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Daffy - The Commando is a 1943 Looney Tunes short directed by I. Freleng.[3]
Plot[]
A German commander, Von Vultur, gets a telefunken from the "Gestinko Gestapo", threatening him with his 'ka-rear' if he lets "Vun-More-Kommando" through. The telegram in translated English reads 'vun more kommando ...'. In the original, very broken German, it reads, "Dummy! A sauerkraut potato soup isn't eaten made with veal. [Signed] The Apfen of History." From left to right, the "Apes of Wrath" are Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini. The music playing is from Wagner's opera Das Rheingold. Hearing a plane overhead, he calls in a soldier, Schultz, whom he abuses by knocking him regularly over his helmet with a mallet. Schultz and Von Vultur go outside and use a searchlight to look for Daffy, who is floating down on a parachute, whilst singing "She Was Poor but She Was Honest" in a Cockney accent.
After a quick "Put out those lights!" gets the lights out, allowing him to land unseen, Daffy uses his fingers to make shadow puppets and dancing chorus girls. When Von Vultur chases Daffy behind a curtain of asbestos, Daffy makes a stereotypical Japanese face, causing Von Vultur to run off frightened.
Back at his bunker, there is a semi-nude photo of a woman on the wall in Von Vultur's bunker. Daffy addresses Von Vultur as "Liederkranz", after the smelly cheese, is presented with a bomb from Daffy, ticking down. Von Vultur hands the bomb off to Schultz, who is blown through the roof. When Schultz falls back, Daffy stops Von Vultur from hitting Schultz over the head with a mallet, and instead hits him. Von Vultur, pausing briefly to salute a skunk with "Heil Hitler!" chases Daffy to a telephone booth, where Daffy continues to make fun of Von Vultur. Von Vultur thinks he's talking to Schultz, but finds himself talking to operator Myrt.
Daffy then jumps in a plane, narrowly avoiding being shot by 'a whole mess of Messerschmitts', referring to the Nazi Messerschmitt BF 109 light fighter aircraft, when he's shot down by Von Vultur (his plane literally being blown to pieces). Daffy then runs into a howitzer, and is shot out by Von Vultur. However, Daffy flies as a 'Human Cannonball' into Berlin, where (a largely rotoscoped) Hitler is making a speech to his people. Hitler's speech is nonsense: "Haben Sie nicht Liebe? ... alle zusammen ... Ach, du lieber. Mein Herr, Mein Pupkin, Mein Milch, Mein Heineken ..." (the music used in the background is similar to an organ grinder.) Daffy jumps up and whacks Hitler on the head with a mallet, causing Hitler to yell for Schultz, similar to Von Vultur.
Caricatures[]
Music cues[]
- "The Toy Trumpet" (by Raymond Scott)
- Plays during the opening credits.
- "Sobre las olas" [Over the Waves] (by Juventino Rosas)
- Plays when Daffy is performing Shadowgraphy.
- "The Old Soft Shoe" (by Carl Stalling)
- Also plays when Daffy is performing Shadowgraphy.
- "She Was Poor but She Was Honest" (by R.P. Weston Lyrics by Bert Lee)
- Sung by Daffy Duck while falling from the sky.
- Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean (by David T. Shaw Arranged by Thomas A. Beckett)
- Plays when Daffy is flying out of the canon.
Availability[]
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 2, Side 8: The Art of Daffy
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6, Disc Two
Notes[]
- This short entered the public domain in 1971 after United Artists (successor-in-interest to Associated Artists Productions) neglected to renew the copyright in time.
- This is also the most recent Daffy Duck cartoon to enter the public domain, as every Daffy Duck cartoon released after this remains under copyright. It is also the most recent color Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies cartoon in the public domain.
- Because of pervasive references to Nazis, Adolf Hitler, and World War II, this short has seldom aired on American television. It aired uncut on the TCM show Cartoon Alley, during an episode showing World War II shorts. A Turner print exists. It has become a staple in public domain videos, is on the final volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set, and aired in clips on the ToonHeads special about World War II cartoons.
- When Von Vultur enters the phone booth, he attempts to contact Schultz, but instead gets an operator, "Ist dat you Myrt?" Myrtle the Operator was the never-heard switchboard operator in the highly successful Fibber McGee and Molly radio show of that era. "Is that you Myrt?" was a popular catchphrase in the show, and subsequently, in many Warner Brothers cartoons, which took situations from radio dramas and comedies as their inspiration.[4]
- This is the first-known cartoon to use "Untitled Soft Shoe Number," an original music score by Carl W. Stalling that is played most notably during Bugs Bunny's tap dances in "Stage Door Cartoon", "Bugs Bunny Rides Again", and "Hot Cross Bunny".[5]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ http://likelylooneymostlymerrie.blogspot.com/2017/07/417-daffy-commando-1943.html
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/animationbreakdowns26
- ↑ Webb, Graham (2011). The Animated Film Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to American Shorts, Features and Sequences 1900-1999, 2nd, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, page 85. ISBN 978-0-7864-4985-9.
- ↑ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air : The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, Rev., New York: Oxford University Press, page 251. ISBN 0-19-507678-8. Retrieved on October 9, 2011.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDg2-g-EP6U