Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Encyclopedia
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters is a 1988 Looney Tunes
film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. Cartoons
shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring Daffy Duck
. It is the final Looney Tunes project in which Mel Blanc
provided the voices of the characters. The film was released to theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 24, 1988.
(also a dog). Eventually driving off the butler, Daffy becomes Cubish's jester, taking uncounted pies in the face while Cubish laughs uproariously. After Cubish's death soon afterward ("Died Laughing," reports one newspaper), Daffy inherits the Cubish fortune, under the provision that he will use the money to provide an honest service to the community and follow Cubish's creed to display honesty in business affairs. The now-wealthy Daffy derides the idea ("What a rube!" he says of Cubish), but his deceased benefactor returns as a ghost, making wads from Daffy's pile of money vanish until Daffy agrees to uphold the terms. The irked Daffy vows to use the money to wipe out ghosts (à la Ghostbusters
) such as Cubish.
Setting himself up as a "Paranormalist at Large", Daffy persuades Bugs Bunny
to appear in commercials, then hires Porky Pig
(accompanied by Sylvester
) as an underling; Cubish continues to make money vanish whenever Daffy seems to be operating dishonestly. Although Daffy successfully exorcises the ghosts possessing a lady duck
, he discovers that Cubish has stripped his money down to his last million ("The money supply is dwindling! I'm down to my last million!"). He then receives a call from Porky, who is returning with Sylvester from an assignment to Dry Gulch, and Daffy reassigns him to the Superstition Mountains
, much to Sylvester's chargin. Daffy then calls up Bugs, who is leaving following his encounter with Count Blood Count, and together they go up against Hugo the Abominable Snowman
, with Hugo repeatedly mistaking Daffy for a rabbit.
When the city is swept with reports of a tiny elephant (from Punch Trunk
), Daffy, presuming it mere hysteria, hopes to profit by soothing the public with his "expert" testimony. However, the elephant turns up on Daffy's own broadcast, making him a laughingstock. When Daffy decides to blame the debacle on the absent Porky and mistakingly remarking that there was nothing wrong with a little dishonesty in business affairs, Cubish takes away the last of the money. Egghead
appears as a singing telegram, announcing to Daffy that he is being dispossessed. After the repo crew takes away his belongings, Daffy gets evicted and his building is condemned and demolished, with him still in it ("One thing's for sure, I've got nowhere else to go but up!")!
In the "epilogue", Bugs is shown enjoying his vacation in Palm Springs
(which was what he wanted throughout the film) and reading about Daffy's downfall, and Porky and Sylvester are stranded in the Superstition Mountains, with Sylvester as cowardly as ever. After a shot of Cubish's grave, it is revealed that Daffy is back where he started, as a street corner salesman (this time, selling supernatural trinkets, including wind-up dolls of Gossamer
at one dollar each). Unfortunately, when Daffy earns a dollar bill, it instantly vanishes. The film ends with Daffy angrily shaking his fist at the sky and screaming "Cubish!" which cuts to a 'Finis' card.
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...
film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring 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...
. It is the final Looney Tunes project in which Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
provided the voices of the characters. The film was released to theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 24, 1988.
Synopsis
Street corner salesman Daffy tries to make a pitch to reclusive billionaire and "ailing buzzsaw baron" J.P. Cubish (a dog)---who has offered wealth to anyone who can make him laugh (which he hasn't done, apparently, for 50 years) before he passes on---only to be stymied by Cubish's butlerButler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
(also a dog). Eventually driving off the butler, Daffy becomes Cubish's jester, taking uncounted pies in the face while Cubish laughs uproariously. After Cubish's death soon afterward ("Died Laughing," reports one newspaper), Daffy inherits the Cubish fortune, under the provision that he will use the money to provide an honest service to the community and follow Cubish's creed to display honesty in business affairs. The now-wealthy Daffy derides the idea ("What a rube!" he says of Cubish), but his deceased benefactor returns as a ghost, making wads from Daffy's pile of money vanish until Daffy agrees to uphold the terms. The irked Daffy vows to use the money to wipe out ghosts (à la Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
) such as Cubish.
Setting himself up as a "Paranormalist at Large", Daffy persuades Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
to appear in commercials, then hires 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...
(accompanied by Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
) as an underling; Cubish continues to make money vanish whenever Daffy seems to be operating dishonestly. Although Daffy successfully exorcises the ghosts possessing a lady duck
Melissa Duck
Melissa Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons and the animated television series Baby Looney Tunes...
, he discovers that Cubish has stripped his money down to his last million ("The money supply is dwindling! I'm down to my last million!"). He then receives a call from Porky, who is returning with Sylvester from an assignment to Dry Gulch, and Daffy reassigns him to the Superstition Mountains
Superstition Mountains
The Superstition Mountains , popularly referred to as "The Superstitions", are a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area...
, much to Sylvester's chargin. Daffy then calls up Bugs, who is leaving following his encounter with Count Blood Count, and together they go up against Hugo the Abominable Snowman
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
, with Hugo repeatedly mistaking Daffy for a rabbit.
When the city is swept with reports of a tiny elephant (from Punch Trunk
Punch Trunk
Punch Trunk is a 1953 Looney Tunes cartoon written by Mike Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. It is a one-shot cartoon about a miniature elephant who inadvertently terrorizes a city.-Summary:The short begins with a narrator who introduces a 5 inch tall elephant...
