Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur

I'm not remotely a fan of Chuck Jones, but this is one of his better efforts. The premise is intriguing: Daffy Duck (or one of his ancient ancestors) was alive 'trillions' of years ago, and crossed paths with a hungry caveman.

Casper Caveman has a pet apatosaurus named Fido, who is drawn and animated as one of Chuck Jones's usual insufferably twee critters. However, I laughed out loud when the dinosaur tags along behind his prehistoric master. Two-legged Casper and four-legged Fido each have a distinctive gait, and when they walk in unison the visual counterpoint of their movements is very funny.

For some reason, many Warners toons of this period begin with a multi-plane shot, apparently hoping to convince audiences that they can be just as 'arty' as Disney's cartoons. However, the very crude multi-plane pan near the beginning of this toon (more of a 'bi-plane'; only two planes!) is not remotely as impressive as Disney's multi-planes in 'The Old Mill' and elsewhere.

This cartoon violates the laws of physics even more than usual for Termite Terrace standards, with objects and characters able to pause in midair and change direction ditto.

Various sources have stated that the character Casper Caveman in this cartoon is a caricature of Jack Benny. Well, yes and no. The vocal performance (by Jack Lescoulie) expertly copies Benny's distinctive delivery and some of his catchphrases ('Good night, folks.'), and Jones's animation even duplicates a few of Benny's gestures. However, the character as drawn simply doesn't look like Benny, neither facially nor physically. I wonder if this was an attempt to avoid a lawsuit. Or perhaps it was down to the fact that Jack Benny (who had already made some film appearances dating back to the late 1920s) was at this point best known as a radio star, so movie audiences might not be sure of what he looked like.

An advertisement for 'Duckies' in this toon is a parody of a contemporary real-world ad for 'Luckies', i.e., Lucky Strike Cigarettes, which were the long-term sponsor of Jack Benny's radio show. (He had better luck with his next sponsor, Jell-O.)

A nice try at a slight variation of the usual Warners formula, and I'll rate this one 7 out of 10.

It is the time of the dinosaurs. Caspar Caveman and his pet dinosaur are going hunting. They encounter Daffy Duck at a local lake, but the duck keeps escaping.

Casper Caveman is Fred Flintstone but less appealing. I am not sure to whom he is supposed to be referencing. The character needs to be dumber and less too cool for school. He seems to be modeled after a crooner. I do not like him and that is the vast majority of my problem. The Honeymooners is still over a decade away, but that's what this needs to be. He needs to be Ralph Kramden. I really do not like Casper's design and personality.

The animation may be rather dated, the story a little sparse and the pace rushed in places, but Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur is a pleasant enough cartoon. Daffy is funny and manic here, as are a vast majority of the gags and the ending is an unexpected surprise. The music is lovely, and the dialogue good. Casper the Caveman comes very close to stealing the show with his mannerisms and all that and is very reminiscent of Jack Benny, not only with the voice but the dialogue as well. I have to say though Fido is adorable, for a dinosaur he really is a cutie. I loved it when he got hit by the thing that was meant for Daffy and he starts dancing.

Overall, pleasant enough but a somewhat rudimentary entry in the Looney Tunes canon. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I find this quite a good Daffy Duck episode. Daffy is absolutely brilliant, but this is not really his episode. He is more of a side character. The people who are supposed to be the side characters and yet feel like the main characters, are Casper the Caveman and Fido the apatosaurus. You guessed it - this is set in the dino age. It is very incorrect to history, for example, humans have never been with dinosaurs. Luckily this does not spoil the episode. Anyway, unlike a few people on this site, I do not think Casper Caveman is the highlight of the episode. In fact, I think he is too harsh at points and it is only in the middle of the episode when he becomes slightly likable. Fido the dinosaur is likable throughout, very silly, cute and dog-like. Daffy is still in his early stage, with his constant "woo-hoo" and craziness, this is why he is so good. The animation is also pleasant as well. At this time the animators were still good, in later cartoons they just came up with any background that first came into their heads.

Casper the Caveman is very hungry and is ready for breakfast. Taking Fido the dino with him on his search, Casper soon finds Daffy. He tries to hunt him - but this little black duck is not going to make things easy for him!

Recommended to people who like the early Daffy Duck and dinosaurs, enjoy "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur", a pleasant Looney Tunes classic to watch! :-)

Millions of years ago, in stone age times, a cave man wakes up hurt and heads out to hunt for food with his trusty dinosaur for help. They come across some open water and spy Daffy Duck swimming and decide that he'd make a good meal - that was their first mistake.

This cartoon opens with a disclaimer that informs us that, for no great reason, this cartoon is set millions of years ago - just in case the audience can't guess that from the presence of cavemen and a dinosaur. This short features Daffy in `crazy' mood, which I always enjoy more than his bitter and cynical mood. The action is quite funny even if it isn't that imaginative at times.

The cave man sounds a little like Elmer Fudd and even vaguely resembles him to the point that I wondered why they didn't just get him in instead. Daffy is hilarious and is what makes the cartoon such fun, the dinosaur of the title doesn't have that much to do but has a few laughs - although he is a bit of a dumb animal.

Overall this is a good cartoon because I believe that any chance to see Daffy in crazy mood is worth a look even if the material is not as imaginative as it could have been.