Design For Leaving
Encyclopedia
Design for Leaving is a 1953 Looney Tunes
theatrical animated short, produced by Warner Bros.
and released in 1954. It was directed by Robert McKimson
and features Daffy Duck
and Elmer Fudd
. The title is a parody
of the 1933 movie Design for Living
.
(1948), The Stupor Salesman
(1948) and Fool Coverage
(1952), Design for Leaving opens with Daffy as a fast-talking door-to-door salesman from the Acme Future-Antic Push Button Home of Tomorrow Household Appliance Company, Inc. Daffy visits Elmer Fudd at his house and says that Acme has authorized him to install, at no cost, a complete line of ultra-modern automatic household appliances (on a 10-day free trial). Elmer tries to speak but is repeatedly interrupted by Daffy, who grabs Elmer by the arm and escorts him to a bus to take him to the office. Despite Elmer's protests (even saying he has his own car), Daffy puts him on the bus, which unknown to Elmer has a sign on the back that reads "Duluth Express Non-Stop".
Later that day, Elmer returns to his house (hitching a ride in a truck from the Duluth Van and Storage Co.). Daffy greets Elmer at the front door and welcomes him to his new future-antic push button home. Elmer sees that his house is different and asks Daffy what he's done, but Daffy quickly pushes a button and a machine removes Elmer's hat and coat. Daffy then guides Elmer to a massaging chair. Elmer likes it at first, but Daffy pushes a button and Elmer receives an aggressive massage, which dazes him. The chair then automatically puts a cigar in Elmer's mouth and lights it, but the smoke activates a robot fire extinguisher from another room which douses Elmer with a bucket of water. Daffy states that the extinguisher is very sensitive to heat and probably needs adjusting, then guides Elmer into the kitchen. Daffy encourages Elmer to bask in the kitchen's "treasure trove of work-saving appliances" and demonstrates a new knife sharpener which ends up destroying the blade on one of Elmer's knives. Undaunted, Daffy points out the garbage disposal, which is revealed to be a pig which is housed under the kitchen sink. Daffy then shows Elmer the "main control panel" which operates all of the new appliances. Daffy pushes a button marked "Wall Cleaner" and a robotic device emerges to clean the walls but it removes Elmer's wallpaper instead (humorously removing the outer clothing from a portrait painting in the process). Daffy tries to adjust the device but he adjusts it the wrong way and it starts removing the plaster. Daffy quickly deactivates it, then asks Elmer if he is tired of looking at his dirty windows, and when Elmer says "Well, I...", Daffy summons a machine which covers Elmer's window with bricks, and says that he'll "never have to looks at those dirty windows again". Elmer becomes angry, telling Daffy that "he's so angwy, he's burning up!" which again activates the fire extinguisher and Elmer is doused with another bucket of water ("I tried to warn you!"). Daffy tries to continue the demonstration, but Elmer objects, saying that something bad happens to him whenever Daffy pushes a button. So Daffy agrees to let Elmer push a button. Elmer spots one, saying in his distinct voice, "I think I'll push this wed one." Daffy stops Elmer, shouting, "No, no, no, no, no! Not the WED one! Don't EVER push the WED one!" Elmer pushes another button that reads "Burglar Alarm" ("Well, I'll push this one then.") and a mechanical dog comes out of the wall and bites him.
Daffy then takes Elmer into a bedroom and shows him a device which will automatically tie a neck tie (from the options of Bow
, Four-in-hand, Five-in-hand, False Granny, Windsor
, Smindsor and an unlabled option). Daffy tries to demonstrate it but the machine puts Elmer in a noose ("Help! Get me down!"). Daffy shuts off the machine and casually refers to the noose as the "Alcatraz Ascot" as if it were a type of neck tie (the unlabled option). Elmer is exhausted, telling Daffy that he wants all of the "push-button nonsense" removed and tries to go upstairs and take an aspirin, but cannot do so because his stairway has been removed. Daffy confidently boasts that there is no need to walk up stairs in a push-button home, and uses an elevator-like device to bring the "upstairs (to the) downstairs". Elmer seems impressed but asks what happens to the downstairs, and Daffy (saying "Say, that's a good question! What do you say we find out?") raises the upstairs which shows that everything downstairs has been destroyed. Elmer asks if there is "any more cwever gadgets to demonstwate, Mr. Smarty Salesman?", and when Daffy says no, Elmer makes a phone call but the conversation is inaudible. When Elmer hangs up there is a knock on his front door and a large crate is brought inside. Elmer opens the crate and starts the motor, telling Daffy about his new "future-antic push-button salesman ejector" which grabs Daffy by the shoulders and wheels him out of the house, kicking him repeatedly (it was done as revenge from Elmer). With Daffy gone, Elmer remembers the red button and wonders "what that wed button is for?" He pushes it and a display reads "IN CASE OF TIDAL WAVE" (though what use this would be in Minnesota is anybody's guess). A hydraulic lift raises his house high into the air. Elmer looks out of the front door and Daffy flies by in a helicopter and delivers the final punch line, "For a small price, I can install this little blue button to get you down!".
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 animated short, produced by Warner Bros.
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,...
and released in 1954. It was directed by Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
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...
and 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...
. The title is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the 1933 movie Design for Living
Design for Living (film)
Design for Living is a 1933 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay by Ben Hecht is based on the 1933 play of the same name by Noël Coward. It concerns a trio of artistic Americans in Paris and their complicated three-way relationship.The film stars Fredric...
.
Plot
Reprising a salesman role that Daffy previously played in Daffy DillyDaffy Dilly
Daffy 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), The Stupor Salesman
The Stupor Salesman
The Stupor Salesman is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon of the Looney Tunes series, directed by Arthur Davis, written by Lloyd Turner and Bill Scott, and released in 1948...
