Daffy Duck
![](http://static.miraheze.org/allthetropeswiki/f/fe/DaffyDuckEvolution_1847.jpg)
"Bugs is who we want to be. Daffy is who we are."
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Daffy Duck is a Looney Tunes character created by Tex Avery (although Bob Clampett contributed to Daffy's personality) in 1937. He was the first of the new breed of "screwball" characters that emerged in the late 1930s to supplant traditional everyman characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Porky Pig. Was originally The Screwball/Cloudcuckoolander, later Flanderized by Chuck Jones (and Friz Freleng, even more so) into a Jerkass Small Name, Big Ego, most famously paired with Bugs as the Odd Couple, but is also frequently set up against Porky Pig, who works as The Comically Serious and Deadpan Snarker to Daffy's hijinks. In this incarnation, used either as a foil for Bugs or to parody action-adventure heroes. Meanwhile McKimson combined the two interpretations and made Daffy into a Loveable Rogue. Later also joined Sylvester on the hunt for Speedy Gonzales. Debut: "Porky's Duck Hunt" (1937), Tex Avery.
Daffy has had the third largest amount of appearances in Looney Tunes history, next to Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny, starring in 129 theatrical cartoons.
Many of the cartoons in which Daffy has starred have been parodies of movies and radio serials, such as "Duck Dodgers", "Duck Twacy" (in The Great Piggy Bank Robbery) and "Robin Hood Daffy".
FILMOGRAPHY
1937
- Porky's Duck Hunt (LT, Avery) - Daffy's first appearance, In a "Porky Pig" cartoon. Redrawn in color, 1967.
1938
- Daffy Duck and Egghead (MM, Avery) - First entry in the "Daffy Duck" series.
- What Price Porky (LT, Clampett) - In a "Porky Pig" cartoon.
- Porky & Daffy (LT, Clampett) - In a "Porky Pig" cartoon. Redrawn in color, 1967.
- The Daffy Doc (LT, Clampett) - Redrawn in color, 1967.
- Daffy Duck in Hollywood (MM, Avery) - Last Daffy cartoon directed by Avery. A scene at the end of the cartoon is considered to be the Ur YouTube Poop, decades before the the advent of such videos.
1939
- Daffy Duck And The Dinosaur (MM, Jones) - The first Chuck Jones short to use the character. We also start to see a hint of what Daffy would later become, as he is presented as more thoughtful and calculating than he usually was in his early appearances.
- Scalp Trouble (LT, Clampett) - In a "Porky Pig" cartoon. Remade as "Slightly Daffy" in 1944; redrawn in color 1967.
- Wise Quacks (LT, Clampett) - In a "Porky Pig" cartoon.
- Naughty Neighbors (LT, Clampett) - In a "Porky Pig" cartoon, cameo. - Redrawn in color, 1967.
1940 (All cartoons co-star co-star Porky Pig.)
- Porky's Last Stand (LT, Clampett)
- You Ought to Be In Pictures (LT, Freleng) - With Porky Pig. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
1941 (All cartoons star Porky Pig.)
- A Coy Decoy (LT, Clampett) - Redrawn in color, 1967.
- The Henpecked Duck (LT, Clampett) - Redrawn in color, 1967.
1942
- Conrad the Sailor (MM, Jones) - Co-stars with Conrad the Cat.
- Daffy's Southern Exposure (LT, McCabe) - Redrawn in color, 1967.
- The Impatient Patient (LT, McCabe) - Redrawn in color, 1967.
- The Ducktators (LT, McCabe)
- The Daffy Duckaroo (LT, McCabe) - Redrawn in color, 1967.
- My Favorite Duck (LT, Jones)- In a Porky Pig cartoon. Reissued as a Merrie Melodies film.
1943
- To Duck or Not To Duck (LT, Jones) - First Daffy/Elmer pairing.
- The Wise Quacking Duck (LT, Clampett)
- Yankee Doodle Daffy (LT, Freleng)- In a Porky Pig cartoon.
- Porky Pig's Feat (LT, Tashlin) - In a "Porky Pig" cartoon, Bugs Bunny cameo marks first joint on-screen appearance with Daffy. Redrawn in color, 1967.
- Scrap Happy Daffy (LT, Tashlin)
- A Corny Concerto (MM, Clampett) - Possible appearance as a baby duckling. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
- Daffy - The Commando (LT, Freleng)
1944
- Tom Turk and Daffy (LT, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Tick Tock Tuckered (LT, Clampett) - Starring Porky Pig. Remake of "Porky's Badtime Story."
- Duck Soup to Nuts (LT, Freleng) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Slightly Daffy (MM, Freleng) - Starring Porky Pig. Remake of "Scalp Trouble."
- Plane Daffy (LT, Tashlin)
- The Stupid Cupid (LT, Tashlin) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
1945
- Draftee Daffy (LT, Clampett)
- Ain't That Ducky (LT, Freleng)
- Nasty Quacks (MM, Tashlin)
1946
- Book Revue (LT, Clampett) - One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
- Baby Bottleneck (LT, Clampett) - Starring Porky Pig
- Daffy Doodles (MM, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Hollywood Daffy (MM, Freleng)
- The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (LT, Clampett) - One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
1947
- Birth of a Notion (LT, McKimson) - Re-issued as a Merrie Melodies film.
- Along Came Daffy (LT, Freleng) - Starring Yosemite Sam. Re-issued as a Merrie Melodies film.
- A Pest in the House (LT, Jones) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
- Mexican Joyride (LT, Davis)
1948
- What Makes Daffy Duck? (LT, Davis) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
- Daffy Duck Slept Here (MM, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
- The Up-Standing Sitter (LT, McKimson)
- You Were Never Duckier (MM, Jones) - Starring Henery Hawk.
- Daffy Dilly (MM, Jones)
- The Stupor Salesman (LT, Davis)
- Riff Raffy Daffy (LT, Davis) - Starring Porky Pig.
1949
- Wise Quackers (LT, Freleng) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
- Holiday For Drumsticks (MM, Davis)
- Daffy Duck Hunt (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
1950
- Boobs in the Woods (LT, McKimson)-Starring Porky Pig.
- The Scarlet Pumpernickel (LT, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Henery Hawk, Sylvester, and others. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
- His Bitter Half (MM, Freleng)
- Golden Yeggs (MM, Freleng) - Starring Porky Pig and Rocky.
- The Ducksters (LT, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
1951
- Rabbit Fire (LT, Jones) - Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd.
- Drip-Along Daffy (MM, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
- The Prize Pest (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
1952
- Thumb Fun (MM, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Cracked Quack (MM, Freleng) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Rabbit Seasoning (MM, Jones) - Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd.
- The Super Snooper (LT, McKimson)
- Fool Coverage (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
1953
- Duck Amuck (MM, Jones) - Cameo by Bugs Bunny. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
- Muscle Tussle (MM, McKimson)
- Duck Dodgers In the 24 and a 1/2 Century (MM, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
- Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (MM, Jones) - Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd.
1954
- Design For Leaving (LT, McKimson) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
- Quack Shot (MM, McKimson) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
- My Little Duckaroo (LT, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
1955
- Beanstalk Bunny (MM, Jones) - Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd.
- Stork Naked (MM, Freleng)
- This Is a Life? (MM, Freleng) - Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Granny.
- Dime To Retire (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Sahara Hare (LT, Freleng) - In a "Bugs Bunny" cartoon, cameo
1956
- The High and the Flighty (MM, McKimson) - Starring Foghorn Leghorn.
- Rocket Squad (LT, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Stupor Duck (LT, McKimson)
- A Star Is Bored (LT, Freleng) - Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam.
- Deduce, You Say (LT, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
1957
- Ali Baba Bunny (MM, Jones) - Starring Bugs Bunny. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
- Boston Quackie (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
- Ducking the Devil (MM, McKimson) - Starring Taz.
- Show Biz Bugs (LT, Freleng) - Starring Bugs Bunny.
1958
- Don't Axe Me (MM, McKimson) - Starring Elmer Fudd.
- Robin Hood Daffy (MM, Jones) - Starring Porky Pig.
1959
- China Jones (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
- People Are Bunny (MM, McKimson) - Starring Bugs Bunny.
- Apes of Wrath (MM, Freleng) - In a "Bugs Bunny" cartoon, cameo
1960
- Person To Bunny (MM, Freleng) - Starring Bugs Bunny.
