Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983)

 

After three feature length compilation movies starring Bugs Bunny, it was Daffy Duck's turn to receive such a movie. The result was Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island the first of two feature length compilation films starring the looney duck. 

Like the two Bugs Bunny movies that directly preceded this film, this movie was directed by Friz Freleng. Freleng is an animation legend whose work with the Looney Tunes characters dated back to the very beginning. In fact he was an animator on the very first Looney Tunes short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930). By 1934 he was already getting director credit on various Looney Tunes shorts. Over his time of working on Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, he played a major role in the creation of Porky Pig, Sylvester and Yosemite Sam. He also directed You Ought to be in Pictures (1940), which is questionably the first film where the greedy side of Daffy become apparent. This movie sadly was the last time Friz would direct the Looney Tunes characters. 

The movie's storyline is a light parody of the TV series Fantasy Island (1977–1984). Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales are stranded on a deserted island with nothing to eat but coconuts (which Daffy hates). However pirate Yosemite Sam (with his first mate Taz) is having a battle nearby with Bugs Bunny. This battle ends poorly for Sam and Taz and the two lose their treasure map. Daffy and Speedy find it and it leads them to wishing well that will grant all of their wishes. Daffy decides to take advantage of this and have people (or cartoon animals) from all over come to the island to have their wishes granted, for which Daffy will make a large profit. 

The cartoon shorts included in this movie are Buccaneer Bunny (1948, directed by Friz Freleng), Stupor Duck (1956, directed by Robert McKimson), Greedy For Tweety (1957, directed by Friz Freleng), Banty Raids (1963, directed by Robert McKimson), Louvre Come Back to Me! (1962, directed by Chuck Jones), Tree for Two (1952, directed by Friz Freleng), Curtain Razor (1949, directed by Friz Freleng), A Mouse Divided (1953, directed by Friz Freleng), Of Rice and Hen (1953, directed by Robert McKimson), Lovelorn Leghorn (1951, directed by Robert McKimson) and From Hare to Heir (1960). These are an excellent selection of cartoons and there are many true gems to be found among them. It is hard to think of a Looney Tunes fan being unhappy with this great selection. Yet at the same time these are not the most obvious choices and I really appreciate that. I fell in love with these movies as a kid, largely because they introduced me to shorts that I had not seen a million times on TV. Once more while there is some editing going on (mostly to make the shorts fit better into this movie's story), the majority of them remain very much intact with everything that us Looney Tunes fans have loved about the classic shorts fully on display. Because of this for Looney Tunes fans there are plenty of laughs to be had.  

The new footage may not be as funny as the old footage, it is still quite entertaining. The characters are the same characters we have always loved and just as likable and fun as ever. It is hard not to enjoy spending time with these characters. I especially really enjoyed watching the interactions between Yosemite Sam and Taz. These two may not have ever worked together in the classic shorts, but they work fantastically together and get to really shine here. The storyline also moves at a fast and fun pace and never drags. With the idea of the wishing well, many of the classic cartoons are better integrated here than they were in other Looney Tunes compilation movies. This gives the movie a great flow that makes the feature length go by quickly. However there is no doubt that these new scenes are more charming than they are funny and you won't find yourself laughing as much as the classic cartoon segments. Still these doesn't mean that they aren't quite fun to watch. It also doesn't hurt that the animators for these new scenes included Norm McCabe, Warren Batchelder, Richard Thompson and Bob Bransford, who worked on the classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies as well. Also working on these new scenes are layout artist, Robert Givens and background artist Richard H. Thomas, both of whom worked on the classic shorts. 

While this may not be my favorite of these Looney Tunes compilation movies, there is still a lot to enjoy here. 

The end credits state that the movie is dedicated to writer John Dunn. John Dunn was one of Friz Freleng's favorite writers and came up with the basic story for the movie. He passed away only months before the film was released.