(1948) and Fool Coverage
Fool Coverage
Fool Coverage is a 1951-animated 1952-released Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon , directed by Robert McKimson, and starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig...
(1952), Design for Leaving opens with Daffy as a fast-talking door-to-door salesman from the Acme Future-Antic Push Button Home of Tomorrow Household Appliance Company, Inc. Daffy visits Elmer Fudd at his house and says that Acme has authorized him to install, at no cost, a complete line of ultra-modern automatic household appliances (on a 10-day free trial). Elmer tries to speak but is repeatedly interrupted by Daffy, who grabs Elmer by the arm and escorts him to a bus to take him to the office. Despite Elmer's protests (even saying he has his own car), Daffy puts him on the bus, which unknown to Elmer has a sign on the back that reads "Duluth Express Non-Stop".
Later that day, Elmer returns to his house (hitching a ride in a truck from the Duluth Van and Storage Co.). Daffy greets Elmer at the front door and welcomes him to his new future-antic push button home. Elmer sees that his house is different and asks Daffy what he's done, but Daffy quickly pushes a button and a machine removes Elmer's hat and coat. Daffy then guides Elmer to a massaging chair. Elmer likes it at first, but Daffy pushes a button and Elmer receives an aggressive massage, which dazes him. The chair then automatically puts a cigar in Elmer's mouth and lights it, but the smoke activates a robot fire extinguisher from another room which douses Elmer with a bucket of water. Daffy states that the extinguisher is very sensitive to heat and probably needs adjusting, then guides Elmer into the kitchen. Daffy encourages Elmer to bask in the kitchen's "treasure trove of work-saving appliances" and demonstrates a new knife sharpener which ends up destroying the blade on one of Elmer's knives. Undaunted, Daffy points out the garbage disposal, which is revealed to be a pig which is housed under the kitchen sink. Daffy then shows Elmer the "main control panel" which operates all of the new appliances. Daffy pushes a button marked "Wall Cleaner" and a robotic device emerges to clean the walls but it removes Elmer's wallpaper instead (humorously removing the outer clothing from a portrait painting in the process). Daffy tries to adjust the device but he adjusts it the wrong way and it starts removing the plaster. Daffy quickly deactivates it, then asks Elmer if he is tired of looking at his dirty windows, and when Elmer says "Well, I...", Daffy summons a machine which covers Elmer's window with bricks, and says that he'll "never have to looks at those dirty windows again". Elmer becomes angry, telling Daffy that "he's so angwy, he's burning up!" which again activates the fire extinguisher and Elmer is doused with another bucket of water ("I tried to warn you!"). Daffy tries to continue the demonstration, but Elmer objects, saying that something bad happens to him whenever Daffy pushes a button. So Daffy agrees to let Elmer push a button. Elmer spots one, saying in his distinct voice, "I think I'll push this wed one." Daffy stops Elmer, shouting, "No, no, no, no, no! Not the WED one! Don't EVER push the WED one!" Elmer pushes another button that reads "Burglar Alarm" ("Well, I'll push this one then.") and a mechanical dog comes out of the wall and bites him.
Daffy then takes Elmer into a bedroom and shows him a device which will automatically tie a neck tie (from the options of Bow
Bow tie
The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip....
, Four-in-hand, Five-in-hand, False Granny, Windsor
Windsor knot
The Windsor knot, also referred to as a Full Windsor or as a Double Windsor to distinguish it from the half-Windsor, is a method of tying a necktie around one's neck and collar. The Windsor knot, compared to other methods, produces a wide symmetrical triangular knot. The knot is often thought to...
, Smindsor and an unlabled option). Daffy tries to demonstrate it but the machine puts Elmer in a noose ("Help! Get me down!"). Daffy shuts off the machine and casually refers to the noose as the "Alcatraz Ascot" as if it were a type of neck tie (the unlabled option). Elmer is exhausted, telling Daffy that he wants all of the "push-button nonsense" removed and tries to go upstairs and take an aspirin, but cannot do so because his stairway has been removed. Daffy confidently boasts that there is no need to walk up stairs in a push-button home, and uses an elevator-like device to bring the "upstairs (to the) downstairs". Elmer seems impressed but asks what happens to the downstairs, and Daffy (saying "Say, that's a good question! What do you say we find out?") raises the upstairs which shows that everything downstairs has been destroyed. Elmer asks if there is "any more cwever gadgets to demonstwate, Mr. Smarty Salesman?", and when Daffy says no, Elmer makes a phone call but the conversation is inaudible. When Elmer hangs up there is a knock on his front door and a large crate is brought inside. Elmer opens the crate and starts the motor, telling Daffy about his new "future-antic push-button salesman ejector" which grabs Daffy by the shoulders and wheels him out of the house, kicking him repeatedly (it was done as revenge from Elmer). With Daffy gone, Elmer remembers the red button and wonders "what that wed button is for?" He pushes it and a display reads "IN CASE OF TIDAL WAVE" (though what use this would be in Minnesota is anybody's guess). A hydraulic lift raises his house high into the air. Elmer looks out of the front door and Daffy flies by in a helicopter and delivers the final punch line, "For a small price, I can install this little blue button to get you down!".
Availability
"Design for Leaving" is available, uncensored and uncut, on the Looney Tunes Superstars DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen.Censorship
- The ABC version of this cartoon cuts out the brief shot of Elmer getting hanged by the neck by his necktie-tying machine (with Daffy referring to the setting as the "Alcatraz ascot").
- Some syndicated versions cut out the part where Elmer notices that his staircase is missing just as he's about to go upstairs to take an "aspwiwin".