The Daffy Doc (1938)

Simply Perfect

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

. . . to realize that the always prophetic Looney Tuners were cramming in loads of their mainstay Warner Bros.' warnings into THE DAFFY DOC about U.S. Presidents--THEN (1938) and NOW (2016). Warner's Animated Shorts Seers realized that Americans NEVER would KNOWINGLY stand for Commanders-in-Chief whom "paid their water bills" sitting down! That's why DAFFY DOC is packed full of wacky Iron Lung scenes, in an effort to BLOW THEIR WHISTLE against President Frank "The Wheezing Wheeler's" declining health, resulting from a bout with Iron Lung Disease (aka, polio) which left him incapable of pacing his Oval Office (but which was totally COVERED UP by a Corrupt Media). Speaking of Number One Sitters, DAFFY DOC tells you all you need to know about the coming of Crooked Hillary/Obamacare in less than seven minutes. Daffy Duck shows "Patient" Porky Pig that that promise about "keeping your own doctor" is a TOTAL LIE! Daffy actually bludgeons a perfectly healthy Porky to get the pig into a hospital bed, appointing HIMSELF as Porky's new doctor! (Warner is asking WHY any porky young American in the pink of health SHOULD BE FORCED TO PAY for medical services they do not need.) These Looney Tuners then foreshadow this week's outrageous 200% increase in Hillarycare's Premiums by having Daffy trying to take a literal arm and left off Porky in payment for unneeded and shoddy medical services! Please see THE DAFFY DOC immediately, and vote next week for someone who "drains the gecko" STANDING UP!

Daffy Duck is one of my favourite cartoon characters, so coming across The Daffy Doc on Youtube by chance I decided that with little else to do that I'd watch it. The story is on the routine and Porky's role is best described as a cameo. But the animation is fine, crisp and clean with good, if later much more refined, character designs. The music is lively and energetic with lovely orchestration. I also liked the humour very much. Some of the signs and dialogue may come across as corny and silly by today's standards, I for one found them most amusing, while the sight gags are a lot of fun with the operation and inflated lung gags absolute classics. Daffy here is terrific with a manic and witty personality that really shines. Porky is pleasant to see but he isn't really given all that much to do. Mel Blanc's voice characterisations are great, even if they'd mature later.Overall, a very enjoyable cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of the first Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig together. Daffy is as daffy as always, but porky was really a porker in those days. Apparently director Robert Clampett and Warner decided to put Porky on a diet. In "The Daffy Doc," Porky barely fits in the circle when he exclaims, "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!" "The Daffy Doc" makes it obvious that the zany surrealistic, anarchistic humor of the brilliant Marx Brothers was the inspiration for the Daffy Duck, Porky Pig cartoons, in particular, the slapstick of Harpo. Compare this cartoon with the hilarious operating scene in "A Day At The Races," released two years earlier. The doc is comparable to Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush, while Daffy and Porky fit the characters of Tony and Stuffy.By the time "The Daffy Doc" appeared on the big screen, Daffy had stolen much of Porky's popularity, hence Daffy and not Porky is actually the star of the film with Porky having only a small part near the end. It was Daffy that first introduced the Warner Brothers cartoon theme, "The Merry-go-round Broke Down," a popular song of the day with new lyrics. But, alas, fame is fleeting. The fabulous hare, Bugs Bunny, showed up the same year "The Daffy Doc" was issued.The Warner Brothers cartoon characters are by today's standards politically incorrect, since each one had some sort of speech impediment, such as Porky Pig's stuttering. This highlights the need to keep an open mind in a free society. Think of what the entertainment world would have lost had these animated creations been censored."The Daffy Doc" is filled with sight gags galore. I won't give any of them away but be sure and notice Daffy's qualifications for being a physician in order to operate on Porky, his sheepskin and his license.

Obviously, the creative process means that you don't necessarily start out perfectly. As one of Daffy Duck's earliest appearances, "The Daffy Doc" is a prime example. Daffy plays an orderly who, after some mishaps, gets thrown out of an operating room. Determined to find a patient, he enlists Porky Pig (against the latter's will). Since Daffy is quite literally a "quack", the operation involves no anesthetic.The cartoon seems a little less than what we're used to with the Looney Tunes cartoons, but it's still pretty funny. The best part is Daffy's (and later Daffy's and Porky's) unpleasant experience with the iron lung; it shows how "inflation" is more than an economic term.I wouldn't be surprised if, when people first watched this cartoon, they forgot that the country was going through a depression.