''Daffy Duck's Quackbusters'' is a 1988 animated

compilation film A compilation film, or compilation movie is a film composed of scenes and shots taken from two or more prior films or television programs and edited together so as to make a new film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common e ...

featuring classic Warner Bros. Cartoons shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

. The film was released to theaters by Warner Bros. on September 24, 1988. It was the final theatrical production in which

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

provided the voices of the various ''Looney Tunes'' characters before his death in July 1989. Unlike previous compilation films, ''Quackbusters'' uses pre-existing music from older ''Looney Tunes'' shorts composed by Carl Stalling, Milt Franklyn and William Lava for both the new animation and classic footage. It was also one of the two compilation films of classic

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

cartoon shorts not composed by Robert J. Walsh (the other being 1979's '' The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie'', which was composed by Dean Elliott). Similar to '' The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie'', which was preceded with the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning '' Knighty Knight Bugs'' (1958), ''Quackbusters'' is preceded with the exclusive short '' The Night of the Living Duck'' (1988). This film is inspired by ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

''. Most of the films included in the compilation have a

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

theme, with stories involving

spirit possession Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by Supernatural#Spirit, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or Deity, gods. The concept ...

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

magic word Magic words are phrases used in fantasy fiction or by Magic (illusion), stage magicians. Frequently such words are presented as being part of a Divine language, divine, Adamic language, adamic, or other Twilight language, secret or Language of t ...

s, and

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

s. This was the only ''Looney Tunes'' compilation film to be aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

in the early 1990s. It later aired on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

Plot

Salesman Daffy tries to make a pitch to reclusive millionaire and "ailing buzzsaw baron" J.P. Cubish – a dog who has offered wealth to anyone who can make him laugh before he passes on. Daffy becomes his jester, taking uncounted pies in the face while Cubish laughs. After Cubish "dies laughing", Daffy inherits his fortune. The money is locked in a safe, under the provision that it will be used to provide a beneficial public service and Daffy follow Cubish's creed to display honesty in business affairs. If the now-wealthy Daffy does not comply with the will's terms, the ghost of Cubish will reclaim the fortune. The irked Daffy vows to use the money to wipe out ghosts such as Cubish. Setting himself up as a "Paranormalist at Large", Daffy persuades

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

to appear in commercials and hires

Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...

(accompanied by

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

) as an underling; Cubish makes money from the safe vanish whenever Daffy seems to do or say something dishonest. Meanwhile, Sylvester is continually chased by a monstrous version of

Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...

and develops paranoia in front of Daffy and Porky. Daffy assigns Porky to investigate the resort town of Dry Gulch for any suspicious ghost activity. Porky is accompanied by Sylvester, who defends his owner from the hotel's killer mice. Meanwhile, Daffy exorcises three ghosts possessing Melissa Duck. After being chased back to his office by them, Daffy discovers that Cubish has stripped his money down to his last million. Daffy reassigns Porky to the

Superstition Mountains The Superstition Mountains () is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination for residents of the ...

, much to Sylvester's chagrin. After receiving a call from

, Daffy assigns Bugs to investigate. Bugs encounters Count Blood Count and defeats him in a duel of magic words, but Daffy is displeased to hear from him about "getting two couples together". After receiving a call from the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, Daffy phones up Bugs again, and together they go up against Hugo the Abominable Snowman. When the city is swept with reports of a tiny elephant, Daffy, presuming this to be mere hysteria, hopes to profit by soothing the public with his "expert" testimony. However, no sooner does he announce to the audience that there is no such thing as a tiny elephant when it turns up on Daffy's television interview, rendering him a public laughing stock. Daffy decides to blame someone else for the debacle and absent-mindedly remarks that there was "nothing wrong with a little dishonesty in business affairs." This proves to be Daffy's undoing however, as upon realizing of what he said, Daffy discovers that the safe is now completely empty except for a few cobwebs and a sign reminding Daffy “you lose, duck!”. Then

Egghead In U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. A similar ...

appears with a singing telegram, announcing to Daffy that due to unpaid rent, he is being dispossessed. After the repo crew takes away his desks, the building is condemned and destroyed, with Daffy still inside. In the epilogue, Bugs enjoys his vacation in Palm Springs and reads about Daffy's downfall, while Porky and Sylvester are stranded in the Superstition Mountains and Cubish is still dead with his gravestone shown. Meanwhile, Daffy becomes a salesman again, this time selling paranormal-themed trinkets. However, when he earns a dollar bill, it instantly vanishes. Daffy angrily shakes his fist at the sky and screams "Cubish!".

