Plane Daffy

Plane Daffy is a 1944 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin.^[1] The cartoon was released on September 16, 1944, and stars Daffy Duck.^[2]

Plane Daffy
Directed by	Frank Tashlin
Story by	Warren Foster
Starring	Mel Blanc Sara Berner Robert C. Bruce
Music by	Carl W. Stalling
Animation by	Cal Dalton
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	September 16, 1944 (1944-09-16)
Running time	7:18
Language	English

The cartoon is a World War II propaganda short that depicts Daffy as a messenger battling a female Nazi spy and eventually being confronted with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring. This is the first Looney Tunes short in which Leon Schlesinger did not participate.

Plot

One by one, a company of carrier pigeons falls prey to the seductive charms of the Nazi "Queen of the Spies", Hatta Mari, with the latest, Pigeon 13, succumbing to her allure after being slipped a mickey and revealing military secrets. Daffy Duck, a self-proclaimed misogynist, volunteers for the next mission and faces Hatta's attempts at seduction.

Despite being electrocuted by her kisses, Daffy resists and is chased by her around the house, leading to him ultimately swallowing his secret message when she finally corners him. Hatta Mari uses an X-ray machine and broadcasts the message to Hitler and the other leaders of the Axis, only to find it trivial (the message reading "Hitler is a stinker"). Outraged, Hitler declares "Dat ist no military secret!" Goebbels and Göring concur — "Ja. Everybody knows dat!" — then shoot themselves in the heads after receiving Hitler's angry glare. Daffy Duck then concludes the cartoon by saying "They lose more darn 'Nutzis' that way!"

Reception

Animation historian Martin Goodman writes, "What sets this short apart is the burgeoning sense that Tashlin was beginning to incorporate cinematic structure and technique to his animated cartoons. The short opens with grim narration superimposed over a down shot of stoic military carrier pigeons poring over a map; the lighting effects are dramatic, and clouds of cigarette smoke rise steadily above the birds. Later in the film, Daffy opens a sequence of doors trying to escape Hatta Mari. She is behind everyone, holding an increasingly large weapon, and each time the perspective is different as Tashlin experiments with camera angles... The combination of imaginative approach, aggressive sexuality, and wartime élan make Plane Daffy one of Warner's best wartime efforts."^[3]

Notes

• "Hatta Mari" is a parody of Mata Hari.
• According to DVD commentary on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, Hatta Mari’s blond hair and cartoonishly top-heavy body figure would later become a reality in the 1950s with actress and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield (who, in turn, was one of many inspirations for Roger Rabbit’s femme fatale Jessica Rabbit).^[4]
• The quote "Something new has been added" was a catchphrase by Jerry Colonna and a slogan for Old Gold cigarettes.

This is the first Looney Tunes short in which Leon Schlesinger did not participate, because he sold the studio to Warner Bros. after Buckaroo Bugs.

Home media

• VHS - Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festivals: Daffy Duck Cartoon Festival Featuring "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur"
• VHS, LaserDisc - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs and Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons
• LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes: Vol. 2, Side 3: Frank Tashlin
• DVD - Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4, Disc 2 (with audio commentary by Greg Ford)
• DVD - The Essential Daffy Duck, Disc 1
• Blu-ray, DVD - Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3, Disc 2 (with audio commentary by Greg Ford)

See also

• List of World War II short films