1961
- The Abominable Snow Rabbit (LT, Jones; co-dir: Noble) - Starring Bugs Bunny.
- Daffy's Inn Trouble (LT, McKimson) - Starring Porky Pig.
1962
- Quackodile Tears (MM, Davis)
- Good Noose (LT, McKimson)
1963
- Fast Buck Duck (MM, McKimson; co-dir.: Bonnicksen)
- Million Hare (LT, McKimson) - Starring Bugs Bunny
- Aqua Duck (MM, McKimson)
1964
- The Iceman Ducketh (LT, Monroe) - Starring Bugs Bunny. Last appearance with Bugs in the original theatrical cartoons.
1965
- It's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the House (LT, Pratt) - Starring Sylvester, Granny, Speedy. First pairing of Daffy and Speedy.
- Moby Duck (LT, McKimson) - Starring Speedy.
- Assault and Peppered (MM, McKimson) - Starring Speedy.
- Well Worn Daffy (LT, McKimson) - Starring Speedy.
- Suppressed Duck (LT, McKimson)
- Corn on the Cop (MM, Spector) - Starring Granny, Porky Pig. Final pairing of Daffy and Porky.
- Tease For Two (LT, McKimson) - Starring the Goofy Gophers.
- Chili Corn Corny (LT, McKimson) - Starring Speedy.
- Go Go Amigo (MM, McKimson) - Starring Speedy.
1966 (All cartoons co-star Daffy and Speedy.)
- The Astroduck (or Astro Duck) (LT, McKimson)
- Mucho Locos (MM, McKimson) - Clips from "Deduce You Say," "Robin Hood Daffy" and "China Jones" used.
- Mexican Mousepiece (MM, McKimson)
- Daffy Rents (LT, McKimson)
- A-Haunting We Will Go (LT, McKimson) - Starring Witch Hazel. Clips from "Bewitched Bunny" incorporated.
- Snow Excuse (MM, McKimson)
- A Squeak in the Deep (LT, McKimson)
- Feather Finger (MM, McKimson)
- Swing Ding Amigo (LT, McKimson)
- A Taste of Catnip (MM, McKimson)
1967 (All cartoons co-star Daffy and Speedy.)
- Daffy's Diner (MM, McKimson)
- Quacker Tracker (LT, McKimson)
- The Music Mice-Tro (MM, McKimson)
- The Spy Swatter (LT, Larriva)
- Speedy Ghost to Town (MM, Lovy)
- Rodent to Stardom (LT, Lovy)
- Go Away Stowaway (MM, Lovy)
- Fiesta Fiasco (LT, Lovy)
1968 (All cartoons co-star Daffy and Speedy.)
- Skyscraper Caper (LT, Lovy)
- See Ya Later Gladiator (LT, Lovy) - Final theatrical "Daffy Duck" cartoon until 1980.(LT)
1972
- The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie: "Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies"
1980
- The Yolk's on You (originally part of Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement)
- The Chocolate Chase (originally part of Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement)
- Daffy Flies North (originally part of Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement)
- Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century - First theatrical "Daffy Duck" cartoon since 1968.
1987
- The Duxorcist (MM, Ford/Lennnon)
1988
- The Night of the Living Duck (MM, Ford/Lennon) - Final cartoon where Daffy is voiced by Mel Blanc.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - Short cameo in the "dueling piano" sequence against Donald Duck. Voiced by Mel Blanc and animated by Chuck Jones.
1990
- Box-Office Bunny (Van Citters) - In a "Bugs Bunny" cartoon, voiced by Jeff Bergman
- Tiny Toon Adventures - Daffy makes several guest appearances, voiced by Jeff Bergman and later by Greg Burson
1991
- (Blooper) Bunny (Ford/Lennon) - In a "Bugs Bunny" cartoon, voiced by Jeff Bergman
1992
- Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (Ford/Lennon) - In a "Bugs Bunny" cartoon, voiced by Jeff Bergman
1993
- Animaniacs - Daffy made several cameos, voiced by Greg Burson
1996
- Superior Duck - voiced by Frank Gorshin
- Space Jam - voiced by Dee Bradley Baker
1998
- The Drew Carey Show - Daffy made a guest appearance in the season finale "My Best Friend's Wedding", voiced by Joe Alaskey
- Histeria! - Makes several cameos, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker
2003
- Attack of the Drones, voiced by Jeff Bennett
- Duck Dodgers TV series, voiced by Joe Alaskey
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action - voiced by Joe Alaskey
2004
- Daffy Duck for President -voiced by Joe Alaskey
2006
- Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas, voiced by Joe Alaskey
2011
- The Looney Tunes Show, TV series, voiced by Jeff Bergman
2012
- Daffy's Rhapsody, a completely musical short using Mel Blanc's earlier recording. Coincidentally was released two months before Daffy's 75th anniversary.
