DAFFY DUCK’S QUACKBUSTERS: Something Old, Something New

DAFFY DUCK’S QUACKBUSTERS (Blu-ray)

1988 / 79 min

From Warner Archive Collection

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😼

Though Warner Bros first stopped producing Looney Tunes in the 1960s, they kept all its iconic characters alive through television, where those classics were a Saturday morning staple for a couple of decades (and obviously before the days when cartoons were available 24/7). 

Additionally, the studio began assembling compilation films, though the shorts included were seldom seen in their entirety and new animated sequences were used to bridge one short to another. Sometimes the films were dedicated to the work of a particular director, other times the shorts were selected and reassembled to fit within a “new” plot. The results were always watchable, but hardly the best way to view these classic cartoons…especially if seeing them for the first time.

Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters was the first to be produced without the involvement of any of legendary Looney Tunes directors, with Greg Ford & Terry Lennon creating the wraparound story and new animated sequences, in which Daffy Duck is the benefactor of a millionnaire’s wealth on the proviso that he uses the money to provide a service to the community. So he starts a paranormal extermination service, hiring Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig (and his cat, Sylvester), to do most of the grunt work.

A variety of classic horror-themed shorts are woven into the overall plot, including three of my personal favorites, “Transylvania 6-5000,” “Claws for Alarm” and “Hyde and Go Tweet.” While those toons alone make this film worth seeing, the difference between the old animation and the surrounding segments is jarring (as is the voice of a much older Mel Blanc). 

Daffy decides to swear off the duck sauce.

What made Quackbusters unique among the compilation films was the inclusion of two new shorts, The Duxorcist and Night of the Living Duck, the latter of which was made exclusively for this film and the only one shown in its entirety (as a prologue). Both are also directed by Ford & Lennon, and while the animation ain’t quite what it used to be, the humor is often reminiscent of the sly, satiric playfulness that was a hallmark of classic Looney Tunes.

And speaking of new…the 80s was when Warner Bros began to sporadically produce brand new Looney Tunes shorts, seven of which are included on this disc as bonus features. Dating from 1980-2000, not all of them are gems, but Chuck Jones’ “Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century” is irresistible. Elsewhere, “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers” is more horror-themed fun from Ford & Lennon, whose “The Duxorcist” is also presented in its entirety. Conversely, depicting Wile E. Coyote & the Road Runner as kids in “Little Go Beep” is as contrived as Muppet Babies.

Like the other Looney Tunes compilation films, Quackbusters is watchable without ever being wonderful. Hanging out with these characters is always time well spent, even though watching truncated versions of their antics pales in comparison to the original shorts. Still, the inclusion of the newer cartoons make this worth picking up for completists.

EXTRA KIBBLES

7 SHORTS - Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24th ½ Century; The Duxorcist; Little Go Beep; Night of the Living Duck; Superior Duck; Blooper Bunny; Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers.

TRAILER