1944 film
Plane Daffy is a 1944 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin.[1] The cartoon was released on September 16, 1944, and stars Daffy Duck.[2]
The cartoon is a World War II propaganda short that depicts Daffy as a messenger battling a female Nazi spy and eventually being confronted with Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring. This is the first Looney Tunes short in which Leon Schlesinger did not participate.
Plot
A company of carrier pigeons falls prey to the seductive charms of "Queen of the Spies," Hatta Mari, with Pigeon 13 succumbing to her allure after being slipped a mickey and revealing secrets. Later, Daffy Duck, a self-proclaimed woman-hater, volunteers for the next mission and faces Hatta's attempts at seduction.
Despite being electrocuted by her kisses, Daffy resists, leading to a frenetic battle where he swallows his secret message. Hatta Mari broadcasts the message, only to find it trivial, leading to a humorous demise for Hitler, Goebbels, and Göring.
Reception
Animation historian Martin Goodman writes, "What sets this short apart is the burgeoning sense that Tashlin was beginning to incorporate cinematic structure and technique to his animated cartoons. The short opens with grim narration superimposed over a down shot of stoic military carrier pigeons poring over a map; the lighting effects are dramatic, and clouds of cigarette smoke rise steadily above the birds. Later in the film, Daffy opens a sequence of doors trying to escape Hatta Mari. She is behind everyone, holding an increasingly large weapon, and each time the perspective is different as Tashlin experiments with camera angles... The combination of imaginative approach, aggressive sexuality, and wartime élan make Plane Daffy one of Warner's best wartime efforts."[3]
