Book Revue

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Book Revue
Production company Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date January 5, 1946
Run time 7:01
Starring Mel Blanc
Robert C. Bruce
Sara Berner
Richard Bickenbach
Producer(s) Eddie Selzer
Music composed by Carl W. Stalling
Story by Warren Foster
Animation Robert McKimson
Rod Scribner
Manny Gould
C. Melendez
Director(s) Robert Clampett
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Title card
File:Book Revue title card.png

Book Revue, also known as Book Review, is the two hundred and seventh Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on January 5, 1946. It was written by Tedd Pierce, produced by Edward Selzer and directed by Bob Clampett.

In the closing hours of a bookstore, where various books come to life, Daffy emerges from a comic book and proceeds to run amok in the story of Little Red Riding Hood among others.

Detailed summary

Memorable quotes

Daffy: Swing music... Jazz. Pooey! Ah, bublichas, how difference in my native village... Soft music... Violins... The happy peoples sitting the happy peoples sitting on their balalaikas, playing their samovars. And the, there was Cucaracha... Ah, Cucaracha. So round, so firm, and so easy on the draw. They would sink to me a little Gypsy love song like this. Listen... CUCARA-A-A-A-A-CHAAAAA!!! Cucaracha, cucaracha! Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo! Cucaracha, cucaracha! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!


Big Bad Wolf: STOP THAT DANCING UP THERE! Ya sillies...

Characters

Legend
Character debut Speaking debut Ep. debut No lines Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character Actor
William Shakespeare N/A
Harry James N/A
Cherokee woman N/A
Sailor Mel Blanc
Henry VIII Robert C. Bruce[1]
Henry VIII's mother Sara Berner[1]
Frank Sinatra Richard Bickenbach[1]
Mother Goose Sara Berner[1]
Tommy Dorsey N/A
Gene Krupa N/A
Benny Goodman N/A
W.C. Fields N/A
Benny Goodman N/A
Daffy Duck Mel Blanc
Robin Hood N/A
Little Red Riding Hood N/A
Big Bad Wolf Mel Blanc
Judge Unknown
Jimmy Durante N/A


Locations

Objects

Production

Development

Music

The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

  • United States: January 5, 1946 in theatres; May 19, 1951 (Blue Ribbon reissue)

Behind the scenes

  • The title is a play on the word "revue," referring to a variety show, and "review," an evaluation of an art piece.
    • The short was renamed to Book Review for its Blue Ribbon reissue in 1951, although it didn't carry over the pun from its original release.
  • The MPAA certificate number for this short is 10325.
    • It also uses the old Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) name, as by the time the short was released, they were renamed to Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. The new logo was not introduced in the Warner Bros. shorts until A Bird in a Guilty Cage, during the 1952-1953 production season.
  • This is the last Warner Bros. cartoon to use the "book covers come to life" plotline.
  • Daffy impersonates comedic actor Danny Kaye throughout the cartoon, including his Eastern European character accent and rapid-fire style of singing.
  • The line, "so round, so firm, so easy on the draw," comes from a tagline for Lucky Strike cigarettes in the 1940s.
  • When this short aired on Cartoon Network, the scene where Daffy and the Big Bad Wolf run through Uncle Tom's Cabin (with the former dressed as a Black slave) was removed.[2]
  • In television airings on The WB, Daffy's "so round, so firm" quote was omitted.[2]

Errors

  • The hair on the Jimmy Durante caricature disappears as soon as he trips the Big Bad Wolf with his nose.
  • The wolf's fur changes from black and white to a brown coloring when he emerges from Dante's Inferno in his last appearance, though it could be justified with him being stuck in that book.

Everlasting influnece

  • The Animaniacs episode "Video Review" would be inspired by this short, including its premise, but with VHS tape covers in a video rental store.
  • In 2015, an image of Daffy posing in his zoot suit was first spread as an internet meme on 4chan, and was associated with jokes related to Stands from the manga/anime Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Also known as "Literally Me", the meme also crossed over with Tom from the Tom and Jerry cartoons, which used his appearance in The Zoot Cat and whose meme was also known as "One More Time".[3]
  • Daffy in his zoot suit was used as a playable toon in Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem.

Home availability

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. p. 22-23. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Censored Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide: B". Initiabase. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  3. ↑ Zoot Suit Daffy Duck / "Literally Me". Know Your Meme.
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