happy 86th birthday daffy duck!
april 17th, 1937, marks the day the cartoon porky’s duck hunt was released, which was the first time ever my favorite character, daffy duck, appeared on screen! the short was directed by tex avery, although daffy duck’s character is credited to be created by both tex avery and bob clampett. this short is also the first short where porky pig was voiced by mel blanc, instead of joe dougherty.
fun facts about daffy duck!
the audio for daffy duck’s voice is actually sped up, and is higher and obviously faster than mel blanc’s original recording. the original recording actually sounds almost identical to sylvester’s voice, and was later used for that character with slight differences.
according to chuck jones, daffy’s lisp was based off of their producer, leon schlesinger, who had a bit of a lisp himself. but in mel blanc’s autobiography, he states that daffy had a lisp because they figured that’s how a duck would talk, considering their long bills.
the record for longest characterization of a cartoon character by one voice actor was once held by mel blanc for daffy duck at 52 years. i think the record currently belongs to frank welker, who has voiced fred jones from scooby doo for 53 years.
the first time daffy duck was ever named was in the cartoon daffy duck and egghead from 1938, directed by tex avery.
daffy was ranked #14 in tv guide’s top 50 cartoon characters of all time in 2002 (although what would probably upset daffy is bugs bunny was ranked #1)
in the 1994 book the 50 greatest cartoons: as selected by 1,000 professionals, daffy duck appears in the most cartoons out of any other character, 9. notable choices are duck amuck at #2, duck dodgers in the 24 1/2 century at #4, the great piggy bank robbery at #16, and rabbit seasoning at #30. i think 16 of the 50 are looney tunes cartoons.
daffy duck starred in 130 cartoons 1937-1969, the third most out of all the looney tunes characters. bugs bunny is at first with 167 and porky pig is second with 153.
daffy duck is one of the most everchanging characters in cartoon history. he started in 1937 as a crazy, hyperactive screwball and calmed down a little in 1946, where his character gained a bit more depth. chuck jones changed his character drastically in 1951 to be paired with bugs bunny in rabbit fire. this selfish, greedy, and self-absorbed villain is the character most people know daffy as. now, reboots like new looney tunes and looney tunes cartoons feature daffy’s original character.
silly daffy is superior daffy (not a fact but it should be).
