Robin Hood Daffy

Robin Hood Daffy (1958)

*** (out of 4)

Not quite as great as RABBIT HOOD, here's another Chuck Jones directed take on the Robin Hood legend. This time out Daffy Duck is wearing the tights and after running into Friar (Porky Pig) he must convince him that he is the real Robin. Of course, with Daffy this isn't going to be too easy and he keeps making one big mistake after another. ROBIN HOOD DAFFY contains some very good animation and a rather cute story but at the same time I don't think it comes together as good as it could have. Yes, it's a good movie but it's still middle-ground in terms of Looney Tunes and some of the classics they've done over the years. Some of the highlights includes a scene towards the end where Duffy flashes past the man he's trying to "take" and we see a great scene of him going into some water up up a draw bridge. The animation here is very effective and so is the laugh. The rest of the film contains some fast action but none of it is as funny as it should have been.

This one always cracks me up. Especially when Daffy Mocks Friar (Porky) Tuck with, "Guffaw, Chortle, Nyuk, it is to laugh." The "Yikes and away!" is great too. They don't write 'em like this any more.

Another favorite: "In the classic Warner Bros. cartoon 'The Scarlet Pumpernickel,' Daffy Duck is earnestly pitching his new script to the unseen Jack Warner. As Daffy tells the story, we see it unfold, performed by the great stock company of Daffy, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Elmer Fudd. But it soon becomes clear that Daffy does not have an ending for his movie. Warner presses him, Daffy keeps reaching, and Warner keeps asking for more. Poor Daffy. In his zeal, he forgot that adding any old plot development is not enough to make a gripping story. You've got to have something important on the line, something that matters. Daffy should have been asking himself, Who cares?

That's a question all novelists must repeat. If you can create a character worth following and a problem that must be solved — and then along the way raise the stakes even higher—you're going to have the essential elements of a page-turner."

One of my all-time favorites. One hysterical gag after another, especially when Daffy tries to swing on a vine and smashes into one tree after another. Daffy is so funny as the failed Robin Hood Daffy, and Porky Pig is hillarious as Friar Tuck laughing at everything Daffy is doing. I can never stop laughing when I watch this one.

Daffy is a Robin Hood type who fights the sheriff and is famous from his wanted posters. His reputation is given a knock when he falls into a river and is laughed at by a fat friar pig (Porky). All Daffy's attempts to prove himself and impress the jolly Friar just seem to backfire and he can't convince him that he is the Robin Hood that Porky seeks.

I'm a really big fan of Daffy Duck and always feel that he is at his best when he is in his early persona of being manic and wacky. Even when he becomes more cynical and greedy he still manages to be one of my favourite Warner Brothers characters. Here he is very much the butt of the film's jokes - a role that I'm never totally happy to see him in as I do like him as a character more than a fall guy. However here the jokes are funny and imaginative so I didn't mind so much in this case. The character he plays is basically a fall guy but the ways in which he falls had me laughing out loud - whether it was the rope swing or the shaft fight, I was loving it!

I don't like to see Daffy just plain mocked but he takes it very well here and is funny himself rather than just being a patsy. Porky is also good but doesn't manage to steal the show from Daffy in the way he often can in these combination films of theirs. With no other characters to speak of, Daffy carries the film very well and gets the majority of the laughs - I still prefer to see him giving rather than getting, but this is funny nonetheless.

Overall this cartoon is very funny with a good sense of cruel wit running through it. Fans of the original little black duck may be upset to see him take such punishment but I personally was relieved that Daffy managed to make this film as funny as he did.

Genre: Animated short, duck, pig, slapstick, based on Robin Hood.

Main characters: Daffy Duck (acting as Robin Hood) and Porky Pig (acting as Friar Tuck).

Actors: Mel Blanc (Daffy Duck and Porky Pig).

What happens: Starring Daffy Duck as Robin Hood, he meets the hysterical Porky Pig as Friar Tuck. Friar Tuck is looking for Robin Hood, but he refuses to believe that it IS Robin Hood…

My thoughts: This is a very slapsticky Daffy Duck short (and as you may know I am not awfully fond of slapstick) however I like it quite a lot! I like how even though it has SO much slapstick, there is always a teeny bit of wit to top it off! I also love how they sometimes speak in old fashioned English like "I am whom thoust seekest. I am Robin Hood" and stuff like that. I also like the background animation, well-drawn wonky forests and paths. I also like the song at the very beginning.

Recommended to: Daffy Duck fans and admirers (like me) and people who like slapstick and wit in a cartoon! Enjoy! :-)