Film segments in order

Several cartoons are re-edited either for time, to connect with the plot, or have redubbed lines. * '' The Night of the Living Duck'' – This cartoon is an exclusive to the film. * '' Daffy Dilly'' (1948) (used at beginning when Daffy tries to get to Cubish; with the report on Cubish now shown on TV; this short is used as one of the central elements in the film) * '' The Prize Pest'' (1951) (used when Daffy recruits Porky; shortened starting from when Daffy warns Porky of his "split personality", cutting to before Porky hides in a closet and ending after Porky accidentally scares himself) * '' Water, Water Every Hare'' (1952) (used progressively for the Paranormalists at Large commercials) * ''

Hyde and Go Tweet ''Hyde and Go Tweet'' is a 1960 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' animated short directed by Friz Freleng. All of the voices were performed by Mel Blanc. The short was released on May 14, 1960, and stars Tweety and Sylvester. The short is th ...

'' (1960) (Sylvester encounters Tweety, who changes into a monster without him realizing it, which leads to his paranoia; edited with new animation showing that Sylvester had gone into Daffy's office) * '' Claws for Alarm'' (1954) (Porky and Sylvester's Dry Gulch assignment, with Porky's lines up to when they arrive at the hotel redubbed) * ''The Duxorcist'' (Daffy's first assignment, where he ends up getting temporarily possessed) This is another exclusive short to the film. It was previously released theatrically with '' Nuts'' the previous year, and was shown as an individual short years later. * '' Transylvania 6-5000'' (1963) (Bugs' Transylvania assignment; the short's opening credits have been removed, most of Bugs' lines are redubbed to reflect the film's plot and the ending where Bugs' ears turn into bat wings and Bugs flies away was cut and replaced with Bugs calling Daffy) * '' The Abominable Snow Rabbit'' (1961) (Bugs and Daffy's Himalayas assignment; the opening is altered to reflect the plot) * '' Punch Trunk'' (1953) (a miniature elephant wanders through town, having many encounters with various people; the cartoon was heavily shortened with the bird bath scene edited to reflect the plot. In the credits, the title was mistakenly read as "Punch Truck".) * '' Jumpin' Jupiter'' (1955) (seen in epilogue, identified as the Superstition Mountains)

Voice Cast

(archive),

(archive), Hugo the Abominable Snowman (archive), J.P. Cubish, J.P. Cubish's Butler (archive),

Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Jekyll and his alter ego Mr. Edward Hyde are the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. In the story, Dr. Jekyll is a good friend of main protagonist Gabriel John Utterso ...

(archive), Birdbath Owner (archive), Asylum Collector (archive), Coyote (archive), Drunk (archive) *

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

as Daffy Duck (singing voice) * Ben Frommer as Count Bloodcount (archive) * B.J. Ward as Melissa Duck * Roy Firestone as Announcer *

Julie Bennett Julie Bennett (January 24, 1932 – March 31, 2020) was an American actress. Early years Bennett was born in Manhattan, New York, on January 24, 1932. By the time she was 18, she had been living in Hollywood, Los Angeles for so long that she was ...

as Agatha and Emily the Two-Headed Vulture (archive) * Mark Kausler as Egghead"Animation Anecdotes #195"
Retrieved 2018-11-04.

Home media

The film was released on VHS on July 19, 1989 (just nine days after Mel Blanc's death), and later on DVD in the United States on August 4, 2009, by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

. Three bonus cartoons are included as extras in the DVD release: '' Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century'', ''Superior Duck'' and ''Little Go Beep''. It was later released in the UK on July 5, 2021, with the same bonus shorts. It is also available on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. ''The Duxorcist'' saw an individual release as part of the ''Looney Tunes Parodies Collection'' on February 4, 2020.

References

Notes

External links

* * {{Navboxes , title = ''Daffy Duck's Quackbusters'' , list1 = {{Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies {{Daffy Duck in animation {{Porky Pig in animation {{Sylvester the Cat in animation {{Bugs Bunny in animation {{Tweety in animation {{Warner Bros. animation and comics {{Warner Bros. theatrical animated features {{Ghostbusters 1988 films 1988 children's films 1988 American animated films 1988 comedy horror films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1980s ghost films American animated horror films American anthology films American children's animated fantasy films American ghost films American monster movies Children's horror films Compilation films Warner Bros. animated films 1980s English-language films Animated films based on Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Fictional paranormal investigators Films about businesspeople Films about exorcism Films about inheritances Animated films about mice Bugs Bunny films Daffy Duck films Porky Pig films Sylvester the Cat films Tweety films Films set in abandoned houses Animated films set in hotels Animated films set in Arizona Films set in Palm Springs, California Animated films set in Transylvania Looney Tunes films Animated films about vampires Warner Bros. Animation films Animated films about Yeti Films scored by Carl Stalling Films scored by Milt Franklyn Films scored by William Lava 1980s children's animated films 1988 comedy films Animated anthology films Films with screenplays by Michael Maltese Films about salespeople American vampire films Ghostbusters Films directed by Greg Ford Animated films set in California Animated films set in the United States English-language comedy horror films English-language fantasy comedy films