- Acme Products: Daffy has been known to use these a few times.
- Alliterative Name
- Always Second Best
- Arguable due to also being an Unpopular Popular Character. He's not just liked second to Bugs, he gets nothing but cricket chirps and tomatoes in the face. Not to mention if there's another character around for comparison, they'll usually prove more popular as well, sometimes even a similar Butt Monkey just to add insult to injury.
- America Saves the Day: The early WW 2 cartoons used this.
- Amusing Injuries
- Anti-Hero: Type V
- Ash Face: Most infamously in the short "Rabbit Fire".
- Attention Whore: While the motivation of this trait has changed over the years, this has always been a consistent aspect of the character.
- Ax Crazy: While his over-the-top insanity was usually fairly harmless, he certainly had his moments of this, especially in "The Daffy Doc".
- Badly-Battered Babysitter: "The Up-Standing Sitter"
- Any time he has to watch his own kids ("Wise Quacks") or his eggs ("Quackodile Tears").
- Breakout Character: Intended as a one shot foil for Porky in Avery's "Porky's Duck Hunt". Audiences became fascinated by the character's wacky abrasive personality, leading WB to place him in more shorts. These days he stands as the most prominent Looney Tunes star outside fellow Breakout Character Bugs Bunny.
- Butt Monkey: Most later interpretations, especially Chuck Jones' version, to the point of playing the Straw Loser in the series. It gets Deconstructed however, in Back in Action.
- Captain Ersatz: The Walter Lantz cartoon star Woody Woodpecker was, shall we way, "inspired" by Daffy's early screwball incarnation.
- He was even voiced by Mel Blanc in his first few appearances, and his debut cartoon "Knock Knock" ended in the exact same way as "Daffy Duck and Egghead".
- Carnivore Confusion: The Warner Bros. standard. This gets really bizarre in later cartoons like "Duck Soup to Nuts" and "Daffy Duck Hunt", where Daffy is almost as anthropomorphized as Porky.
- Catch Phrase:
- "You're desthpicable!"
- "Woo hoo-hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo!" (while bouncing around like a maniac)
- "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century!"
- "Sufferin' succotash!" (pronounced "Thufferin' thuccotash!") quite often in earlier shorts, before it was given to the similarly-voiced Sylvester the cat.
- The Chew Toy
- Cloudcuckoolander: Especially in earlier shorts, even the later more ambitious versions aren't all that stable at times.
- Characterization Marches On: Not only was he not conniving and arrogant in his early appearances, but he actually said Bugs Bunny was his hero. Oh how the times have changed.
- Chick Magnet: Not an aspect that is always stressed but Daffy has had plenty of women fall for him. The gorgeous red headed duck Femme Fatale from "The Super Snooper" fell for him at first sight, lavished him with kisses and wanted to marry him right away. Another female in "The Duxorcist" allowed him to kiss her only moments after they met. Even Hatta Mari in Plane Daffy, who attempted to seduce him got turned on the second time they kissed. The Martian Queen Ty'ranee in Duck Dodgers loved him as well. The Looney Tunes Show pairs him with Tina. Not only that but there have been many times Daffy has been shown to be married to different female ducks with lots of kids. He is easily the most sexually active character out of the entire Looney Tunes crew.
- Possibly lampshaded in an old Gold Key comic story ("The Charming Chump") after he gets a talkative Abhorrent Admirer in the form of Debbie Duck:
"Why am I so irresistible?" |
- Crazy Survivalist: In the "Hunting Trilogy".
"I am a duck bent on self-preservation." |
- Depending on the Writer: One of the most notable examples in the series, nearly every director had a unique take on Daffy, some baring little resemblance to others (though this is partially due to the character's Flanderization).
