Yankee Doodle Daffy
Encyclopedia
Yankee Doodle Daffy is a Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
theatrical cartoon short released in 1943, directed by Friz Freleng
and written by Tedd Pierce
. The short was the second Technicolor
Looney Tunes entry to feature Porky Pig
and Daffy Duck
(after My Favorite Duck
).
The title and introductory music are inspired by the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy
, a major hit and a Warner release. Other than the fact of both films being about show business, they have no plot elements in common. This is the first cartoon in the collection that came from public domain
.
. However, Daffy Duck, agent to the stars, complete with business card that flashes like a theater marquis, stops him ("Hold everything, fatso!), and does everything he can to convince him that his preteenager client "Sleepy LaGoon" can become a star. Porky is annoyed, as he is trying to get on his plane.
Daffy spends most of the cartoon telling Porky about what his client can do, while actually performing various schticks himself, in his usual wild and frenetic way. After trying various ways to escape, Porky locks Daffy in a huge vault and takes off in a plane only to find out that the pilot of the plane is Daffy. Porky then jumps out with a parachute only to notice the parachute is again Daffy. Porky then gets chased back to his office. Finally, having stopped Daffy, Porky relents and asks to see what his client can do. "Sleepy", a small and droopy-eyed duck who has whiled away the episode slurping a huge all-day sucker which he keeps in a banjo case, finally gets to perform. "Sleepy" begins to sing a song (to the tune of a part of When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
) are in a strong baritone voice. He starts out well, then tries to hit a high note, and goes into a coughing fit.
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,...
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
theatrical cartoon short released in 1943, directed by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
and written by Tedd Pierce
Tedd Pierce
Tedd Pierce , was an American animated cartoon writer, animator and artist. Pierce spent the majority of his career as a writer for the Warner Bros. "Termite Terrace" animation studio, working alongside fellow luminaries such as Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Pierce also worked as a writer at...
. The short was the second Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
Looney Tunes entry to feature 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...
and 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...
(after My Favorite Duck
My Favorite Duck
My Favorite Duck is a 1942 color Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck . It was the second color entry in the Looney Tunes series, and the first pairing of Porky and Daffy produced in Technicolor...
).
The title and introductory music are inspired by the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
, a major hit and a Warner release. Other than the fact of both films being about show business, they have no plot elements in common. This is the first cartoon in the collection that came from public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
Synopsis
Porky Pig is trying to get on a plane to play golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. However, Daffy Duck, agent to the stars, complete with business card that flashes like a theater marquis, stops him ("Hold everything, fatso!), and does everything he can to convince him that his preteenager client "Sleepy LaGoon" can become a star. Porky is annoyed, as he is trying to get on his plane.
Daffy spends most of the cartoon telling Porky about what his client can do, while actually performing various schticks himself, in his usual wild and frenetic way. After trying various ways to escape, Porky locks Daffy in a huge vault and takes off in a plane only to find out that the pilot of the plane is Daffy. Porky then jumps out with a parachute only to notice the parachute is again Daffy. Porky then gets chased back to his office. Finally, having stopped Daffy, Porky relents and asks to see what his client can do. "Sleepy", a small and droopy-eyed duck who has whiled away the episode slurping a huge all-day sucker which he keeps in a banjo case, finally gets to perform. "Sleepy" begins to sing a song (to the tune of a part of When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is a lighthearted song in tribute to Ireland. Its lyrics were written by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr., set to music composed by Ernest Ball, for Olcott's production of The Isle O' Dreams, and Olcott sang the song in the show...
) are in a strong baritone voice. He starts out well, then tries to hit a high note, and goes into a coughing fit.