Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck
Love Interests	Penelope Pussycat
Race	Ducks
Rank	Sheriff
Rival	Bugs Bunny

A Long time Rival of Bugs Bunny.

Origin

Daffy first appeared on April 17, 1937 in Porky's Duck Hunt, directed by Tex Avery and animated by Bob Clampett. The cartoon is a standard hunter/prey pairing for which Leon Schlesinger's studio was famous, but Daffy (barely more than an unnamed bit player in this short) was something new to moviegoers: an assertive, completely unrestrained, combative protagonist. Bob later recalled: "At that time, audiences weren't accustomed to seeing a cartoon character do these things. And so, when it hit the theaters it was an explosion. People would leave the theaters talking about this daffy duck."

This early Daffy is less anthropomorphic and resembles a "normal" duck, being short and pudgy, with stubby legs and a beak. The only aspects of the character that have remained consistent through the years are his voice (provided by Mel Blanc) and his black feathers with a white neck ring. Mel's voice for Daffy holds the world record for the longest voice-acting of one animated character by his/her original actor: 52 years.

The origin of Daffy's voice is a matter of some debate. One often-repeated "official" story is that it was modeled after producer Schlesinger's tendency to lisp. However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography, That's Not All, Folks!, he contradicts that conventional belief, writing, "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing an s sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'dethpicable.'"

Daffy's slobbery, exaggerated lisp was developed over time, and it is barely noticeable in the early cartoons. InDaffy Duck & Egghead, Daffy does not lisp at all except in the separately drawn set-piece of Daffy singing The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down in which just a slight lisp can be heard.

In The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1949), Daffy has a middle name, Dumas, as the screenwriter of a swashbuckling script, a nod to Alexandre Dumas.  Also, in the Baby Looney Tunes episode The Tattletale, Granny addresses Daffy as "Daffy Horacio Tiberius Duck." In The Looney Tunes Show (2011), the joke middle names "Armando" and "Sheldon" are used.

In Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Daffy is sick of Bugs and goes on an adventure with DJ to battle The ACME Company and save DJ's father, but his real purpose of coming is to get the Blue Monkey diamond.

Comics

Dell Comics published several Daffy Duck comic books, beginning in Four Color Comics #457, #536, and #615 and then continuing as Daffy #4-17 (1956–59), then as Daffy Duck #18-30 (1959–62). The comic book series was subsequently continued in Gold Key Comics Daffy Duck #31-127 (1962–79). This run was in turn continued under the Whitman Comics imprint until the company completely ceased comic book publication in 1984. In 1994, corporate cousin DC Comics became the publisher for comics featuring all the classic Warner Bros. cartoon characters, and while not getting his own title, Daffy has appeared in many issues of Looney Tunes.

Baby Looney Toones

Daffy Duck is the duckling of the group. Daffy thinks he should be in charge so he butts heads with Bugs Bunny. He is self indulgent and always wants his personal gain. When problems arise, he believes it is himself who is treated unfairly, not noticing the inconvience inflicted on the others. Half the time, he does show and mean good intent. He dressed up as Duck Dodgers in A Mid-Autumn Night's Scream.

• Daffy is one of three characters to appear in every episode; the other two being Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny.
• He is one of three babies to be voiced by Samuel Vincent, with Bugs and Tweety being the other two.
• In the episode Lightning Bugs Sylvester, it is revealed that Daffy has a fear of robots.
• He is one of the oldest babies on the show.
• Daffy's real name is Daffy Horatio Tribuis Duck.

Friends

• Tina Russo
• Bugs Bunny
• Porky Pig
• Speedy Gonzales
• Foghorn Leghorn
• Yosemite Sam
• Marvin The Martian
• Pete Puma
• Tasmanian Devil
• Granny
• Gossamer

Voice Actors

• Mel Blanc (1937-1989); (Daffy's Rhapsody) (Archive Audio)
• Mel Tormé (singing voice in Night of the Living Duck)
• Jeff Bergman (Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Tiny Toon Adventures, Box-Office Bunny, (Blooper) Bunny, Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers, The Looney Tunes Show, Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes: Cartoon Universe, Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run, Mad (Episode "First White House Down / McDuck Dynasty"))
• Greg Burson (Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs)
• Maurice LaMarche (Taz-Mania)
• Joe Alaskey (Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes, Carrotblanca, Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension, The Drew Carey Show, Tweety's High-Flying Adventure, Looney Tunes: Reality Check, Looney Tunes: Stranger than Fiction, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Duck Dodgers, Daffy Duck for President, Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas, various video games)
• Frank Gorshin (Superior Duck)
• Dee Bradley Baker (Space Jam)
• Jeff Bennett (Attack of the Drones)
• Samuel Vincent (Baby Looney Tunes, Baby Looney Tunes: Egg-straordinary Adventure)

Screenshots