 1939 play The Iceman Cometh written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The original Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theater on October 9, 1946 and ran for 136 performances. The play had revivals in 1973/1974 and 1999.
Plot
At a trading post, Daffy discovers that he can trade in animal furs for cash. He hopes to capture Bugs Bunny for his soft coat, but the winter snow, which falls instantaneously, hinders his effort.
Daffy continuously tries to capture Bugs but is outwitted each time or is attacked by an angry bear. At the end of the day, a frozen-blue Daffy is stuck up a tree surrounded by several bears, who are sleeping, but will wake up soon....
Notes
- Much like "Woolen Under Where", Chuck Jones was fired during production of this cartoon. Although unlike "Woolen Under Where" Jones did not manage to contribute anything to the cartoon (in "Woolen Under Where" Jones at least managed to contribute as screenwriter and received onscreen credit as such).
- The bears' roaring sounds were archival recordings of the monster's roars from the WB live-action film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
- Clips from this cartoon were used and commentated on by John Madden and Pat Summerall as the second quarter of the 2001 Cartoon Network special The Big Game XXIX: Bugs Vs. Daffy.
- Daffy is much more nasty and mean-spirited in this cartoon compared to other Bugs and Daffy cartoons, even going to the point of killing Bugs himself with a gun. While in other cartoons Daffy is insanely jealous of Bugs' stardom and attempts to steal his spotlight, and Daffy doesn't hunt Bugs on his own; instead he gets the hunters to hunt Bugs instead of Daffy is so that the hunters would leave him alone.
- This cartoon marks the first cartoon to depict Daffy is a more bitter and antagonistic character. These traits would continue to be used in "Suppressed Duck", "Tease for Two" and the Daffy and Speedy cartoons of the mid-to-late-1960s before these "evil daffy" traits are permanently discontinued after "See Ya Later Gladiator".
- This is the first of the only two cartoons to depict Daffy as a big game hunter, the other is "Suppressed Duck".
- This cartoon at one point references the Colgate toothpaste TV commercials of the 1960s; Bugs creates an "invisible shield" by throwing out a bucket of water, which freezes into a shield, which Daffy crashes into.
Censorship
- On the Fox version of The Merrie Melodies Show, the syndicated version of The Merrie Melodies Show, and the version shown on the now defunct WB, two parts were cut:[1]
- Daffy pulling Bugs' carrot from the gun barrel after Bugs plugs it, along with Daffy getting shot and saying sarcastically, "Oooh, I LOVE him!".
- The part after Daffy gets turned into an ice statue where Daffy climbs out of the statue, tugs on the gun that's still in there, and gets shot.
- While Fox ended the scene with Daffy stuck in his own ice sculpture after Bugs' line "See you after the spring thaw, pal!" (while Daffy was still stuck in his own ice sculpture), the syndicated "Merrie Melodies" show and The WB! ended the scene after Daffy gets out of his own ice sculpture and says "We'll see who gets the last laugh around here!" right before he tugs on the gun. [1]
Gallery
Add a photo to this galleryTV Title Cards
Availability
- DVD - Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl (cropped to widescreen)
References
External Links
- The Iceman Ducketh at Internet Movie Database
- The Iceman Ducketh at SuperCartoons.net
- The Iceman Ducketh at B99.TV
| Preceded by Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare | Bugs Bunny Cartoons 1964 | Succeeded by False Hare |
Also see
