“Brother, could I use 5,000 sthmackereenies!”
Directed by Charles M. Jones; Story by Tedd Pierce; Animation by Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Ben Washam, and Lloyd Vaughan; Layourts by Robert Gribborek; Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado; Voice Characterization by Mel Blanc; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. Released in 1948
Daffy is at a Poultry judging. The best rooster wins $5,000, and the best duck wins $5.00. (Sorry duck farmers, but best ducks are still just food.) Daffy is angry but figures that all he has to do is disguise himself as a chicken and he’s on the road to cash. He slips on a red rubber glove as a comb (If it’s good enough for penguins…) and then grabs some cock tail. (And by that, I mean he takes the tail feathers off of one of the cockerels there, thank you very much.) His disguise complete, Daffy goes to snooze while he waits for the judging.
Up in a tree meanwhile, a little chicken hawk is going to bed himself. His dad is reading him his favorite bedtime story, “The book with pictures of various different breeds of chickens and no words.” (I hear it’s getting a movie soon.) It’s Henery and his dad, George. For once in my blogging career I have to come up with a middle name for a character rather than a first one. His middle initial is K, so the only logical name is ‘Ketuckyfried’. Henery is just amazed at how much his dad knows about chickens. He’d love to get him one. So he heads off to the show.
Finding a sleeping Daffy, he tries to take him home for dinner. When Daffy demands an explanation, Henery tells him that he’s being taken to his dad: the greatest judge of chicken flesh. Well, Daffy wants to be judged right? He happily comes with. Once at home, he finds out the name of his would be judge: George K. (entuckyfried) Chickenhawk. (Red-tailed, that is.) In a refreshing twist, Daffy doesn’t do the ‘ole “repeat the name and then realize what’s been said. He immdiately realizes that he’s pretty much a goner. While George prepares the pot, Daffy tries to prove that he is really a duck. I don’t care which answer is right. Both are tasty.
But giving a swimming demonstration doesn’t cut it, and he can’t get his disguise off. When he tries to just flee, George grabs hold of his “comb” and when it snaps back, George now has it on. So you can’t really blame Henery for accidentally hitting his old man with a hammer in the ensuing chase. Daffy leaves and remembers that he still has a contest to win. Donning a new glove he gets to the podium with dollar signs in his eyes. But he loses to George of all birds. (Still wearing the comb.) Well, 5.00 is five bucks and Daffy strips down to try and win something. (With cent signs in his eyes.) He loses once more, this time to Henery in duck disguise.
Personal Rating: 3