Melissa Duck

Melissa Duck
Species:	Mallard
Gender:	Female
Debut appearance:	"Nasty Quacks" (1 December 1945) (unofficial) "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (4 March 1950) (official)
Created by:	Chuck Jones
Portrayed by:	Mel Blanc (1945) Marian Richman (1950) Grace Lenard (1952) Gladys Holland (1953) B.J. Ward (1987-1988) Janyse Jaud (2002-2005)

Melissa Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and in the animated television series Baby Looney Tunes.

Background

She is a beautiful blonde-haired yellow lady duck and is featured as Daffy Duck's girlfriend in several cartoon shorts but is only called Melissa in one, "The Scarlet Pumpernickel". Melissa seems fully aware of Daffy's extreme faults but loves him all the same. Melissa was featured yellow with red lipstick on her beak and teal-green eyes "The Super Snooper". and white with red lipstick on her beak again and long eyelashes "Muscle Tussle".

In "The Duxorcist" (a short that was made for Daffy Duck's Quackbusters), Daffy is called in to exterminate some ghosts in her apartment. Upon getting a good look at her pretty look (her light yellow or fair colored flesh tone peach skin, blonde hair, aqua earrings, and red dress), Daffy falls head over heels in love with her, and the second he kisses her, the feeling is mutual for Melissa, as hearts appear in her eyes. After he performs an exorcism, a grateful Melissa is cured and kisses Daffy, who runs out after the ghosts start chasing him. As he runs out, Melissa tells him he is welcome back anytime.

Melissa Duck was the inspiration for the Shirley the Loon character in Tiny Toon Adventures, a spin-off series which follows the adventures of the next generation of Looney Tunes, though Melissa was never featured in an episode of that show.

Melissa Duck's most notable role is from the series Baby Looney Tunes, which casts the adult characters from the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts as their infant selves. Melissa had a crush on Daffy Duck ever since she was an infant. In Baby Looney Tunes, Melissa, a yellow duckling with darker orange hair instead of blonde hair than her adult self, acts as a comedian and enjoys making her friends laugh, even though her humor sometimes causes her trouble. She can also play practical joke just like Daffy Duck in the baby looney tunes episode The Yolk On You.

The 2011 animated series The Looney Tunes Show introduces a similarly designed character named Tina Russo.

In 2021, Melissa Duck reappeared as a playable character called "Fair Lady Melissa" in the mobile game Looney Tunes World of Mayhem. Another variant called "Maid Melissa" was recently released. A third variant called "Possessed Melissa" has also been recently released. A fourth varient was released called "Shapeshifter Melissa"

Appearances

The classic shorts:

• "Nasty Quacks" (first identified as prototype Melissa Duck) (1945)
• "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (first identified as Melissa Duck) (1950)
• "The Super Snooper" (1952)
• "Muscle Tussle" (1953)
• "The Duxorcist" (1987)

The feature film:

• "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters" (1988)

The television special:

• Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988)

The series:

• Baby Looney Tunes (baby version) (2002-2005)

The video game:

• Looney Tunes World of Mayhem (2021)

Gallery

Melissa as a duckling in "Nasty Quacks"

"Nasty Quacks" (prototype)

"The Scarlet Pumpernickel"

"The Super Snooper" (Shapely Lady Duck)

"Muscle Tussle"

"The Duxorcist"

Melissa becomes a monster in "The Duxorcist"

Melissa in Baby Looney Tunes

Maid Melissa in Looney Tunes World of Mayhem

Possessed Melissa in Looney Tunes World of Mayhem