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Aqua Duck is a 1963 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by John Dunn. The short was released on September 28, 1963, and stars Daffy Duck.

Plot

Daffy is wandering across a Dalí-style desert. Under the broiling sun, he is suffering from hyperthermia and dehydration. He seeks water, but finds a gold nugget instead. A pack rat wants to give him water in exchange for the gold, but Daffy refuses to trade.

The desert heat and his thirst take a toll on Daffy's sanity, as he begins imagining that he is in a bar, in a hotel, playing baseball, waiting for the bus, and dancing with a cactus. Finally, Daffy becomes so severely dehydrated that he turns to dust and agrees to surrender the gold after the rat restores him with a drop of water.

As he takes a glass of water, a storm swamps him in a flood. For the closing line, he says, "One thing's for sure, when I buy water, I sure get my money's worth!"

Voice cast

• Mel Blanc as Daffy Duck

Reception

Leonard Maltin, writing in Of Mice and Magic, considered this film a low point among Daffy Duck cartoons. Charles Gardner found John Dunn's story creditable but was disappointed with the animation, direction and voice characterization. The Daffy on Video page gives Aqua Duck one star out of four, finding its execution "cheap and lazy."

References

1. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 344. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
3. Leonard Maltin, Of Mice and Magic (1987), p. 275.
4. "Unpredictable as Weather (Part 31) |". Archived from the original on 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
5. http://www.dohtem.com/bugs/daffy/1960s.htm#aquaduck Archived 2024-12-14 at the Wayback Machine Daffy on Video - The 1960s and Beyond

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• 1963 films
• Merrie Melodies short films
• Warner Bros. Cartoons animated short films
• 1960s English-language films
• 1963 comedy films
• Films directed by Robert McKimson
• Daffy Duck films
• Films scored by William Lava
• 1960s Warner Bros. animated short films
• Animated films set in deserts
• Films with screenplays by John Dunn (animator)
• Films produced by David H. DePatie
• Films about water scarcity
• English-language short films
• 1963 animated short films
• Merrie Melodies stubs
• 1960s animated film stubs