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Duck Amuck (1953)

If you know anything about Looney Tunes, you might have heard about Duck Amuck. Most people remember Duck Amuck, a serious contendor for "most essential Looney Tunes skit." Unlike most Looney Tunes that tackled the same vein as an average sitcom, Duck Amuck was something entirely different. Daffy Duck acts as the stooge for a mysterious hand painting and drawing different kinds of turmoil for the poor unfortunate black-feathered soul who just wants to make another short film.

From the first part of the segments, it may feel like just a running gag of reinventions of scenery to annoy Daffy. Then the real torture begins. Going beyond the points of slapstick, this surrealist "misadventure" on paper picks fun at the filming of a simple movie while maintaining an absolute high on the absurdity of a cartoon or a slapstick.

The thing that interests me (and entertains me) the most about Duck Amuck is its ability to shift from one "setting" to another without losing a grip on what the skit was going for. The plotline of the movie: annoying Daffy, works well for any setting you paint him in. But I suppose at the same time, one shouldn't pay attention to that if it's a surrealist movie.

I've seen a lot of old cartoons on Boomerang and just around, like Mickey, Flintstones, Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry, and especially Looney Tunes. Looney Tunes was always my favorite of the oldies. But I've never seen another Duck Amuck until the thematic sequel with Bugs Bunny. And that, while funny, wasn't Duck Amuck. This is proably the best short subject movie I've ever seen.