A Brilliant Conflict

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I had heard Mel Blanc's rendition of Daffy's Rhapsody somewhere in the distant past ... on a lazy Sunday afternoon or something on a radio or TV station that doesn't exist anymore. And then I had heard it once or twice more over the years, and again, the source escapes me.And, as of 30 seconds before writing this review, I saw an illegal YouTube upload of WB's CGI toon with the same name; "Daffy's Rhapsody".I have to admit right here and now I think CGI is okay for lots of things, but CGI doesn't add to the texture of the classic WB characters, nor does it really take anything away from them. It's just a different way of viewing them.Having said that, I can't say I found this too amusing. There's been lots of attempts at rediscovering the comedic animation formulas the classic WB animators used to make their incredibly funny and highly entertaining cartoons. Todays animators, over the last 20 years, have tried to speed up the animation and compensate for poor writing with quick gag delivery. PIXAR's shorts are notorious for this.What made the classic WB cartoons (and occasionally the classic Disney cartoon) funny was that they had good writing and direction. And by that I mean the creative forces really let themselves go with the notion of "Wouldn't it be funny ..." And no topic was too sacred; suicide, sex, war, starvation, taxes, infidelity, cross dressing, divorce, child care, and homicide in various aspects. You don't really think of those things in their proper context when you see these cartoons because, hey, if you did, you'd drive yourself nuts.Comedy is knowing that you're not dumb enough to let misfortune happen to you. It's why you laugh when you see some guy obliviously drive his car into a brick wall, knowing full well that it's coming and doing it with a smile on his face. YOU certainly wouldn't do that. Would you? In a cartoon sense we spare his life (or maybe not) and the audience his grizzly fate by keeping out the blood and gore and other gory details of his fate, and instead show him a little roughed up, but probably otherwise fully functional as he staggers from his destroyed vehicle. That's comedy. He either died or was seriously injured, and if he died then it was clean and he was done away with some comedic honors. But you don't get any of that in today's cartoons. It's all quick delivery of socially expedient gags which aren't funny 99% of the time.And that's kind of what this is. Mel's song as he voices Daffy Duck is funny without the animation. We know the character, and hearing him go on about how and why he's hunted and his frustration of why hunters don't go after other animals, all syncopated to a classic score, IS THE JOKE. Adding animation to it, CGI no less, puts a grin on my face, but it's almost like reanimating "Duck Amuck", which I'm sure someone is planning already.An A for effort, but I've seen better.

Having been pleasantly surprised by the three CGI Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons, also by Matthew O'Callaghan, seeing as the pairing of Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd is one of Looney Tunes' most iconic and one of my favourites 'Daffy's Rhapsody' immediately sparked interest.'Daffy's Rhapsody' was enormously enjoyable, and despite being in CGI it really took me back to sitting in front of the television watching all the classic Looney Tunes (Tom and Jerry too) cartoons for many hours in complete content, and that was a great feeling.Like the CGI Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons 'Coyote Falls', 'Fur of Flying' and 'Rabid Rider', there's not much wrong with 'Daffy's Rhapsody' at all, and actually it's my personal favourite of the O'Callaghan CGI Looney Tunes cartoons. The only obvious problem was that while a little longer than the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons (being just over four minutes to their three) it's a bit too short, would have been even happier at having one minute or two more.However, while the animation in the CGI Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons does slightly better at recreating the old classic Chuck Jones style, the animation in 'Daffy's Rhapsody' still doesn't make the mistake of making the cartoon too far removed from before. It is very detailed and filled with meticulous detail, imaginative visuals throughout Daffy's rendition of Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody 2" (especially when it gets increasingly manic) and vibrant colour. Very little stiffness can be detected in Daffy and Elmer.The music in 'Daffy's Rhapsody' is simply brilliant. While the music in all O'Callaghan's CGI Looney Tunes cartoons do a great job in keeping close to the classic Looney Tunes scoring, rather than resorting to canned stock music repetitiveness or the music of today that would have not fitted at all in my opinion, it is in 'Daffy's Rhapsody' where the classic Looney Tunes felt the most strong. It's very lively and lushly orchestrated scoring, but the highlight (mainly because it takes up most of the cartoon, so it'd make sense if it did) is absolutely Daffy's rendition of Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody 2"."Hungarian Rhapsody 2" is a wonderful piece in its own piece, and has appeared to iconic effect numerous times in animation. And 'Daffy's Rhapsody' provides an enormously entertaining, and very unique for that piece, rendition of it, with deft (though understandably abridged) arrangement, uproariously witty lyrics that embraces Daffy's personality to the hilt, very imaginative visuals and the immortal Mel Blanc's bravura vocals (heard through archive sound). 'Daffy's Rhapsody' is entertaining and often hilarious throughout its running time, with the very cleverly timed gags evoking fond memories of the best of Daffy and Elmer (and even closer than the CGI Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons to classic Looney Tunes in spirit), and has never a dull stretch. Plus there is the wildness and looniness that the CGI Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons just lacked.Daffy and Elmer are both true to their classic characters, Daffy manic and zany while never mean-spirited or a jerk, and Elmer adorably dim-witted. They work so well too, reminding one of that there's a reason as to why their pairing is so well regarded and loved in Looney Tunes and animation history. It was such a pleasure hearing Blanc again, even if it was archive sound, while Billy West does a bang-up job voicing Elmer, one is reminded of Arthur Q. Bryan but it never feels like too much of an imitation.Overall, another CGI Looney Tunes cartoon winner. 9/10 Bethany Cox

When I first heard about this, nobody liked it! I wasn't impressed. I heard about I TAWT I TAW A PUDDY-TAT. And I didn't see it. So when I heard about the new Daffy Duck CGI cartoon. I told it to my friends, online and offline and they said "This is Looney Tunes not Looney Pixar-cash-in-attempts!" I agree, when others heard about it, they are wild to see it. So I watched it. And I liked it! This short along with THE THREE STOOGES movie and THE LOONEY TUNES SHOW (read my comments) rank in the category of guilty pleasures. I don't like it because it is CGI, but I like it because it has a feel of a Daffy Duck cartoon from the good old days. I am happy about the character design and I felt like I fell into their world or the characters jumped into our world. I somehow like it a lot. I had a laugh. So, OK CGI has some good moments. So I'll let it pass. By the time you read my reviews about guilty pleasures of mine, you will see more soon. Bottom line: I recommend it. Rated G alright, so it is fun for the entire family.

Daffy's Rhapsody, the latest in the series of Warner Bros CGI 3D reworkings of their characters, treats us to Mel Blanc and Billy West as Daffy and Elmer Fudd respectively, with new visuals applied to a 1950 soundtrack of Daffy applying a tongue-twisting lyric to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no 2.I must say that, while I like these reworkings, this is the least entertaining so far. Like the others, it makes terrific use of 3D (the spit from Daffy's characteristic S's sprays right out of the screen at you!), and it is good to hear Blanc's and West's voices on the soundtrack of a new piece (Blanc gets up-front screen credit - "Starring Mel Blanc" - in the opening credits), but the film itself, while amusing, doesn't have the coherent "grab you"-ness of its predecessors in this series.Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy it, because I did!