The Iceman Ducketh
Encyclopedia
The Iceman Ducketh is a 1964
Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
theatrical cartoon
starring Bugs Bunny
and Daffy Duck
. This cartoon short is directed by Phil Monroe and co-directed by Maurice Noble
, with a story by John Dunn
. This was the last Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon featuring Bugs and Daffy together until Box Office Bunny
in 1990, and the last that Chuck Jones
worked on, though he was fired at an early stage of production and replaced by Monroe (by the time it was released, Jones had already produced two cartoons at his new studio, Sib-Tower 12).
Clips from this cartoon were used and commentated on by John Madden
and Pat Summerall
as the second quarter of the 2001 Cartoon Network
special The Big Game XXIX: Bugs Vs. Daffy.
up in the Klondike
, many fur trappers have come in to trade in their furs for big bucks after a successful fur trapping season. When Daffy Duck sees Garcon, the manager of the trading post, giving money to the last fur trapper, he checks in to ask if trading in furs for money is true. Garcon answers it's true, but Daffy decides to go out and trap some fur for money, just as Garcon warns him that fur trapping season is over due to the approaching winter.
Scoffing at the idea of winter, Daffy vows to catch a fur just as winter sets in just as suddenly. Bugs Bunny makes a snow rabbit, telling us it'll fool Daffy for awhile while he makes his getaway. Daffy comes up to the snow rabbit and warns him not to move or be pulverized. When the coal nose of the snow rabbit falls off, Daffy takes that as movement and proceeds to whack the snow rabbit to pieces until he hits a hibernating bear, whom the snow rabbit was built over. Angry at having his hibernation disturbed, the bear claws Daffy, who runs off thinking the bear missed until he falls to pieces.
Just as Bugs is tutting off Daffy's misfortune, Daffy catches up and pokes his rifle at him. When Bugs asks Daffy if he's got some antipathy towards him, Daffy states he's only after the fur, of which he finds Bugs' to be the softest he's felt. As Bugs starts bragging about getting his suits from "the same tailor as the Duke of Windsor
," Daffy just states he's not interested in any "sales pish." Daffy then refuses to give Bugs a sporting chance and threatens to shoot him in the neck, but Bugs kisses him, plugs up his gun with his carrot and runs away. Daffy tries to shoot Bugs, but the gun expands from the carrot and as Daffy tries to dislodge the carrot, the gun explodes in his face.
Later, Daffy ignores a sign warning him there are hibernating animals, vowing that Bugs will be the only animal that's not going to get any sleep this winter. No sooner does he say that than he comes across an alarm clock, that rings and wakes up another hibernating bear. Thinking Daffy to be responsible for the rude awakening, the bear chases him straight into a cave where Bugs directs them. Bugs then seals up the cave entrance with a boulder, leaving the bear to pummel Daffy, who finally exits the cave looking a little worse for the wear.
Further on, Bugs has come across a sign warning him that he's in avalanche territory just as Daffy comes running up. Bugs manages to inform him of where they are and instructs him to follow on tiptoe. Daffy obliges and, after a few seconds, asks Bugs if it's safe to talk. Bugs pretends he didn't hear, prompting Daffy to ask again in his loudest whisper. When Bugs again pretends not to hear, Daffy gets mad enough to simply shout his question, causing snow to fall all over him. Bugs informs him that it wasn't safe then and Daffy thanks him by shouting again and getting more snow in the face.
Back at his hole, Bugs goes down for a rest just as Daffy comes up with dynamite. As Daffy trails out the wire, Bugs moves the hole so that he secretly places the dynamite next to Daffy, just as Daffy prepares a detonator. After the dynamite explodes on Daffy, Daffy states how he's going to cry.
Bugs manages to take refuge in a tree, forcing Daffy to put firewood around the stump in an attempt to smoke him out, but the fire melts the snow on the tree, causing it to fall on Daffy and freeze him in an ice statue. Bugs takes this event to make his getaway, but Daffy manages to free himself and get blasted by his own gun while trying to free it from the ice statue ("Who's side are you on?"). Using skis, Daffy pursues Bugs to the lake, firing his gun as he goes. Inspired by a guy's action in a toothpaste ad, Bugs creates an "invisible shield" by throwing out a bucket of water, which freezes into a shield, which Daffy crashes into.
Up a hill, Daffy drops a pebble that rolls into a giant snowball, in the hopes it will engulf Bugs. The snowball misses Bugs by a few inches, but engulfs three hibernating bears in a cave and falls out the other end of the cave. After a brief boulder catapult gag, similar to those from the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
cartoons, the snowball lands on Daffy, who runs up a tree just as the angry bears threaten to massacre him.
Later that night, Bugs decides to turn in for winter hibernation and bids Daffy and the bears goodnight. Daffy, now looking blue from the cold and worse for the wear from an unseen fight with the bears (that might've taken place during the blackout between this scene and the snowball gag), simply curses over the mess he's gotten himself into while still clinging to the treetop.
1964 in film
The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
theatrical cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
starring Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
and Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
. This cartoon short is directed by Phil Monroe and co-directed by Maurice Noble
Maurice Noble
Maurice Noble was an American animation background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate of animation director Chuck Jones, most notably at Warner Bros. in the 1950s...
, with a story by John Dunn
John Dunn
John Dunn may refer to:*John Dunn , English professional footballer for Aston Villa and Charlton Athletic*Jack Dunn , minor league baseball owner and manager*Jack Dunn , British figure skater...
. This was the last Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon featuring Bugs and Daffy together until Box Office Bunny
Box Office Bunny
Box–Office Bunny, released in 1990, is a 4-minute Looney Tunes short starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It was shown in theaters with The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. This was Warner Brother's first Bugs Bunny theatrical release since 1964. It was issued to commemorate...
in 1990, and the last that Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
worked on, though he was fired at an early stage of production and replaced by Monroe (by the time it was released, Jones had already produced two cartoons at his new studio, Sib-Tower 12).
Clips from this cartoon were used and commentated on by John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
and Pat Summerall
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...
as the second quarter of the 2001 Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
special The Big Game XXIX: Bugs Vs. Daffy.
Summary
At a trading postTrading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
up in the Klondike
Klondike
-Canada:* Klondike, Yukon, a region in the Yukon** Klondike River, in the Yukon** Klondike Gold Rush, in the Yukon-United States:* Klondike, Maryland* Klondike, Texas* Klondike, Louisville, Kentucky* Klondike, Kenosha County, Wisconsin...
, many fur trappers have come in to trade in their furs for big bucks after a successful fur trapping season. When Daffy Duck sees Garcon, the manager of the trading post, giving money to the last fur trapper, he checks in to ask if trading in furs for money is true. Garcon answers it's true, but Daffy decides to go out and trap some fur for money, just as Garcon warns him that fur trapping season is over due to the approaching winter.
Scoffing at the idea of winter, Daffy vows to catch a fur just as winter sets in just as suddenly. Bugs Bunny makes a snow rabbit, telling us it'll fool Daffy for awhile while he makes his getaway. Daffy comes up to the snow rabbit and warns him not to move or be pulverized. When the coal nose of the snow rabbit falls off, Daffy takes that as movement and proceeds to whack the snow rabbit to pieces until he hits a hibernating bear, whom the snow rabbit was built over. Angry at having his hibernation disturbed, the bear claws Daffy, who runs off thinking the bear missed until he falls to pieces.
Just as Bugs is tutting off Daffy's misfortune, Daffy catches up and pokes his rifle at him. When Bugs asks Daffy if he's got some antipathy towards him, Daffy states he's only after the fur, of which he finds Bugs' to be the softest he's felt. As Bugs starts bragging about getting his suits from "the same tailor as the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
," Daffy just states he's not interested in any "sales pish." Daffy then refuses to give Bugs a sporting chance and threatens to shoot him in the neck, but Bugs kisses him, plugs up his gun with his carrot and runs away. Daffy tries to shoot Bugs, but the gun expands from the carrot and as Daffy tries to dislodge the carrot, the gun explodes in his face.
