The Daffy Doc

“I gotta find a patient.”

 Supervision by Robert Clampett; Animation by John Carey and Vive Risto; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. Released in 1938 Supervision by Robert Clampett; Animation by John Carey and Vive Risto; Musical Direction by Carl W. Stalling. Released in 1938

When this short begins we see two ducks on their way to a hospital. I only bring this up because they’re wearing pants! Ducks in pants! They don’t wear pants! That’s one of the unspoken rules of cartoons! Okay, okay. I’m calm now. Inside the hospital, (Which above the entrance has one of the best puns ever, “As we sew, so shall we rip.” Genius!) There is a surgery underway by Dr. Quack and his assistant, Daffy. (He is also a quack) Daffy in this short has eyes very similar to the first Woody Woodpecker and he’s been practicing his ventriloquy as there are several times he talks and his beak clearly doesn’t move. The doctor wants it quiet enough to hear a pin drop. (Which thanks to Daffy checking, we can confirm it is. But not for long.) He hands the doctor his tools but soon starts acting like his daffy self we know and love. Throwing the tools everywhere, and using the oxygen bag as a punching bag. He is thrown out and he lands in an artificial lung, which causes his body to inflate and deflate constantly. Believe it or not, people have taken offense to that. Why? Because some people NEED artificial lungs. (Pathetic) Daffy is angered and vows to show that he is as competent as any doctor. All he needs to prove it is a patient. He grabs a mallet and begins his search. (I love his methods.) Meanwhile, Dr. Quack is pointing out that his operation is too serious for any wackiness. He’s stitching a football. (Hey! That’s insensitive. Some people NEED stitches!) Back with Daffy, he has found a perfect patient: Porky. He knocks him out and carries him to his room. Daffy is clearly not the best doc. His thermometer is just a lollypop. (Labled in case you didn’t get it.) He smacks himself with his mallet which causes him to vibrate so he can consult with his ghostly selves. They agree that an operation is the only solution and he prepares to carve Porky open. (This seems to happen to the poor guy whenever he is near a hospital.) Porky runs for it, but in the resulting chase, the two of them fall into that lung again, and once more inflate and deflate.

Personal Rating: 3