 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Friz Freleng Phil Monroe (co-director) |
| Story by | John Dunn Dave Detiege Friz Freleng |
| Produced by | Friz Freleng Hal Geer Jean MacCurdy |
| Starring | Mel Blanc June Foray Les Tremayne |
| Music by | Rob Walsh Gene Poddany Orchestration: Don McGinnis |
| Animation by | Brenda Banks Warren Batchelder Brad Case Bob Matz Norm McCabe Richard Thompson Bob Bransford Terrence Lennon Sam Nicholson Derry Ray Scanimation Effects: Ed Kramer (uncredited) |
| Layouts by | Bob Givens Michael Mitchell |
| Backgrounds by | Richard Thomas |
| Color process | Color |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (also known asDaffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island) is a 1983 American animatedanthology film directed byFriz Freleng andPhil Monroe with acompilation of classicWarner Bros. cartoon shorts andanimated bridging sequences, hosted byDaffy Duck andSpeedy Gonzales.[1] This was the firstLooney Tunes compilation film to center onDaffy Duck, as the previous ones had centered onBugs Bunny. The premise of the framing animation was a general parody of the popular 1970s/1980s television seriesFantasy Island, with Daffy Duck andSpeedy Gonzales playing caricatures of that series' principal characters, Mr. Roarke and Tattoo (respectively).
A note in the end credits dedicates the film to animator and story man,John Dunn, "who inspired it."[2] Dunn died ofheart failure inSan Fernando, California on January 17, 1983; six months before the film's release.
Daffy Duck andSpeedy Gonzales are castaways shipwrecked on a desert island for months with nothing on it but a coconut tree. They discover a treasure map which leads them to a magical, talking wishing well. The greedy Daffy proposes to use the power of the well, which obeys the commands of whoever holds the map. Rather than simply wishing for a heap of wealth, Daffy figures he can make himself and Speedy rich by transforming the barren island into a verdant tourist paradise and selling other people wishes for a hefty fee. Speedy and Daffy attire themselves in the white suits worn by Tattoo and Roarke in the television showFantasy Island, while an airplane carrying various Looney Tunes characters arrives on the island. As the customers step up for their chance at the well, their wishes are fulfilled through the events of classic Looney Tunes cartoons.
Meanwhile, pirateYosemite Sam and his first mate, theTasmanian Devil, search for the map, which originally belonged to them. They had earlier lost their ship in a battle withBugs Bunny. With a single black feather for a clue, they eventually find out that Daffy took it. In their pursuit of Daffy and Speedy, Sam inadvertently chases the former up a mountain and, upon both losing their grip on the map, into a field of volcanic rock. The map is lost to all because of this, causing the island to revert to what it once was. Daffy, Speedy, Sam, and Taz are trapped on the once-again-deserted island. The well gives them three wishes individually, but warns them to use them wisely, for they are the last wishes it will ever grant. Daffy and Speedy waste their wishes, Speedy wishing for a burrito, then Daffy angrily responding by wishing the burrito was stuck on the end of Speedy's nose. Daffy asks Sam to wish the burrito off Speedy's nose, but discovers that Sam already wished for a ship, abandoning Daffy and telling them that, after he sinks Bugs, he will return to rescue the pair, much to Daffy's fury. The wishing well signs off with "That's all, folks!".
The following includes the Well's descriptions of each cartoon (except for the first one) in relation to that character's wish. Some cartoons are abridged.
In 1981, a puzzle showing 105 Looney Tunes characters was issued. Among the characters are three who had never appeared in animation, identified as Hoppy, Hysterical Hyram and Minniesoda Fats. In one scene inDaffy Duck's Fantastic Island, Hoppy and Hysterical Hyram are seen waiting for their chance to make their dreams come true (along with two other unidentified characters, namely a white dog and a small mouse with a hat). It is their only known appearance in animation.[3]
The film was released onDVD exclusively throughWal-Mart on August 12, 2014, and byWarner Home Video on November 18, 2014. It is also available as a download from theiTunes Store. It finally saw a UK DVD release on July 5, 2021.
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata