Plane Daffy

Plane Daffy is a 1944 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin.^[1] The cartoon was released on September 16, 1944, and stars Daffy Duck.^[2]

The cartoon is a World War II propaganda short that depicts Daffy as a messenger battling a female Nazi spy and eventually being confronted with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring. This is the first Looney Tunes short in which Leon Schlesinger did not participate.

Plot

A company of carrier pigeons falls prey to the seductive charms of "Queen of the Spies," Hatta Mari, with Pigeon 13 succumbing to her allure after being slipped a mickey and revealing secrets. Later, Daffy Duck, a self-proclaimed woman-hater, volunteers for the next mission and faces Hatta's attempts at seduction.

Despite being electrocuted by her kisses, Daffy resists, leading to a frenetic battle where he swallows his secret message. Hatta Mari broadcasts the message, only to find it trivial, leading to a humorous demise for Hitler, Goebbels, and Göring.

Reception

Animation historian Martin Goodman writes, "What sets this short apart is the burgeoning sense that Tashlin was beginning to incorporate cinematic structure and technique to his animated cartoons. The short opens with grim narration superimposed over a down shot of stoic military carrier pigeons poring over a map; the lighting effects are dramatic, and clouds of cigarette smoke rise steadily above the birds. Later in the film, Daffy opens a sequence of doors trying to escape Hatta Mari. She is behind everyone, holding an increasingly large weapon, and each time the perspective is different as Tashlin experiments with camera angles... The combination of imaginative approach, aggressive sexuality, and wartime élan make Plane Daffy one of Warner's best wartime efforts."^[3]

Notes

• "Hatta Mari" is a parody of Mata Hari.
• According to DVD commentary on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, Hatta Mari’s blond hair and cartoonishly top-heavy body figure would later become a reality in the 1950s with actress and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield (who, in turn, was one of many inspirations for Roger Rabbit’s femme fatale Jessica Rabbit).^[4]
• The quote "Something new has been added" was a catchphrase by Jerry Colonna and a slogan for Old Gold cigarettes.

This is the first Looney Tunes short in which Leon Schlesinger did not participate, because he sold the studio to Warner Bros, after Buckaroo Bugs.

Home media

• VHS - Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Daffy Duck Cartoon Festival Featuring "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur"
• VHS, LaserDisc - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs and Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons
• LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes: Vol. 2, Side 3: Frank Tashlin
• DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, Disc 2 (with audio commentary by Greg Ford)
• DVD - The Essential Daffy Duck, Disc 1
• Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 2 (with audio commentary by Greg Ford)

See also

• List of World War II short films

References

• Cynthia Lucia; Roy Grundmann; Art Simon (25 June 2015). American Film History: Selected Readings, Origins to 1960. Wiley. pp. 319–. ISBN 978-1-118-47516-4.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Plane Daffy.

• Plane Daffy at IMDb