The Stupid Cupid

The Stupid Cupid
Looney Tunes (Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd) series
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Produced by Edward Selzer (uncredited)
Story by Warren Foster
Voices by Mel Blanc, Frank Graham
Music by Carl Stalling
Animation by Arthur Davis
I. Ellis (uncredited)
Cal Dalton (uncredited)
Richard Bickenbach (uncredited)
Layouts by David Hilberman
Backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas
Studio Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date(s) November 25, 1944[1]
Color process Technicolor
Running time 6 minutes
Language English

The Stupid Cupid is a short Looney Tunes animated cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin and released in 1944.

Plot

Elmer Fudd plays a cupid (still wearing his trademark hat) shooting arrows at male animals so they fall in love with the next female they see, even if of a different species (e.g., a dog falls in love with a cat he's chasing, making the cat commit suicide). He tries to shoot Daffy Duck while bathing in a water trough. Daffy complains of the last time he was shot, which ended with him being forced into marriage and the father of many ducklings (including Siamese Twins), producing photos of them. Daffy stuffs Elmer into his own hat and shoots him away with his own bow.

Determined not to give up, Elmer shoots a giant arrow to Daffy, crashing through several henhouses and Daffy falls in love with a married hen. Her rooster husband furiously confronts Daffy. The duck declares it a mishap, claiming to be a family man himself (briefly appearing with a jalopy full of the previously mentioned ducklings). The rooster lets Daffy go, but Elmer shoots him yet again, starting the whole process over again.

Notes

Voice acting

Elmer is ordinarily voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan, but since the character has no dialogue in this cartoon, Mel Blanc was told to go ahead and imitate Bryan's Elmer laugh. However, Blanc did not like to imitate, thinking that it was stealing a voice from another actor.[2]

Lost ending

When this cartoon was reissued, a blue ribbon title card appeared in the credits and an ending scene is believed to have been removed. Theories speculate the cartoon originally had the special ending theme before the Blue Ribbon reissue rather than a fade out. This can only be proven with an original print.[3]

According to historian Greg Ford, the original ending involved Daffy saying "If you haven't tried it, don't knock it."[4]

Availability

References

  1. ↑ McCall, Douglas L. (1998). Film Cartoons: A Guide to 20th Century American Animated Features and Shorts. McFarland. p. 203. ISBN 9780786405848.
  2. ↑ Michael Barrier. Audio commentary for The Scarlet Pumpernickel on disc two of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1.
  3. ↑ Javier Vera (2002). "Iris Out Variations". Archived from the original on February 26, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ "The CENSORED Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide". Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
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