- Deuteragonist
- Dirty Coward: A self-confessed "craven little coward", though will occasionally defy his fears if promises of fame and fortune are brought into the situation.
- Duck Season! Rabbit Season!: Co-Trope Namer
- Early Installment Weirdness: Daffy was originally a mindless heckler who went about his antics for no clear motivation, and was adorned with a pudgy, tiny design. Clampett began fleshing out Daffy's character later on, before Jones, Freleng and McKimson settled into their own interpretations of the waterfowl.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Daffy's had several middle names, though none of them official:
- "Dumas" in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel."
- "Sheldon" and "Armando" in The Looney Tunes Show.
- Era Specific Personality: Avery and Clampett developed the "screwball" version of the early period. Jones' version is usually considered the contemporary rendition, a Composite Character is used on occasion however usually in the shorts by Bob McKimson and Frank Tashlin. The adaptations from the 80's onward usually showcased the Jones Daffy with only a touch of Screwball Daffy.
- This even got a Lampshade Hanging in "Pronoun Trouble", a Looney Tunes comic book story by animation historian Earl Kress:
Daffy: I'm not a bad sort. Why does this keep happening to me? Oh, sure, I was kind of goofy when I was younger and then went through an egotistical, greedy phase, but I don't deserve this... |
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Occasionally goes into full-blown Pepe Le Pew mode ("A Coy Decoy", "Duck Soup to Nuts", "The Prize Pest"). He invokes the trope in "The Duxorcist":
"And I thought French was a romantic language!" |
- Expy: Not long after his conception, director Ben "Bugs" Hardaway took the character of Daffy and made him into a rabbit character called Bugs' Bunny (note the possessive term). This character was ultimately a failure, however, as he was even more obnoxious than Daffy ever was, to the point where the audience was rooting more for the victims rather than the rabbit.
- Of course following this "Bugs' Bunny" would supposedly provide inspiration for "Bugs Bunny", who maintained a similar (if somewhat toned down) abrasiveness as Daffy. In this case the Expy would become an even bigger hit than Daffy himself and continues being one of the most notable cartoon characters to date.
- Face Doodling: "Daffy Doodles"
- Fast Tunnelling: Perhaps he learned it from Bugs. In at least one episode he was shown to be tunneling someplace by himself.
- Faux Affably Evil: In contrast to his mere Jerkass or Affably Evil persona beforehand, the De Patie Freleng shorts evolved Daffy into an motivelessly ruthless villain, though with the same bumbling pathos as before. This depended on the scenario however, with some shorts presenting him as more sympathetic antagonist or an outright buddy of Speedy.
- Feather Fingers
- Femme Fatale: Hata Mari of Plane Daffy and the unnamed duck suspect in The Super Snooper are both parodies of the type. It turns out that the latter hasn't actually done anything wrong, but she still acts the part.
- Flanderization Again one of the most notable examples in the franchise (if not the animated scene as a whole), evolving from a slightly bombastic Cloudcuckoolander to a luckless Ted Baxter.
- Foil: To Bugs Bunny
- Forgot I Could Fly: A running gag for Daffy, the earliest occurrence being the short "The Million Hare".
- Four-Fingered Hands
- Fur Is Clothing: In "The Wise-Quacking Duck", confronted with the oven, he distracts his antagonist by performing a strip-tease routine with his feathers.
- G-Rated Mental Illness: Early on. In The Looney Tunes Show this gets upgraded to Ambiguous Disorder status.
- Harmless Villain: In most of his antagonist moments with Bugs and Speedy.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: He could strive to be semi competent against Speedy at times however (see below).
- He-Man Woman Hater: He claims to be one in "Plane Daffy". It doesn't stop Hatta Mari from trying to seduce him (and succeeding).
- Henpecked Husband: In The Henpecked Duck.
- He also refers to himself as "a henpecked duck!" in "The Stupid Cupid", probably in reference to the aforementioned cartoon. Pretty much any time he's shown married, he's this. In "The Super Snooper", he actively refuses to get involved with the gorgeous Femme Fatale, even after she proves her innocence, for fear of letting it happen again: "She's got that ol' ball-and-chain look in her eyes!"
- "I Am" Song: Several.
- His versions of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" in "Daffy Duck and Egghead" and "Boobs in the Woods".
