Drip-Along Daffy
Encyclopedia
Drip-Along Daffy is a Warner Bros.
Merrie Melodies
theatrical cartoon short released in 1951, directed by Chuck Jones
and written by Michael Maltese
.
This cartoon was produced as a parody of the Westerns
widely popular at the time of its release, and features Daffy Duck
as a "Western-Type Hero", who, with his trusty "Comedy Relief" (Porky Pig
) hopes to clean up a violence-filled "one-horse town". In a tongue-in-cheek nod to The Lone Ranger
, Daffy's horse is named Tinfoil. The cartoon includes an original song (sung by Porky) "The Flower of Gower Gulch", a parody of sentimental cowboy-style love songs, Gower Gulch
being an intersection in Hollywood known as a gathering spot for would-be actors in early Westerns.
Drip-Along Daffy marks the first appearance of the villain character Nasty Canasta
, a Mexican
rogue who would resurface in several later Jones cartoons, as well as an episode The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
, the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action
, and occasionally on the Duck Dodgers
series
.
. In a recorded commentary on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, the commentator warns the viewer that "...this film is literally stuffed with every western cliché ever done." This is illustrated and spoofed in such scenes as when a man is firing guns chasing another man; both stop at a traffic light so a second pair can cross, then their chase resumes, while two riders on horseback approach one another peacefully when the horses recoil in anger and begin shooting at each other. Other scenes include a holdup at "Custard's Last Stand" and a masked horse stealing horseshoes from a smithee at gunpoint.
In the town, Daffy is about to take a drink at the bar when Nasty Canasta walks in past his 'Wanted' poster (which states "$5,000,000 REWARD (DEAD)" and "RUSTLER, BANDIT, SQUARE DANCE CALLER"). Daffy tries to intimidate Canasta with his gun ("Stick 'em up, hombre! You're under arrest!"), but Canasta just bites off most of the gun and swallows it ("Hmm. Probably didn't have his iron
today!"). Canasta then threateningly orders Daffy "two of his usual", a drink made of various poisons and toxic materials like cobra fang juice, hydrogen bitters and old panther (so hot, when two ice cubes are put in, the ice cubes jump out, yelping and bouncing into a fire bucket to cool off). Canasta downs the drink with no side effects (other than his hat flipping), and when Daffy gets Porky to take the drink with seemingly no side-effects, Daffy downs a third as well. A few seconds later, Daffy and Porky exhibit wild side effects, including reciting "Mary had a Little Lamb" in Elmer Fudd
-ese, turning green, and acting like they're both motorized and Daffy's bullets shooting a hole in the floor which he falls into, then rockets out of before coming back to earth. Daffy sternly says to Canasta "I hate you." Eventually, Daffy challenges Canasta to a showdown in the street.
Daffy and Canasta start walking towards each other, the street deserted (with camera angles designed to parody the showdown camera angles common in Western films of that era), when Porky winds up a small British soldier doll and lets it go towards Canasta, accompanied by Raymond Scott
's The Toy Trumpet. Canasta picks up the doll, chuckling, until the doll points its gun at Canasta and fires, sending Canasta to the ground (this typically refers to the fact that in his pairings with Daffy, Porky always takes matters into his hands to thwart a villain). With Canasta defeated, the rest of the town rush over to Porky, while Daffy is still pacing his way to the middle of the street. Daffy finally notices the adoration given to Porky, and in vain tries to get their attention ("Gimme the cheers! Give me ... Give me one dozen roses."). Porky is now the town sheriff, and Daffy reiterates his claim that he'd "clean up this one-horse town" to the camera – except now he's a sanitation worker. Porky remarks, "Lucky for him [Daffy] it is a one-horse town."
.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
theatrical cartoon short released in 1951, directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and written by Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
.
This cartoon was produced as a parody of the Westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
widely popular at the time of its release, and features Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
as a "Western-Type Hero", who, with his trusty "Comedy Relief" (Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
) hopes to clean up a violence-filled "one-horse town". In a tongue-in-cheek nod to The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
, Daffy's horse is named Tinfoil. The cartoon includes an original song (sung by Porky) "The Flower of Gower Gulch", a parody of sentimental cowboy-style love songs, Gower Gulch
Gower Gulch
Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the...
being an intersection in Hollywood known as a gathering spot for would-be actors in early Westerns.
Drip-Along Daffy marks the first appearance of the villain character Nasty Canasta
Nasty Canasta
Nasty Canasta is a character in the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes series who made appearances in three cartoons. Created by animator Chuck Jones, Canasta is depicted as a tough, hulking, and brutish-looking outlaw. He was originally voiced by John T...
