Looney Tunes: November 1997
Cover
Daffy Duck and a baby kangaroo are spotlit on stage, surprised by the light in the midst of a fight. Stars appear by both their heads. Both are missing teeth and the kangaroo is holding a mallet.
Above the two characters are the words, "Introducing the WB's newest comedy team..." and below are "...Daffy Duck and Dinky Downunder." The WB refers to the Warner Bros. television network called simply, the WB.
Daffy and Dinky have a more textured appearance than usually shown. This gives a more hairy or furry look to Dinky but has a similar effect on Daffy, who would be expected to appear feathered.
Credits
Synopsis
Daffy isn't doing so well at a special appearance at a Warner Bros. store. He's been waiting patiently and the only the person to speak to him wanted to know where some Bugs Bunny merchandise was to be found. Someone finally recognizes him, but isn't interested in him at all, which makes Daffy rather irate. A voice tells him to be careful about how he talks to fans.
The voice belongs to Sunny DesPosition, a representative of the Warner Bros. Public Relations department. She's done a survey that found Daffy was rated least likable of the Looney Tunes. So to help his image the studio has decided to pair him up with a sidekick. Daffy won't hear of it, but his contract clearly allows for a sidekick, at the studio's discretion, not Daffy's.
Sidekick auditions are held and soon an overly cheerful young kangaroo, Dinky Downunder, is selected by Sunny. Daffy can only think of ridding himself of his new partner. Dinky however sees Daffy as his ticket to stardom and makes that painfully plain to Daffy, yet still plays sweet and innocent to Sunny.
The team's first work together is to be in a movie about a pollen storm. Daffy adds tacks to the pollen so Dinky will have trouble, but the plan backfires to the point where not only does the duck get stuck with the tacks, but also needs to reattach his feathers. Dinky again makes plain to Daffy that he's willing to play for keeps. Daffy changes his strategy.
They shoot the movie scene over, this time Daffy playing his part nice, acting as the generous protector of youth. Everyone loves it. Everyone but Dinky who throws a fit, in front of everyone, about Daffy's stealing his scene. Finally even Sunny can see that Dinky is scheming. She fires Dinky, but Daffy's ordeal isn't over. Now he's supposed to be the sidekick for another Looney Tunes star with an image problem...
Did You Notice...
Page 1: Items in the WB store include: Taz plush toys (one with the story credits on the tag), shirts, Foghorn Leghorn plush toys, mallets (labelled "BOOM"), Marvin the Martian, Tweety, and Porky Pig figures, Bugs Bunny ears, Acme crates, and something labelled TNT which isn't clear just what it really is, and the Bugs Bunny slippers of course.- Page 1: The cobwebs are a nice touch to show how active Daffy's been. In reality, Daffy is doing much better than shown in this story. As proof, he appears in all three stories in this issue, as well as being on the cover. And that's just this issue.
- Page 2: Another item in the store: Acme "bombs."
- Page 3: That's a very clearly worded and to the point contract.
- Page 3: One of the Bananas In Pajamas is auditioning. That show is, like Dinky, from Australia.
- Page 7: Winged pigs fly around a Daffy's head.
- Page 8: Saturday Night Hay Fever refers of course to the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever which starred John Travolta as a disco dancer.
- Page 11: That's nice use of lettering size to indicate whispering and yelling in the first panel.
- Page 11: Babe the pig was the star character of the 1995 movie Babe about a pig that becomes the porcine version of a sheepdog.
- Page 12: "Kinder and Gentler" is from George H. W. Bush's presidential campaign in which he spoke of a "Kinder, gentler America."
Technical Nits
Page 1: The store is a WB "Retail Store" and not a "Studio Store" as would be expected.- Page 1: That's a rather poorly made Taz plush toy with the seams on the side showing that much. (To Warner Bros. credit I have never seen anything of that low quality in a Warner Bros. store...PN)
- Page 4: There is no lettering on the sign by the audition room door.
- Page 4: Dinky's ear is neither hidden by his speech balloon nor colored over it. (EC)
Credits
Synopsis
Porky Pig eats as he watches television. The millionaire J.P. Cashcow is being interviewed from bed. He's doesn't expect to live much longer and is willing to give one million dollars to anyone who will look after his dog. Porky leaps at the opportunity to get an easy million.
J.P. hears Porky out and agrees to give him the money, but only after his dog, Charlie, and Porky spend a few days together to see how they get along. Charlie wastes no time in bossing Porky around. Before he knows what happened, he and Charlie are off to the racetrack.