- The song he sings to set up his characterization as a Badly-Battered Babysitter in "The Up-Standing Sitter".
- "Daffy Duck's Rhapsody" begins as this and then segues into an "I Want" Song.
- I Have a Family: Used twice as a ploy to get away from Porky. In "Duck Soup to Nuts" he calls out his sobbing "family" to say goodbye to him before Porky shoots him; Porky feels guilty and lets him off the hook, at which point the wife and kids remove their disguises and reveal themselves to be a few of Daffy's duck friends who were paid to get him out of trouble. In "Riff Raffy Daffy", he uses a pair of wind-up toys as his "children". (In the cartoons where he actually did have a family, he never utilized this trope.)
- Image Song: "Daffy Duck's Rhapsody", performed by Mel Blanc; recently turned into a 3D short film.
- Incoming Ham: "It's me again!"
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Took this role more later on.
- It Amused Me: Rather consistantly in his earlier Screwy Squirrel years. He became more ambitious and "self prethervational" in his callousness in later shorts (though that doesn't mean he doesn't still enjoy it).
"Survival of the fittest--and besides, it's fun." |
- "I Want" Song:
- "Daffy Duck's Rhapsody" was partially this:
- The song he sings in "You Ought To Be In Pictures".
- Jerkass: More and more so as time progressed, Chuck Jones actually revolved his interpretation around the term "Selfish".
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He does have his moments on occasion though.
- Knight of Cerebus: Astonishingly enough, Daffy is actually this to the rest of Speedy Gonzales' Rogues Gallery. While still highly comical in tone, the situations Speedy was placed in were sometimes a lot more dire against Daffy, who stands as the only villain competant (and malicious) enough to hold ground against the mouse, even beating him a couple of times.
- What about whipping poor mice in "Assault and Peppered"?
- And keeping mice from drinking out of a well For the Evulz in "Well Worn Daffy"? (And unlike Sylvester, does a formidable job fending Speedy off).
- The Lancer
- Large Ham
- Lovable Coward
- Loveable Rogue: In a lot of his "transitional" shorts, Robert McKimson played this role with Daffy for the majority of his original run (he could on occasion lean into not-so-lovable Schemer territory though).
- Mad Hatter: Especially early on, when he'd frequently lampshade the fact that he was crazy. His name was Daffy, after all.
- Madness Mantra:
- "The Daffy Doc": "Where's a patient? Where's a patient? I gotta find a patient. I gotta find a patient."
- "The Henpecked Duck": "Yes, m'love. Yes, m'love. YES, M'LOVE. YEEEEESSSSS M'LOVE!"
- Mata Hari: Who else but Hata Mari?
- Money Fetish: Would do just about anything to get money.
- Morally-Ambiguous Ducktorate
- Multiple Choice Past: Chalk it up to Negative Continuity. He was raised by a little girl in the short "Nasty Quacks", grew up in an orphanage in Bah, Humduck!, and was raised by Granny (along with all the other characters) in Baby Looney Tunes.
- Non Sequitur Thud: Most notably "Duck Amuck".
- Obfuscating Insanity: Faked a bad case of Funny Schizophrenia to get the best of Porky in "The Prize Pest".
- Oh, No, Not Again: In "The Duxorcist":
"Oh brother! Not another schizophrenic dame!" |
- Phrase Catcher: In the older shorts, someone would always have to lampshade "that duck's" insanity in some way, at which point Daffy would pop up and tell them that they were right.
- Pooled Funds: Any time he got his hands on some cash.
- Rage Against the Author: "Duck Amuck"
- Rant-Inducing Slight: Again, "Duck Amuck"
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Bugs' blue.
- The Resenter: Whenever paired with Bugs Bunny in a short, Daffy becomes this.
- Roger Rabbit Effect: As seen in the trope namer, Space Jam and Looney Tunes: Back in Action
- And even earlier in Friz Freleng's You Ought to Be In Pictures.
- Screwy Squirrel: Daffy Duck pre-flanderization though he still retains it as another part of his personality, also an Ur Example of the entire trope. It's especially prominent in Daffy Duck and Egghead.
- The Scrooge: Plays a modern variant in Bah Humduck, A Looney Tunes Christmas Carol.
- "Seen It All" Suicide: "The Scarlet Pumpernickel"
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Manly Man to Porky's Sensitive Guy.