, a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
rogue who would resurface in several later Jones cartoons, as well as an episode The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, is an animated television series which aired from 1995 to 2001 on Kids' WB and was later re-run on Cartoon Network...
, the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a 2003 American live action/animated adventure comedy film directed by Joe Dante and starring Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Timothy Dalton, and Steve Martin. The film is essentially a feature-length Looney Tunes cartoon, with all the wackiness and surrealism typical...
, and occasionally on the Duck Dodgers
Duck Dodgers
Duck Edgar Dumas Aloysius Eoghain Dodgers is the metafictional star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. He is actually the famous cartoon star Daffy Duck, cast in the role of an intergalactic future hero....
series
Duck Dodgers (TV series)
Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series, based on the classic cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2005. The series aired on Cartoon Network and starred Daffy Duck as the titular character...
.
Plot
Daffy, introduced as a "Western-Type Hero" and Porky (billed as "Comedy Relief") ride along the desert until they come across the small "Lawless Western Town" of Snake-Bite Center which is so full of violence, the population sign changes immediately when someone gets shot. Daffy notices that the last sheriff is shot, and the town needs a new sheriff. Daffy picks a sheriff badge out of his collection of badges and rides into town on his horse Tinfoil, with Porky following behind on his small muleMule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
. In a recorded commentary on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, the commentator warns the viewer that "...this film is literally stuffed with every western cliché ever done." This is illustrated and spoofed in such scenes as when a man is firing guns chasing another man; both stop at a traffic light so a second pair can cross, then their chase resumes, while two riders on horseback approach one another peacefully when the horses recoil in anger and begin shooting at each other. Other scenes include a holdup at "Custard's Last Stand" and a masked horse stealing horseshoes from a smithee at gunpoint.
In the town, Daffy is about to take a drink at the bar when Nasty Canasta walks in past his 'Wanted' poster (which states "$5,000,000 REWARD (DEAD)" and "RUSTLER, BANDIT, SQUARE DANCE CALLER"). Daffy tries to intimidate Canasta with his gun ("Stick 'em up, hombre! You're under arrest!"), but Canasta just bites off most of the gun and swallows it ("Hmm. Probably didn't have his iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
today!"). Canasta then threateningly orders Daffy "two of his usual", a drink made of various poisons and toxic materials like cobra fang juice, hydrogen bitters and old panther (so hot, when two ice cubes are put in, the ice cubes jump out, yelping and bouncing into a fire bucket to cool off). Canasta downs the drink with no side effects (other than his hat flipping), and when Daffy gets Porky to take the drink with seemingly no side-effects, Daffy downs a third as well. A few seconds later, Daffy and Porky exhibit wild side effects, including reciting "Mary had a Little Lamb" in Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
-ese, turning green, and acting like they're both motorized and Daffy's bullets shooting a hole in the floor which he falls into, then rockets out of before coming back to earth. Daffy sternly says to Canasta "I hate you." Eventually, Daffy challenges Canasta to a showdown in the street.
Daffy and Canasta start walking towards each other, the street deserted (with camera angles designed to parody the showdown camera angles common in Western films of that era), when Porky winds up a small British soldier doll and lets it go towards Canasta, accompanied by Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
's The Toy Trumpet. Canasta picks up the doll, chuckling, until the doll points its gun at Canasta and fires, sending Canasta to the ground (this typically refers to the fact that in his pairings with Daffy, Porky always takes matters into his hands to thwart a villain). With Canasta defeated, the rest of the town rush over to Porky, while Daffy is still pacing his way to the middle of the street. Daffy finally notices the adoration given to Porky, and in vain tries to get their attention ("Gimme the cheers! Give me ... Give me one dozen roses."). Porky is now the town sheriff, and Daffy reiterates his claim that he'd "clean up this one-horse town" to the camera – except now he's a sanitation worker. Porky remarks, "Lucky for him [Daffy] it is a one-horse town."
Censorship
- When this cartoon aired on ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, some of the gun gags in the introduction scene (one of which involves a victim being taken to "Rigor O'Mortis: The Smiling Undertaker") before Daffy and Porky arrive were cut, and the scene of the bartender mixing the noxious drink for Nasty Canasta and Daffy was shortened. - On Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, in addition to time-compression, the very last scene of Porky as the new sheriff saying of Daffy's new job as street-sweeper, "Lucky for him it is a one-horse town", was dropped, mostly likely for the not-so-veiled reference to horse manure (though it can be argued that this was a time cut, as Cartoon Network's original programming do contain toilet humor at times and are not edited for it). It instead ends with Daffy just beginning to push the street sweeper cart followed by a jump to the end card.
Availability
This cartoon is included with the original ending restored in Disc Two in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. It contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements...
.