Ducking the Devil (1957)

Ducking the Devil Review

Ducking the Devil is a 1957 animated short film from the Merry Melodies series. It is a strange cartoon.

This movie is odd because it is the only one to star Taz opposite Daffy Duck. Most of the other Tasmanian Devil shorts star Bugs Bunny alongside him. And I am not quite sure that this particular dynamic worked, at least not entirely. The problem was the ending where Daffy got the money and got away with it. It was an overly triumphant ending for this humorous character whose greed usually leads to brutal final moments.

With that being said, the central premise and storyline are still excellent here. The whole idea that music is the thing that keeps Taz docile was quite clever and those scenes were uniformly well executed and even brilliant. The highlight was how Daffy got a hold onto these various instruments. It didn’t make any sense in the best Looney Tunes fashion possible. Daffy is funny here and Taz is quite memorable as well. The animation is also superb.

Overall, Ducking the Devil has a questionable pairing, resulting in a problematic ending, but the overall premise worked and the music scenes were so amusing.

My Rating – 3.9