- Show Some Leg: Both Hata Mari and the Femme Fatale in "The Super Snooper" try this, although the former is more successful.
- Small Name, Big Ego: A light case in early shorts, taken to extremes later on.
- Species Surname
- Speech Impediment
- Straw Loser: Chuck Jones' version, lost miserably to villains Bugs usually defeated without trying and had Porky Pig of all people as his Hypercompetent Sidekick. Other directors portrayed Daffy as a Butt Monkey at this point, though it depended on the scenario whether he was quite as pathetic as the others.
- Stupid Evil: A lot of his antagonistic bouts against Speedy seemed to lean into this. Most his constant abuse is inflicted by himself rather than Speedy, and could usually be prevented if he wasn't so insistent on spiting the little rodent, who offers a truce nearly every minute or so.
- Team Rocket Wins: Even following his Flanderization into a Butt Monkey, Daffy seemed to score more victories than most other fall-guys in the series, knocking out Taz in a Curb Stomp Battle in Ducking The Devil, being the first foe to defeat Speedy Gonzales in Mucho Locos to name a few. Counting an obscure Tang endorsement from The Bugs Bunny Show and Cartoon Network's Big Game from 2001, he has also defeated Bugs twice as well. Also, perhaps due to being created by fans of the shorts and the character, some later features tend to throw Daffy a bone a few times as well, including the very end of Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
- The Dark Age of Animation
- The Golden Age of Animation
- The Millennium Age of Animation
- The Renaissance Age of Animation
- This Loser Is You: Chuck Jones dreamed of being Bugs Bunny, then woke up as Daffy Duck.
- Throw the Pin: Speedy Ghost To Town
- The Cameo: Daffy's head can be seen on a building in the movie Cool World.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Under Chuck Jones' direction in the early fifties, making him self centered, neurotic and incredibly narcissistic (this is keeping in mind Daffy wasn't exactly an angel to begin with). Other directors eventually took his redesign and made him even worse. By the De Patie Freleng era, he borders out and out evil. Later productions go in and out with this, though for the most part refer to Jones' selfish egotist Daffy.
- Took a Level In Kindness: In Bah Humduck, A Looney Tunes Christmas Carol in accordance with nearly all variations of the story. Also in Bugs Bunny In King Arthur's Court, despite taking the role of a greedy king, Daffy is noticeably tamer and bored with his role, passively helping Bugs and even willingly giving him his crown by the end of the film.
Daffy: Who ever heard of a duck being king anyway? |
- Toothy Bird: Sometimes, although Chuck Jones joked in a few of his "dental" art prints about Daffy being toothless:
Bugs: "But, sir, how can you have a toothache--when you haven't any teeth?" |
- Traveling Salesman: In several shorts.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
- Villain Protagonist: In the three Tex Avery Daffys, and some of the Bob Clampett directed shorts.
- After having Took a Level in Jerkass, he arguably leaned even further into this trope. In some of his bouts against Speedy and Bugs, he is an outright genuine villain (in comparison to the more playful Screwy Squirrel he usually was in the above examples), but still usually the primary focus.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 with Porky, and Bugs, and Speedy... Usually the very people Daffy is trying to victimize in some manner are actually the closest he has to actual friends.
- With Friends Like These...: Again with all of the aforementioned three.
- Word Salad Lyrics: His Talkative Loon version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" in "Boobs in the Woods". (It's basically a rewrite of a similar song sung by the Bugs Bunny prototype character in "Hare-Um Scare-Um".)
- Word Schmord: "Consequences, schmonsequences--'long as I'm rich."
- Worthy Adversary: Subverted against Bugs, where he was even more harmless than Elmer. Oddly enough played more straight against Speedy, though still bumbling, existing as the sole villain to actually defeat, or even so much as invoke fear into the rodent. Even plays the trope's traditional chemistry, with Daffy, in almost a rare case of continuity, gaining a softer spot for Speedy in later shorts.
- Women Prefer Strong Men: In the short "Muscle Tussle," Daffy's girlfriend is swept off her feet by a muscular beach hunk.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: Filled the "Scrooge" role in Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas.
- YouTube Poop: The Ur
DespicableExample. A 1938 short, Daffy Duck in Hollywood, has Daffy editing a film reel, and producing this.