386. The Daffy Duckaroo (1942)

With Daisy out of the teepee, Daffy Duck attempts to improvise in order to entertain Little Beefer and keep him from seeing through his disguise. After avoiding a kiss from Daffy, he immediately goes into a rain dance action as he dances to the sound of the tom-toms. As you'd expect, you get an energetic little rain dance by Daffy, but it gets broader as he returns to the scene banging on a parade drum.

It's a great bit of subtlety in staging as McCabe is still true to Daffy Duck's character. McCabe's sharp timing kicks into gear as Daffy attempts to strike the entertained Little Beefer with a tomahawk, but narrowly misses him. The tomahawk strike is a great sharp effect - for it appears out of the blue, making the threat more predictable and vulnerable for Beefer.

Animators at Schlesinger's exceed in animating an unusual piece of character animation of Daffy playing the tom-toms with his butt cheeks, and animated so convincingly. Almost striking him again with the tomahawk, Little Beefer turns suspicious. Sheepishly, Daffy uses the tomahawks in his hands to break into finale in his rain dance.

McCabe and Millar, who are faithful in capturing Daffy Duck's personality, give the duck a slightly different approach. For the scenes of Daffy kissing Little Beefer, he goes for a Bugs Bunny persona. Another common trait of the early Daffy Duck cartoons, this trademark exceeds from what Clampett or Tashlin have portrayed him.


Since he is kissing Little Beefer as a diversity tactic to hide his disguise, one might get the idea Daffy is enjoying this a little too much. Daffy features a very camp-like posture when Beefer reacts with ecstasy over the kiss. Once Daffy's disguise has been crumbled, Daffy still continues to enjoy some of Beefy's advances.

This is seen in the shot of Daffy reuniting with Daisy June. Once Little Beefer advances forward to threaten Daffy, he comments "Oh well, you too" and kisses him on the nose. As entertaining the sequence is as a whole, you can't help but question his sexual behaviour, no matter if the gag was unintentional.

For the action chase sequence, McCabe intends to make the chase look like an extensive journey around the American desert, with the insertion of visual puns for iconic locations in the West. For a predictable gag sign like the "Los Angeles City Limits" sign, the word "Limits" is crossed off the sign, another sign reading: "Aw, you know!" for a desperate attempt for laughs.


Other visual puns are much more entertaining, and blend in perfectly for the chase scenes. Daffy and Little Beefer take their ride towards the Painted Desert in Arizona. The cactuses in the desert are all painted with stripes, as well as containing "Wet Paint" disclaimer signs.

Perhaps the best pun in the sequence is Daffy's entrance to the Petrified Forest. Once he reaches the territory, he immediately anticipates a petrified pose. The pose itself is incredibly solid and angular, as it portrays a petrified gesture in an exaggerated and yet convincing way. Little Beefer strikes Daffy with his tomahawk, where he breaks the hammer into fragments, but does no damage to Daffy.

Alas, a handful of the wartime references during the climax sequence is one of the prime reasons why Norm McCabe, as a director, is overshadowed by other the more prolific directors. The shot of Daffy making clicking noises on his pistol without firing is an amusing gag, but it hasn't aged well as years passed. This is particularly revealing in his comment: "We don't use any ammunition, folks. We save it all for the Army."


The final gag itself is a product of its time. Daffy Duck has been ambushed by an army of Injuns who invade the area. Daffy evades underneath a trailer parked in the middle of the desert. He goes against his patriotic comment, and fires at the Indians. What a laugh riot the gag must've been then.

The dust covers up Daffy Duck and the bottom part of the trailer, as it unveils, it is revealed that the tires from the trailer have been removed. An Injun walks into the scene, carrying the tires and dumps them on top of Daffy, complaining that they don't fit his vehicle ("Don't fit um, pup pup"). As he drives off in the horizon, a sign at the back reads: "Keep it under 40". For those unknown to the gag, it is a direct reference to the World War II rationing, and tires were amongst many items rationed for their rubber, which were used for the Jeeps in the military.

Although this is the last Daffy cartoon that bears McCabe's name as a director, he has certainly revolutionised the character from being just a screwball personality, which he does perfectly in this cartoon and Daffy's Southern Exposure. Daffy's personality in the short, particularly when he is dressed in drags, is a little overplayed, but its heart is still in the right place. Some of the gags do suffer a bit with some corny puns, but they're harmless at best. As usual, great characterisation for the one-shot characters, particularly Daisy June, who doesn't get much screen time appearance. Once the squaw exits the cartoon, the short gets a little side-tracked, as the new focus is on Daffy and Little Beefer, but the gags and sequences that follow definitely don't go to waste. As per usual, Norm McCabe's use of experimentation of modern design creates a beautiful picture for the short's scenery. It's a pity that McCabe's layout man (Dave Hilberman?) is hardly recognised for the modernised appeal in his cartoons, especially when they are ahead of its time.

Rating: 3.5/5.