Later, Daffy ignores a sign warning him there are hibernating animals, vowing that Bugs will be the only animal that's not going to get any sleep this winter. No sooner does he say that than he comes across an alarm clock, that rings and wakes up another hibernating bear. Thinking Daffy to be responsible for the rude awakening, the bear chases him straight into a cave where Bugs directs them. Bugs then seals up the cave entrance with a boulder, leaving the bear to pummel Daffy, who finally exits the cave looking a little worse for the wear.
Further on, Bugs has come across a sign warning him that he's in avalanche territory just as Daffy comes running up. Bugs manages to inform him of where they are and instructs him to follow on tiptoe. Daffy obliges and, after a few seconds, asks Bugs if it's safe to talk. Bugs pretends he didn't hear, prompting Daffy to ask again in his loudest whisper. When Bugs again pretends not to hear, Daffy gets mad enough to simply shout his question, causing snow to fall all over him. Bugs informs him that it wasn't safe then and Daffy thanks him by shouting again and getting more snow in the face.
Back at his hole, Bugs goes down for a rest just as Daffy comes up with dynamite. As Daffy trails out the wire, Bugs moves the hole so that he secretly places the dynamite next to Daffy, just as Daffy prepares a detonator. After the dynamite explodes on Daffy, Daffy states how he's going to cry.
Bugs manages to take refuge in a tree, forcing Daffy to put firewood around the stump in an attempt to smoke him out, but the fire melts the snow on the tree, causing it to fall on Daffy and freeze him in an ice statue. Bugs takes this event to make his getaway, but Daffy manages to free himself and get blasted by his own gun while trying to free it from the ice statue ("Who's side are you on?"). Using skis, Daffy pursues Bugs to the lake, firing his gun as he goes. Inspired by a guy's action in a toothpaste ad, Bugs creates an "invisible shield" by throwing out a bucket of water, which freezes into a shield, which Daffy crashes into.
Up a hill, Daffy drops a pebble that rolls into a giant snowball, in the hopes it will engulf Bugs. The snowball misses Bugs by a few inches, but engulfs three hibernating bears in a cave and falls out the other end of the cave. After a brief boulder catapult gag, similar to those from the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
cartoons, the snowball lands on Daffy, who runs up a tree just as the angry bears threaten to massacre him.
Later that night, Bugs decides to turn in for winter hibernation and bids Daffy and the bears goodnight. Daffy, now looking blue from the cold and worse for the wear from an unseen fight with the bears (that might've taken place during the blackout between this scene and the snowball gag), simply curses over the mess he's gotten himself into while still clinging to the treetop.
Availability
"The Iceman Ducketh" is available, uncensored and uncut, on the Looney Tunes Superstars DVD. However, it was cropped to widescreen.Censorship
- On the FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
version of The Merrie Melodies Show, the syndicated version of The Merrie Melodies Show, and the version shown on the now defunct WBThe WB Television NetworkThe WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
, two parts were cut:- Daffy pulling Bugs' carrot from the gun barrel after Bugs plugs it, along with Daffy getting shot and saying sarcastically, "Oooh, I LOVE him!".
- The part after Daffy gets turned into an ice statue where Daffy climbs out of the statue, tugs on the gun that's still in there, and gets shot.
- While Fox ended the scene with Daffy stuck in his own ice sculpture after Bugs' line "See you after the spring thaw, pal!" (while Daffy was still stuck in his own ice sculpture), the syndicated "Merrie Melodies" show and The WB! ended the scene after Daffy gets out of his own ice sculpture and says "We'll see who gets the last laugh around here!" right before he tugs on the gun.
External Links
- The Iceman Ducketh at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...