When did audiences see the change in Daffy?

[Jack]

I'm not going to start yet another debate what version of Daffy is bestest, this a different question. I was just wondering, when did general audiences decide to go with the late 50s -60s version of Daffy as the definitive one? My guess is when the Bugs Bunny Show came out.

Yes, the theatrical cartoons made after the 3-D stutdown usually show a nasty-pants Daffy, but weren't the pre 48 cartoons just making it to TV at the time? And weren't they still re-releasing the 1948-1954 films at the time? Also, the Looney tunes comics were still using the old version of Daffy (and they continued to use it well into the 60s). One could argue that a person in 1958 (just picking a year out of thin air) had an equal or even greater chance on being exposed to nutty Daffy in the comics, living room, and theater than the greedy version.

I've heard of people who didn't even get to see the pre-48 films until they were grown up, and WB only advertised the version of Daffy they owned the most of. Makes me wonder how Daffy will be characterized 50 years from now. All the films are shown together (and I assume they have all been retored by then, making the difference between the pre and post 48 cartoons even less noticeable).

Anyone else have any thoughts? Anyone agree with me or dissagree with me?



Jack:D

[Brandon Pierce]

Well... if I became a director for any Looney Tunes cartoons, you can bet I'd use the crazy screloose Daffy. But, it's very unlikely WB would hire me because of the dark humor I put in my cartoons.

[J Lee]

Up until September 1964, when the post-1948 WB cartoons went into syndication, the only placre outside of your local theater to see the new "greedy, jealous, mean" Daffy was on ABC's "The Bugs Bunny Show," while the original Daffy design had been in the theaters, either via first-run or re-release, up until 1956, and from thereafter through the AAP syndication package and was far better known.

Some people today may not have seen the pre-48s color cartoons for years, since they showed up mostly on cable after Ted Turner bought the MGM-UA library in 1985, but for about a decade after the 1964 syndication deal, the AAP package was still be far the more widely circulated of the two packages around the country. And then in 1969, Warner's added the redrawn Looney Tunes to their 1948-60 syndication package, which tossed in more of the "old" Daffy (and the "old old" Daffy) back into the mix, since by the mid-1960s independent stations had stopped buying the old B&W Looney Tunes package.

So overall, if you're under about 25 years old, you've probably seen the "new" Daffy more, while anyone over 25 has probably seen the "old" Daffy far more times.

[chuckamuck43]

IMHO as Bugs became more laid-back, it was necessary for someone else to become manic, aggressive and avaricious. Daffy fit the bill (pun intended) perfectly.
By the '50's Bugs character had evolved to the point where it wasn't as funny seeing him suffer punishment (watch Duck Amuck and Rabbit Rampage back to back and see what I mean!).
The directors were bored and wanted to try something new - so the characters evolved.
That's not a BAD thing!
Are Robin Hood Daffy, Daffy Dilly, or the Hunting Trilogy any less funny than The Daffy Doc, Book Revue or Draftee Daffy? They ALL make us laugh.
I personally see the lunacy and avarice as different sides of a versitile comic persona.

Wacky or greedy, he's still DAFFY!

[Jack]

Originally posted by chuckamuck43
IMHO as Bugs became more laid-back, it was necessary for someone else to become manic, aggressive and avaricious. Daffy fit the bill (pun intended) perfectly.
By the '50's Bugs character had evolved to the point where it wasn't as funny seeing him suffer punishment (watch Duck Amuck and Rabbit Rampage back to back and see what I mean!).
The directors were bored and wanted to try something new - so the characters evolved.
That's not a BAD thing!
Are Robin Hood Daffy, Daffy Dilly, or the Hunting Trilogy any less funny than The Daffy Doc, Book Revue or Draftee Daffy? They ALL make us laugh.
I personally see the lunacy and avarice as different sides of a versitile comic persona.

Wacky or greedy, he's still DAFFY!
Yeah I know about all that, but that wasn't what I was talking about. If you look at it in retrospect, it looks pretty clean cut when Daffy changed (about 1954), but I was wondering when the general public noticed the change. I never said anything about what version is better in this thread. I've seen all those Bugs and Daffy cartoons you mentioned (though I enjoy Rabbit Rampage more every time I see it, it's fun to see brer rabbit sweat once in a while).

I usually lump the Hunting Trilogy and Daffy Dilly with cartoons like Book Revue (yes I know there are extreme differences between all three cartoons). Made when Daffy was variant character, acting like a sniveling coward in one cartoon, and a patriot in the next. I NEVER said they were less funny.



Jack:D

[chuckamuck43]

My bad, Jack - no harm intended.

[Jack]

Originally posted by chuckamuck43
My bad, Jack - no harm intended.
Sorry if I sort of went off on you. BTW, what's the 43 in your name mean? It's interesting when people put numbers in their names.

I guess to clear things up, here's my thought about the silly/greedy daffy situation. I generally think there were no bad Daffy cartoons made between the late thirties and the mid 50s. There you had it all, he was versatile, and almost every different design was great looking (I draw the line at the mid 50s because Mckimson was still making looney Daffy cartoons, like "Quack Shot"). After the mid 50s he became more greedy, and I think a little less funny (some like "Show Biz bugs" are still great cartoons, but I don't really care for This is A Life?. Ali-Baba Bunny, or A Star Is Bored). The parody cartoons are still gold, though. The Daffy-Speedy cartoons that came after that fail to entertain me to any great extent.



Jack:D

[chuckamuck43]

We can DEFINATELY agree on the Daffy/Speedy match ups (Yuck!). I also agree with you about the "arc" of Daffy's career. There are solid laughs in most every one of those cartoons.
You can guess from my moniker that we must agree to disagree about Ali Baba Bunny. It's a favorite of mine (Not that I'm slavishly attached to Jones' work - he made his share of stinkers - he's just my favorite director)

As to the 43, sadly, it is my AGE...