The great thing about classic Looney Tunes is exactly that, they’re classics. There is no denying the longevity of these stories or their place in the cultural zeitgeist, and one of the best compilation movies that they made, Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters, paid homage and referenced another critical shift in the cultural moment. This is, of course, Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (1984) as the central overarching story in the main feature and while even the opening short (more specifically) ties into the supernatural and pays direct homage. Originally released in theaters in 1988 and aired on HBO and Cartoon Network since, Quackbusters showcased some of the best Looney Tunes moments, specifically Hyde and Go Tweet.
Before we get into what Quackbusters is all about, we’re going to talk about the release as a whole and what Warner Archives is. First and foremost, this is a separate Warner Brothers line from their other typical releases. This is all MOD which stands for Made on Demand; the movies are printed as they’re needed and whether the films stay in print or not is unknown as the distributor can control when they want to print and release more copies or not. Moreover, from the Warner Archive releases I’ve seen, they’re typically exceptional work and worth the upgrade. This Blu-ray release is on a BD-50 disk presented in 1080 p with two different ways to watch the film and a slew of extra Looney Tunes segments as special features.
While the only other physical release of Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters seems to have been a DVD in 2009 that doesn’t appear to even be in 720 p, this is the best this Looney Tunes movie has ever looked in a physical format. Granted, there are moments in some of the segments and animation that falter and don’t pop as much of the rest of the material during the 78-minute run time, but they are far and few in between. The oldest segment of Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters is 77 years old with the Daffy Dilly segment and the new Blu-ray has never looked better and is astonishingly beautiful. One of the more memorable edited segments is Hyde and Go Tweet which is a personal favourite from Looney Tunes history. These segments have been edited and altered to better flow with the Daffy tale of his adventures and the Quackbusters film as a whole.
This 60-plus-year-old animation has never looked better and continues to shine and excel in this presentation. Now at the beginning I stated this was released in 1988, so 60 years seems like a mistake, however, the segments that are not new for the film are early Tunes shorts and cartoons from the 1940s-1960s and were edited or altered to reflect the main story of Quackbusters.
The film focuses on Daffy (voiced by the incomparable Mel Blanc, as are most other character in the film) as he takes on the rather difficult task of trying to make J.P. Cubish laugh. It is a difficult task because Cubish believes he cannot find anything humorous enough to laugh, so he puts up his immense fortune to anyone who can make it happen. Daffy, being the sly duck that he is, decides to try and take on the task, and after numerous physical acts of comedy, Cubish laughs and dies from laughing so much, and Daffy inherits the fortune. The only thing Daffy was unaware of was that Cubish insisted whoever inherited his massive fortune use it for public good, something Daffy has no intention of doing because, after all, Daffy is Daffy. The will also states if the beneficiary does not comply with Cubish’s wishes than his ghost will haunt him. Originally unphased by this but then visited by a ghost, Daffy enlists the help of Bugs, Porky, and Sylvester to launch a paranormal business to wipe out the ghosts. The ghost of Cubish is against this, so every time Daffy does something dastardly and within his nature, Cubish makes money disappear. With a combination of new stories and old, Daffy and friends find a way to bring this paranormal activity to a wider audience with their Looney excursions. Typically paranormal stuff is a little more PG-13 than PG, but putting it within the world of Looney Tunes framed it well for younger audiences, resulting in this release of the Looney ‘toon eliciting fond memories from childhood for many current adults and creating new memories for the current young crowd.
Warner Archive brings forth this 37-year-old story to new heights that is sure to please audiences young and old, new and old as well. With this being the best presentation of one of the last Looney Tunes movies that had the voice of Mel Blanc attached to it before his death, it is a crucial addition to any collection for fans of the Looney Tunes and their antics. Along with the release of this new Blu-ray of Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters comes seven additional Looney Tunes cartoons including Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century.
Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters Special Features:
- Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century
- The Duxorcist
- Little Go Beep
- Night of the Living Duck
- Superior Duck
- Blooper Bunny
- Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
Available on Blu-ray January 28th, 2025.
Share this:
Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
Leave a Reply