Stupor Duck is a 1956 Looney Tunes short directed by Robert McKimson.
Plot[]
Daffy Duck is Stupor Duck and his alter ego, Cluck Trent. He is faster than a (pop gun) bullet, more powerful than a speeding (barely-functional, 1800s-style) locomotive, and (almost) able to leap tall buildings like the "McKimson Assocates" [sic] building in a single bound.
Cluck, hoping for a promotion, eavesdrops on his editor, who is watching a "corny soap opera" on a TV in his office. The unseen show's villain is "Aardvark Ratnik," a Russian-accented terrorist hell-bent on world domination. Cluck concludes that Aardvark actually exists, is present in the editor's office and making his demands known lest the consequences. Cluck declares there's just one superhero that can stop "Aardvark": Stupor Duck.
After an errant change into a witch's costume (that Witch Hazel wore), Cluck put on his Stupor Duck outfit and begins his search for the non-existent antagonist. One by one, he spots "examples" of "Aardvark's" alleged work, screaming out before tackling each one "this looks like a job for Stuuuupor Duck!" Among them:
- A skyscraper is being razed to make way for a new city hall; a member of the demolition crew beats Stupor up when Stupor prevents the building from falling, "Then the lights went out all over the world!"
- A sinking ship turns out to be a submarine; Stupor gets blasted by a deck gun and then the ship fires a torpedo at Stupor, blowing him away when Stupor tries to save the sub from sinking.
- A train wreck is actually a stunt scene for a new Warner Bros. movie; the crewman detonates the dynamite, unaware that Stupor is high in the sky holding the explosive; Stupor loses his feathers.
- Finally, a nuclear missile is actually a rocket headed for the moon, with Stupor, who has lost his costume, holding on for dear life. Observers climbing a mountain repeat, "Look, up in the sky ..." as they watch the rocket and its screaming feathered passenger head into outer space.
Availability[]
Streaming[]
Censorship[]
- When this cartoon aired on ABC, the part after Daffy/Stupor Duck saves the skyscraper from falling where the construction worker punches Daffy/Stupor Duck in the face was cut.[1]
- When this cartoon aired on the syndicated Merrie Melodies show, the part where a submarine cannon shoots Daffy/Stupor Duck in the face was cut, but not the part where Daffy/Stupor Duck gets chased and blown up by the second missile.[1]
Goofs[]
- The "McKimson Associates" building has "Associates" misspelled as "Assocates".
Notes[]
- This cartoon was later used in Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island.
- The engine on the train is a 4-4-0 (four leading wheels, four driving wheels, and no trailing wheels), called an "American" type due to the large number of the type that were produced and used in the United States.
- The cartoon has a similar opening to the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves as the titular superhero.
- The train at the beginning during the line "More powerful than a speeding locomotive" was actually stock footage from "Hare Trigger".
- The McKimson Assocates building is a reference to director Robert McKimson.
- Daffy takes a pill from a box labeled Dr. Pierce’s Mild Pills for mild mannered people. Tedd Pierce is the writer of this cartoon.
Gallery[]
TV Title Cards[]
See Also[]
- Super-Rabbit - a Superman parody with Bugs Bunny
- Snafuperman - a Superman parody with Private Snafu
Preceded by Rocket Squad |
List of Daffy Duck cartoons 1956 |
Succeeded by A Star Is Bored |
References[]
- Friedwald, Will and Jerry Beck. "The Warner Brothers Cartoons." Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, N.J., 1981. ISBN 0-8108-1396-3.