Downhearted Duckling (1954)

Don't Believe the Hype

A lot of fun.

A different way of telling a story

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

What could be funnier than depression and suicide? Almost anything, but it didn't stop Hanna Barbera from making this cartoon in which down-hearted duckling Quacker, convinced that he is ugly (having just read The Ugly Duckling), repeatedly attempts to kill himself, with Jerry narrowly intervening.After Jerry prevents Quacker from taking his own life with an axe, the duckling asks Tom if he would like to eat him, which of course he does. But Jerry isn't about to let that happen… cue hilarity as each time Tom is about to swallow Quacker, Jerry steps in to save the little bird.At the end of the tale, Quacker meets a girl duckling who tells him he is cute and together they walk off into the sunset. Problem solved.As much as I dislike Quacker as a character (he's not ugly, just irritating), having him suffer from depression and suicidal tendencies doesn't make for much fun, in my opinion. I guess that in the '50s, such issues weren't treated very seriously; thankfully, times have changed.

The story here is simple, about a little duckling with low self-esteem and Jerry makes an effort to save the day. But I liked the story's simplicity, it gave the cartoon some charm as well as the fact that Downhearted Duckling is very funny. The dialogue has a lot of delicious parts to it, and the visual gags are wonderful. Once again, the art work is beautiful, and the music is poignant and has a sense of fun. Tom doesn't have as much to do, but he is still effective. Jerry, who comes to the rescue here, is still his sweet and funny self, but it was the duckling who stole the show for me. He is adorable and I really felt for him. I also have to say I found the ending rather sweet. Overall, cute and funny, definitely worth watching for Tom and Jerry fans. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This story centers around Jerry trying to help a little yellow duckling in the latter's's area of self-esteem. The duck thinks he's ugly and that nobody loves him. He even tries to commit suicide! Jerry, of course, saves the day and does whatever he can to boost little bird.Every time he looks at his reflection it convinces him more. Of course, he's a rippling stream and a broken mirror and those images are distorting.There are some funny lines, in a very dark sort of way. For instance, the bird, who wishes he was dead, comes up to Tom, raps him on the head and asks, "Will you eat me, Mr. Pussycat?" Tom is taken aback by this so the bird says, "I'm serious." He then puts salt on top of his head so he'll taste better!It goes on from there, and the bird is hilarious in some of the ideas he has so that the cat will eat him. Tom is more than happy to oblige but each time Jerry saves the little guy at the last second.Jerry then steps up his plan to make the bird feel better about his looks, even putting hair curlers, a mud pack and a girdle on him!This is very inventive stuff - maybe some parts too dark for little kids, especially back in the 1950s, but a hoot for adults to enjoy today. There are tons of sights that will have you laughing out loud in this one!

Jerry and his annoying duckling friend just finished reading "The Ugly Dickling" and the duck has convinced himself that he really is ugly. So, since apparently there is nothing worse than being ugly, he spends most of the cartoon trying to convince Tom to eat him. Tom tries to oblige, but unfortunately, Jerry comes to the rescue again and again. I guess many love the duck, but I find him to be awfully cute and sweet--exactly what I don't want in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. I was rooting for Tom again and again. However, by the end of the film, the problem is naturally worked out to everyone's satisfaction...except poor old Tom. Better luck next time.FYI--this movie was made using cheaper artwork than the MGM films of the 40s and early 50s. It makes for a lousier looking cartoon (particularly the backgrounds), but the quality of the toons got a lot worse in subsequent decades.