Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Looney TV: Daffy Duck & Porky Pig Meet The Groovie Goolies (1972)

From the ABC Saturday Superstar Movie comes a once-in-a-lifetime team-up.

"Daffy Duck & Porky Pig Meet The Groovie Goolies" has been held as a low point in the histories of both the Goolies, whose series had been cancelled by CBS, and the Looney Tunes crew. I honestly can't see why, and this was the first time I've actually been able to see this film. When it first aired in 1972, I was in a junior bowling league, and missed the show. The "Mad Mirror Land" portion of the movie has been used in the Groovie Goolies rerun package in syndication, and that was the only part of the movie I think was used after 1972.

Filmation actress Joanne Louise was actually a pseudonym for the studio's lone voice actress, Jane Webb, who pulled double duty in this one as she not only reprised as Hagatha, but also Petunia Pig. Of course you know, poor Petunia hasn't gotten much screen time in the 41 years since, as The Looney Tunes Show is ending its run on Cartoon Network without Petunia appearing on the show.

Basically, the plot centers around a movie-within-a-movie, and, as you'll see shortly, Frankie (Howard Morris) is a huge Daffy Duck fan (Like, who knew?). Morris utilizes his Mayor McCheese (McDonald's commercials) voice for the Mummy, and, upon closer inspection, Larry Storch (ex-F-Troop) did some recycling of his own. His voice for Dracula was previously utilized for Phineas J. Whoopee (Tennessee Tuxedo & His Tales) nearly a decade earlier! I digress. The use of an animated analogue for Lon Chaney, Sr. would be used again a year later, this time on The New Scooby-Doo Movies (Don Adams as "The Exterminator", previously reviewed).

Edit, 2/11/19: Changed the video. This version is compiled from color AND black & white prints.



With the Goolies now the property of Dreamworks Classic, formerly Classic Media, I doubt very seriously they'll see Daffy and the gang again. For what it's worth, the next year, ABC brought back Bugs Bunny for a 2 year run, so something good came out of this.

Rating: B-.

2 comments:

magicdog said...

I'd heard of this but had never seen it!

I must say, the creators behind this special really knew how to lure kids in for one of the weirdest crossovers in animation history!

It ranks right up there with "Billy The Kid Meets Dracula" as odd pairings go!

Unfortunately, this show was rather painful to watch. Plus, Bugs Bunny was smart enough not to get involved here!

I wonder why some of the characters' voices are being played at the wrong speed? Daffy sounds like his 30s self, Tweety also sounds off. Porky sounds a little too much like Bugs.

hobbyfan said...

I believe the person who posted this noted that Mel Blanc's Daffy voice was sped up, and probably Tweety's, too. Remember, Mel was at an advanced age at the time, so they were trying, I think, to overcompensate.