Duck Amuck (1953)

This is yet another piece of childhood nostalgia, Looney Tunes. After seeing a couple of them this one is easily my favourite. But then again I haven't seen that much since I was a kid so that can be a little problematic. Even as a kid I enjoyed this above most of them.The premise is take an animated character (Daffy) and put him in a situation where the background keeps changing time and place if it was there. All efforts to convince the animator usually end up in Daffy getting coloured, given a completely different and ridiculous body or other such ways to always make us laugh at his reaction.If you even have the slightest enjoyment of Daffy Duck or any of the other Looney Tunes characters then this one is certainly for you. Even after many years it always is fun to see him look at his ridiculous new body in a mirror and scream "EEK!"... Ain't I a stinker!

Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny are Looney Tunes' most recognized faces. Bugs Bunny is calm yet sly while Daffy is animated and hot-headed. In Duck Amuck, its Daffy's time to shine or rather get smudged, erased, abused, tormented, and blown! In a matter of six minutes, Chuck Jones delivers a tour de force short, with full (in) justice given to Daffy's character- be it its arms, legs, stomach, voice, face, even its tail. The opening scene, in which Daffy originally plans to take on enemies, is sword is interrupted by a white screen. Daffy himself seems perplexed, and whispers to the 'the guy in charge around here' to add some 'tschenry!' Every time the wrong scenery is added till Daffy gets fed up and confronts the creator. This is a genius part because when we look at it, we as audiences feel Daffy is talking to us as we laugh at his misery.My favorite moment is when Daffy tries to vent his anger but his voice changes. The way he gets agitated and embarrassed, with the constant gesticulations (clenched fist, hand on mouth, shaking hands) is a joy to watch. Another highlight is the ab(use) of the scenery with the vivid distortion of 'Close Up' and contortions in Daffy's character when he demands the creator to give him a body. I can now realize Chuck's intentions- with every little distortion created, Daffy still remains the main focus. When the creator 'erases' Daffy's character, we recognize his distinctive voice, when he gives Daffy an amorphous body, we recognize his bill, and even though his temper reaches boiling point, there is always a quirky touch to it (referring to the 'double duck sequence').The most inventive moment was when the screen literally falls on him and he keeps a stick under it to hold it. It's a pity such humor is missing now because most of the target audience would not appreciate it now. Even watching those Mickey Mouse shorts made in 1930s makes me wonder why the new animation focuses on being so 'realistic' and does not want to experiment? At least some shorts can come up on cartoon channels that tend to break the rules and give life to anything and everything ( in Mickey Mouse, even a steam engine was given life in one short!)Duck Amuck is where Chuck Jones' jackpot struck! My rating: 9/10

Where to begin with 'Duck Amuck'? I guess I should begin by stating that not only is Daffy Duck my favourite cartoon character of all time but that I genuinely consider him to be one of the greatest comedians of all time, alive or animated. No matter which animator was drawing him, scriptwriter was writing for him or director was directing him, Daffy always elicits a positive reaction from me whether the cartoon in question is decent or not. In the case of 'Duck Amuck', "decent" is the understatement of the century! If pressed to name my favourite cartoon of all time (and there are literally hundreds of candidates), I would have to say Chuck Jones's 'Duck Amuck'. It's a miraculous achievement which I never tire of seeing.In 'Duck Amuck', Daffy battles with an unseen animator who deconstructs the film around him. Pencils, brushes and erasers intrude on Daffy's world, changing the scenery and even the appearance of Daffy himself and Jones also introduces jokes involving sound, colour and camera positions. It's an incredible premise which expands on earlier experiments with similar concepts like the Fleischer Brother's 'Out of the Inkwell'. The best part for Daffy fans like myself is that 'Duck Amuck (until its final few seconds) is an entirely one-personality cartoon. It hinges on Daffy's beautifully scripted monologue which makes the most of the characters distinctive turn of phrase and manic energy. Only Daffy could pull off a solo cartoon like this (as confirmed by 'Rabbit Rampage', an unsuccessful attempt to remake 'Duck Amuck' with Bugs Bunny in the central role). There's plenty to please fans of most Daffy persona's here. Although the greedy and selfish side of the little black duck is absent (making him all the more likable and therefore rendering the cartoon even more deliciously sadistic), his prominent ego is apparent from the opening frame and the manic energy of his early incarnation is quickly drawn upon as he becomes more and more frantic about the crumbling of his world. It's a true tour de force.I don't think I have ever come across anyone who has a bad word to say about 'Duck Amuck'. It is quite simply one of the most perfect cartoons ever made, perhaps the most perfect. It's confirmation, if any was needed, of the genius of Chuck Jones and the comedic superiority of Daffy Duck over any of his animated associates.

Duck Amuck is Daffy's frustrations of being trapped in an animated short that keeps changing scenery, has him playing a guitar with shooting sounds, fighting with himself in another frame, gets drawn in different sizes and colors, and basically is at the mercy of an unseen animator. This is Chuck Jones' and Michael Maltese's masterpiece of abstract animation. One of my favorite parts was at the changing scenery sequence when, after Daffy changes into a farmer outfit singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" in front of a barn background, it changes into a winter scene with a snow-house as the duck then sings, "And on this farm he had an igloo..." LOL! At the end, the duck demands to know who is behind the whole thing. All I'll say is that person says, "Ain't I a stinker?" Duck Amuck is definitely worth seeing again and again.