User Reviews

. . . it's all a matter of whose Ford's being gored. "Patriotic" Daffy's floored by a letter from his Draft Board. Daffy's a Sunshine Tea Partier, but finds that the Board's letter carrier will literally follow him to Hell and back to poop on Daffy's Parade. Since Daffy lacks a Manly Bone in his body, this proves that a Rolling Stone gathers no Sisyphus. Foghorn Leghorn's not around to help Daffy chicken out of his Civic Duty, and the incoherent nature of Daffy's cowardice prevents him from having a shot of becoming the second Conscientious Objector to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. (That would require him to leave his living room, and more.) Though Daffy's Terroristic Attacks against the apparatus of the American Military Personnel Replacement Bureau foreshadow recent events of the 21st Century, Daffy marches with an insane clown posse of different drummers. Someone once wrote that no man is an island, so ask not for whom the bell tolls if it's sounding a tsunami warning. DRAFTEE DAFFY says that's no excuse for expecting a Duck to do a Man's job.

Bob Clampett's 'Draftee Daffy' is a remarkable cartoon in many respects. Of course, there is its extraordinary energy, phenomenal facial expressions, a great voice characterisation from Mel Blanc. But most of all, 'Draftee Daffy' is incredible because it is a wartime cartoon which acknowledges the horror of being called up to serve your country. Daffy starts the cartoon as a flag-waving patriot singing the praises of the American troops fighting fascism. When he receives a call saying that the man from the draft board is coming to see him, however, Daffy's demeanour changes and he falls apart at the prospect of going to war himself. He spends the rest of the cartoon frantically trying to avoid receiving his call-up papers. Only Daffy Duck could have gotten away with such flagrantly unpatriotic behaviour during wartime and still have the audience root for him. While nearly every film, animated or live action, was depicting Americans as willing and eager to serve their country, 'Draftee Daffy' acknowledges the horror of what lay in wait for draftees and the terror they must have felt. Clampett emphasises this by Daffy's absolute insanity at the prospect of being sent to the hellish battlefields, to the extent that he's willing to commit murder and is actually relieved when he finds himself in hell at the end of the cartoon, assuming that at least he is safe from the trenches. In many ways, 'Draftee Daffy' is a deadly serious cartoon about real people's fear of being drafted into the madness of war and this adds a pleasingly dark edge to what is otherwise an absolutely hilarious short. Daffy's wild bids for freedom are animated to perfection as he literally becomes a blur in his attempts to escape the eerily calm man from the draft board. 'Draftee Daffy' is one of my favourite cartoons of all time. Not only is it massively entertaining to watch, it is also loaded with subtext and historical significance which make it a genuine landmark film.

One of the greatest 1940's "wartime" cartoons of all time! This cartoon is a little underrated, this is up there with "Duck Amuck" & "The great piggy bank robbery" as one of the all-time great daffy duck cartoons. This cartoon is laugh out loud hilarious but it also has a lot of depth to it. During a time where generally every cartoon, newspaper, movie & magazine was incredibly patriotic about World War 2, cartoonist Bob Clampett was ahead of his time by using daffy duck as a precursor to all future draft dodgers. I think Bob was projecting his own fears about being drafted into daffy. This is a real novelty when seeing all the other pro war cartoons at the time. Other cartoonist showed daffy as a willing fighter in the war, Frank Tashlin made some great cartoons with daffy as a WW2 fighter like in "Plane daffy". But everyone would have to agree Daffy's true nature is not as a brave fighter in the war, but as a selfish coward who would avoid going to war at all cost! This is why Bob is rightfully credited for creating daffy duck, because he saw daffy's true self. While there's plenty of gags, it's the subtext that makes this really funny, because I(and many others I'm sure) understand that frightful feeling of being drafted! If I was a cartoon character I would act the same way as daffy. But it's really amazing to watch the fantastic animation in here! Daffy never looked better, he's so lively and full of emotion, people should study this to see how to animate emotion. I love the opening gag with daffy as patriotic until he gets drafted! Bob also takes from his mentor Tex Avery by using his Droopy gag, with the draft man mysteriously appearing every where. There's so much to love in this cartoon, the visuals of daffy's manic running, the wimpy look of the draft man, I like how he's referred to as "the little man from the draft board", Daffy attempting to kill the little man from the draft board, how objects appear out of no where in his house, Daffy going to hell at the end, Mel Blanc's voice, Starling's music and the pure zany energy. This proves Bob is one of the greatest animators of his time. One of my favorite cartoons ever, Daffy duck is a hero for draft dodgers everywhere!

I would like to begin this commentary by stating that I firmly believe "Draftee Daffy" is one of the greatest Daffy Duck cartoons ever made! Directed by Bob Clampett, this film is full of FAST-PACED ENERGY from beginning to end, and it doesn't let up for even a minute! Whew! The plot? Loyal American Daffy is not enthusiastic about being inducted into military service by the draft board. And that's putting it mildly!

My favorite scenes from "Draftee Daffy": I love the entire opening sequence when Daffy gives an enthusiastic cheer for the U.S. Army. He then sings snippets of "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean", "Yankee Doodle", and the unpatriotic "If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight", as well as performing a brilliant caricature of Teddy Roosevelt. THEN watch Daffy's reaction after receiving a phone call informing him he's been selected for the draft. I also really like how Daffy turns into a devil and chuckles after he locks the draft board messenger in a safe.

Oh BOY, is "Draftee Daffy" ever a joy to watch! One might actually get pooped out witnessing all that frenetic energy. Or is it KINETIC energy? Anyhow, the cartoon is great! That guy from the draft board certainly looks like a dope, but man, he sure gets around.