), Daffy, presuming it mere hysteria, hopes to profit by soothing the public with his "expert" testimony. However, the elephant turns up on Daffy's own broadcast, making him a laughingstock. When Daffy decides to blame the debacle on the absent Porky and mistakingly remarking that there was nothing wrong with a little dishonesty in business affairs, Cubish takes away the last of the money. Egghead
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...
appears as a singing telegram, announcing to Daffy that he is being dispossessed. After the repo crew takes away his belongings, Daffy gets evicted and his building is condemned and demolished, with him still in it ("One thing's for sure, I've got nowhere else to go but up!")!
In the "epilogue", Bugs is shown enjoying his vacation in Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
(which was what he wanted throughout the film) and reading about Daffy's downfall, and Porky and Sylvester are stranded in the Superstition Mountains, with Sylvester as cowardly as ever. After a shot of Cubish's grave, it is revealed that Daffy is back where he started, as a street corner salesman (this time, selling supernatural trinkets, including wind-up dolls of Gossamer
Gossamer
Gossamer commonly refers to:* Gossamer , very fine spider silk used for ballooning or kiting by various species of spiders* Gossamer , very light, sheer, gauze-like fabricGossamer may also refer to:- Technology :...
at one dollar each). Unfortunately, when Daffy earns a dollar bill, it instantly vanishes. The film ends with Daffy angrily shaking his fist at the sky and screaming "Cubish!" which cuts to a 'Finis' card.
Film segments in order
- The Night of the Living Duck (1988) (opening sequenceTitle sequenceA Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
). This is exclusive to this film - Daffy DillyDaffy DillyDaffy Dilly is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck. It is another early example of a greedy, self-centered Daffy , as perfected by this cartoon's director, Chuck Jones....
(1948) (used at beginning when Daffy tries to get to Cubish) - The Prize PestThe Prize PestThe Prize Pest is a 1950 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. It was directed by Robert McKimson, and written by Tedd Pierce. It was originally released December 22, 1951.-Plot:...
(1950) (used when Daffy recruits Porky) - Water, Water Every HareWater, Water Every HareWater, Water Every Hare is a 1950-produced Looney Tunes cartoon released in 1952 featuring Bugs Bunny and Gossamer. The title is a pun on the line "Water, water, everywhere / Nor any drop to drink" from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner...
(1950) (Used for the Paranormalists At Large commercials) - Hyde and Go TweetHyde and Go TweetHyde and Go Tweet is a Merrie Melodies animated short starring Tweety and Sylvester. Released May 14, 1960, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc....
(1960) (Sylvester encounters Tweety, who changes into a monster without him realizing it, which leads to his paranoia) - Claws for AlarmClaws for AlarmClaws for Alarm is a 1954 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was the second of three cartoons teaming Porky Pig and Sylvester the cat in a spooky setting where only Sylvester is aware of the danger the pair are in...
(1954) (Porky and Sylvester's Dry Gulch assignment) - The Duxorcist (1987) (Daffy's first assignment, which was successful). This is also exclusive to this film, though it was shown as an individual cartoon short years later and was first released theatrically with NutsNuts (film)Nuts is a 1987 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss. The screenplay by Tom Topor, Darryl Ponicsan, and Alvin Sargent is based on Topor's 1979 play of the same title...
. - Transylvania 6-5000Transylvania 6-5000 (1963 film)Transylvania 6-5000 is a short Merrie Melodies animated film directed by Chuck Jones and starring Bugs Bunny. Bugs demonstrates how to handle a pesky vampire with six simple magic incantations...
(1963) (Bugs' Transylvania assignment, only the ending where Bugs' ears turn into bat wings and Bugs flies away was cut) - The Abominable Snow RabbitThe Abominable Snow RabbitThe Abominable Snow Rabbit is a six minute 1961 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. The cartoon was directed by Chuck Jones and co-directed by Maurice Noble, with a story by Tedd Pierce. The cartoon's title is taken from the phrase and horror film The...
(1961) (Bugs and Daffy's Himalayas assignment) - Punch TrunkPunch TrunkPunch Trunk is a 1953 Looney Tunes cartoon written by Mike Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. It is a one-shot cartoon about a miniature elephant who inadvertently terrorizes a city.-Summary:The short begins with a narrator who introduces a 5 inch tall elephant...
(1953) (a miniature elephant wanders through town, having many encounters with various people, with only a drunk man not expressing any shock whatsoever) - Jumpin' JupiterJumpin' JupiterJumpin' Jupiter is a 1955 cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series starring Porky Pig and Sylvester. It is the last of a series of three horror-themed cartoons that starred the duo, with the other two being Scaredy Cat and Claws for Alarm...
(1955) (seen in epilogue, identified as the Superstition Mountains)
DVD release
- The film was released on DVD in the USA for the first time ever on August 4, 2009 from Warner Home VideoWarner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
. 3 bonus cartoons are included as extras: Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th CenturyDuck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th CenturyDuck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century is a 1980 cartoon starring Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Marvin Martian. It is the sequel of Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century. It was the first Daffy and Porky cartoon since 1965...
, Superior Duck and Little Go Beep.