When they finally get back to Porky's place, with less money than they'd started with, Charlie still doesn't get Porky's name right. He also doesn't think much of the place and thinks even less of Porky's idea of dog food. Which is simply, dog food. Charlie eats, cleaning out the fridge. As for sleep, Charlie takes the bed and send Porky out to the doghouse. His control over Porky is simply threatening to call J.P. and complain.
Porky is awakened by a party Charlie is throwing. A police officer tells Porky to break up the party, reminding him that it's his house after all. Porky has had enough and is steaming mad. As Charlie is about to call J.P. Porky cuts him off - with a knife severing the phone cord. As Charlie attempts to make a hasty exit on a riding mower, Porky snags him with the phone cord.
Having more than his fill of dealing with Charlie, Porky takes him back to J.P. J.P. increases his offer and when Porky still refuses, he asks to go with Porky rather than stay with Charlie. They're both rescued, they hope, by a certain greedy little black duck looking to make an easy million...
Did You Notice...
- Page 15: The title refers to a 1960 movie Inherit the Wind about an evolution vs. creationism trial similar to the Scopes monkey trial which took place in 1927.
- Page 15: Porky really is pigging out. His snack includes a hamburger, two bottles of cola, a bowl of popcorn, and at least eight donuts.
- Page 15: J.P. Cashcow is like J.P. Cubish, the buzzsaw baron, who makes a deathbed million dollar offer in Daffy Dilly (Jones, 1949). (EC)
- Page 17: It was a long night at the tracks indeed, for the moon is after last quarter which means it's sometime after midnight.
- Page 23: Porky's house must have an attached garage in back for Charlie to "come out of there" on a riding mower.
Technical Nits
- Page 15: Porky is wearing a white shirt under his coat on this page, but not anywhere else in the story.
- Page 16: Porky wears a gray shirt in second and third panels, and none in the first and fourth panels.
- Page 17: In the first panel there's a star where the unlit part of the moon would block any starlight.
- Page 17: Charlie is staring into an empty refrigerator, which he hasn't yet emptied, in the last panel.
- Page 23: There is a lettering flaw in the middle panel. There appears to have been some rewriting.(EC)
Credits
Synopsis
Daffy is on the phone with his agent, Sammy, about getting him the Maltese award as he has the nomination for A Duck Is Born. Sammy tells him that his winning the award just isn't in the plans this year. Daffy goes past his agent and promotes himself, starting by getting the support of Bugs Bunny.
Surprisingly, Bugs does support Daffy's bid for the award, although not for the reason Daffy had hoped. Next the duck launches an all out publicity campaign, including newspapers, television, and even the internet. He influences movie critic Roger Ebert, guests on a talk show, and advertises in trade papers.
At the awards ceremony Daffy eagerly awaits the announcement, only to be beaten out by another nominee with many, many relatives - Speedy Gonzales. Later, Daffy is trying for a part as a mouse...
Did You Notice...
- Page 25: A Duck Is Born refers to the 1937 movie A Star Is Born which has been remade in 1954 and updated since. In the film an aspiring actress is discovered by an actor whose career is going downhill.
- Page 26: The Maltese is named for Michael Maltese who worked mostly for Chuck Jones in the classic period of Looney Tunes. It is odd though that an acting award is named for a person known for writing. (EC)
- Page 26: Bugs' house is landscaped with a carrot theme, including giant carrot-palm trees.
- Page 26: Bugs' awards includes an Oscar and an Emmy, and various carrot related trophies. Also, the weight of his awards is bending his shelves.
- Page 27: Daffy must have a really bad credit history to need two forms of ID when paying in cash.
- Page 30: Mary Gibbons is a combination of Mary Hart and Leeza Gibbons.
- Page 31: In the audience for the Maltese awards are: Taz, Porky and Petunia Pig, Sylvester, Daffy, Tweety, Crusher, Bugs Bunny, Mugsy, and Rocky.
- Page 32: Daffy's Spanish dialogue translates as "What time is it? The shoes is blue! My house is your house!" (TW)
Technical Nits
- Page 29: Sylvester is hardly a mime, having spoken quite often.
- Page 31: The letters 'nor' haven't been filled in where Speedy addresses Daffy as 'Senor Duck' in the third panel.
- Page 32: Dialog or dialogue is misspelled as dialoge. For what it's worth, the Spanish would be dialogo. (TW)
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Last updated 26 April 2001