Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island

Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies (Daffy Duck) compilation series
Poster
Directed by Friz Freleng
Chuck Jones
Phil Monroe
Robert McKimson
Produced by Friz Freleng
Hal Geer
Jean MacCurdy
Story by John Dunn
Dave Detiege
Friz Freleng
Voices by Mel Blanc
June Foray
Les Tremayne
Music by Rob Walsh
Carl Stalling (musical director: classic cartoons)
Milt Franklyn (musical director/orchestrator: classic cartoons)
Eugene Poddany (music score composer: classic cartoons)
William Lava (musical director: classic cartoons)
Animation by Brenda Banks
Warren Batchelder
Bob Bransford
Brad Case
Terry Lennon
Bob Matz
Norman McCabe
Sam Nicholson
Derry Ray
Layouts by Bob Givens
Michael Mitchell
Backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas
Studio Warner Bros. Animation
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) August 5, 1983
Color process Color
Running time 78 min
Language English
Preceded by Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
Followed by Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (also known as Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island) is a 1983 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. cartoon shorts and animated bridging sequences, hosted by Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. This was the first Looney Tunes compilation film to center on Daffy Duck, as the previous ones had centered on Bugs Bunny.

A note in the end credits dedicates the film to animator and story man, John Dunn, "who inspired it."[1] Dunn died of heart failure in San Fernando, California on January 17, 1983; six months before the film's release.

Plot

The premise of the framing animation was a general parody of the popular 1970s/1980s television series Fantasy Island, with Daffy and Speedy playing caricatures of that series' principal characters, Mr. Roarke and Tattoo (respectively). They even wear the white suits worn on that show by Mr. Roarke and Tattoo.

The pair, stranded on a desert island for months with nothing on it but a coconut tree (and Daffy sick and tired of eating coconuts), discover a treasure map which leads them to a magical, talking wishing well (voiced by Les Tremayne). The greedy Daffy proposes to use the power of the well, which obeys the commands of whoever holds the map, to make himself and Speedy rich by selling wishes for a hefty fee, and has the well transform the island into a tourist paradise. (This showcases the modern Daffy's short-sightedness along with his greed, as he could have easily used the well himself to wish for all the wealth he desired). As various Looney Tunes characters step up for their chance at the well, their wishes are fulfilled through the events of a classic Looney Tunes cartoon.

Meanwhile, Yosemite Sam, cast as a pirate, and his first mate, the Tasmanian Devil, search for the map, which originally belonged to them (they had earlier lost their ship in a battle with Bugs Bunny). They eventually find out that Daffy took it (the two pirates had a single black feather for a clue). Eventually, the map is lost to all after a chase leading up a volcano, and Daffy, Speedy, Sam, and Taz end up trapped on the once-again-deserted island. The well gives them three wishes individually, but warns them to use them wisely for they are the last wishes it will ever grant. After Daffy and Speedy waste their wishes -Speedy wishing for a burrito, then Daffy angrily responding by wishing the burrito was stuck on the end of Speedy's nose (an obvious reference to The Ridiculous Wishes)- Daffy asks Sam to wish the burrito off Speedy's nose, but discovers that Sam already wished for a ship, abandoning Daffy and telling them after he sinks Bugs, he'll come back and pick the pair up. Daffy (now furious) then shouts his catchphrase at Sam and Taz. The film concludes with the wishing well doing the famed "That's all, folks!" sign-off.

Classic cartoons in order

The following includes the Well's descriptions of each cartoon (except for the first one) in relation to that character's wish. Some cartoons are abridged.

  • Captain Hareblower (Pirate Sam vs. Bugs Bunny)
  • Stupor Duck (Daffy's wish): The Well: "Your fondest wish, your fondest dream. I'll make you Super Duck Supreme!"
  • Greedy for Tweety (Granny's wish, slightly extended): The Well: "Your wish shall be granted. Gaze into me and see. The next time that you see yourself, a nurse is what you'll be."
  • Banty Raids (Foghorn's wish, shortened): The Well: "I am here to grant your wish; the Spirit of the Well. I will knock the cockiness out of that little cockerel!" After this one, Foghorn, believing he was hornswoggled, demands a refund, but gets another penny.
  • Louvre Come Back to Me! (Pepé Le Pew's wish, shortened): The Well: "I grant your wish to meet a girl of beauty unsurpassed, which, when compared with works of art, will leave the Louvre outclassed."
  • Tree for Two (Spike and Chester's wish): The Well: "If that's his wish, and yours alike, I'll make Chester brave and strong, like Spike."
  • Curtain Razor (Porky Pig's wish, shortened): The Well: "Discovering new talent for the world to see; a wondrous thing for a producer to be..."
  • A Mouse Divided (Sylvester's wife's wish, the opening with the drunken stork is omitted and the ending was changed to occur on the island): Sylvester's wife: "Wishing Well. Oh, Wishing Well, you I do entreat. I wish our house would resound to... the patter of little feet." The Well: "I hear your wish and I obey. The patter of little feet you shall hear this day." (Sylvester's wife's wish is included in the description because she, like the Well, speaks it in rhyme.)
  • Of Rice and Hen & Lovelorn Leghorn (Prissy's wish, with the opening of the former and the plot of the latter): The Well: "Your mind is such a simple thing, your wish I can foretell: you're wishing for a husband, and the ring of a wedding bell?"
  • From Hare to Heir (Pirate Sam's wish, final wish to show a classic Looney Tunes cartoon): The Well: "A very rich relative in poor health doth will to you his entire wealth."

Merchandise

In 1981, a puzzle showing 105 Looney Tunes characters was issued. Among the characters there are three that never appeared in animation, identified as Hoppy, Hysterical Hyram and Minniesoda Fats. In one scene in Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island Hoppy and Hysterical Hyram are seen waiting for their chance to make their dreams come true (along with two other unidentified characters, namely a white dog and a small mouse with a hat). It is their only known appearance in animation.[2]

See also

Availability

The movie is available as a download from the iTunes Store. In 2011, it was made available on Netflix. It was later released exclusively through Wal-Mart on August 12, 2014. After many years of waiting, the movie was finally released on DVD by Warner Home Video on November 18, 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Crazy Credits
  2. ↑ The Forgotten Toons
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