Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island

Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
1983 - Warner Brothers
Directed by Friz Freleng



SYNOPSIS

While stranded on a desert island Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzalez find a treasure map that leads them to a wishing well that grants real wishes. They turn the island into a resort (a la Fantasy Island) and charge customers $500 to toss a penny down the well and make a wish... but Yosemite Sam comes looking for his map...



MY THOUGHTS

The legendary Warner Brothers animated characters come together but fall short to compare with their classic shorts of the past.

The greatness of the old shorts was in their simplicity of plot (ie - Wiley E. Coyote vs. Road Runner.) This film's plot is very convoluted. Daffy and Speedy first expect to be rescued, then find the map, then follow the map, then find out the treasure is a talking wishing well, then transform the island, then 'de plane' arrives, then each character gets their turn to drop in a coin. I even left some plot out. This is all a very complex, convoluted plan to showcase some classic clips from the good-ole-days of Looney Tunes.

The art of the newer elements is fine, but pales in comparison with the classic clips contained in the film. There are fewer laughs in the script and visuals of the new elements than in an old one-reeler.
However this is forgiven with an excellent choice of older material. Highlights include: Granny as a nurse, tending to the injured Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, and the Bulldog who's always out to get him; and Yosemite Sam must be nice in order to collect a major inheritance, but he must put up with Bugs Bunny.

The film is directed by longtime Loony Tunes and Merrie Melodies mastermind Friz Freleng. He is probably only second to Chuck Jones in terms of his influence on the series... and directed many of the all time classics.
Mel Blanc returns to do 99.9% of the voices here and helps to add a little bit extra to help bring humor to a less than stellar script.

The film pales in comparison to the classic Looney Tunes/ Merrie Melodies shorts, but is still an enjoyable experience, providing you enjoy the wit and sophistication of the great Warner Brothers animated characters.

This film is not yet available on DVD.