The Iceman Ducketh

The Iceman Ducketh
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	May 16, 1964
Starring	Mel Blanc
Producer(s)	David H. DePatie
Music composed by	Bill Lava
Story by	John Dunn
Animation	Bob Bransford Tom Ray Ken Harris Richard Thompson Bob Matz Alex Ignatiev
Director(s)	Phil Monroe
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Title card
Second title card

The Iceman Ducketh is the four hundred and thirty-ninth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 16, 1964. It was written by John Dunn, produced by David H. DePatie, and directed by Phil Monroe.

Daffy, hoping that he can trade animal furs for cash, runs off to catch fur in the wintery forest. Bugs becomes aware that Daffy will be hunting for him, and endlessly foils the fur-hunting duck before hibernating for the winter.

Memorable quotes

Bugs: I saw a guy do this in a toothpaste ad once. Ta-dah!
(Daffy crashes into Bugs' ice wall with a loud thud)

Bugs: Good night, Daffy! Pleasant dreams!
Daffy: Pleaseant dreams, yet! Dirty, razzin', frazzin'...

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Bugs Bunny	Mel Blanc
Daffy Duck	Mel Blanc
Trading Postman	Mel Blanc
Fur Trappers	Mel Blanc

Locations

• Earth
  • Canada
    • Trading post
    • Summit forest

Objects

• Snow rabbit
• Dynamite and detonator
• Skis
• Bucket of ice water

Production

Development

Originally, the short was developed under Chuck Jones' animation unit during the early stages of production. However, when Jones got fired for violating an exclusive contract Warner Bros., over screenplay credits to the UPA feature film Gay Purr-ee, the finished film was completed under the direction of Monroe. Jones' former unit was promptly laid off after it was completed, and Jones himself barely worked on it following his contract termination.

Music

The music was scored by Bill Lava.

Crew credits

• Co-director: Maurice Noble
• Layouts: Robert Givens
• Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard
• Effects animation: Harry Love
• Film editor: Treg Brown

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: May 16, 1964 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is a pun on the 1939 play The Iceman Cometh, written by Eugene O'Neill.
• The MPAA certificate number is 20226.
• The Iceman Ducketh marks several turning points in the theatrical short series:
  • This was one of two shorts Jones started worked on, but was finished by Monroe after his firing, the other being Woolen Under Where; though unlike the latter, Jones did not write the script for this one.
  • It marks the last Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon featuring Bugs and Daffy together until Box-Office Bunny, in 1991.
  • It marked the starting point in turning Daffy into a more villainous role, something that would be expanded on in his cartoons with Speedy Gonzales after this. This more violent portrayal of Daffy had appeared nine years prior in Stork Naked (1955).
• The bears' roaring sounds were archival recordings of the Rhedosaurus' roars from the Warner Bros. feature film, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
• A scene in this short references the Colgate toothpaste television commercials of the early 1960s; Bugs creates an "invisible shield" by throwing out a bucket of water, which freezes into a shield, into which Daffy crashes.

Errors

• When this short was released on the Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl DVD, it was cropped down to a widescreen format. While it was restored to full screen on certain streaming platforms, it has not been re-released on home video as of yet.

Legacy

• This is the first of only two cartoons to depict Daffy as a big game hunter, the other is the 1965 DePatie–Freleng cartoon Suppressed Duck.
• The scene of Bugs using a bucket of ice water as a result of a toothpaste ad he saw became an internet meme around November 2021.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl