Duck Dodgers and the Return to the 24 ½th Century

Originally released in 1980 as part of a Thanksgiving special, Daffy Duck’s Thanks-For-Giving, and soon spun off and reedited as its own short, this marks the first original Daffy Duck and Porky Pig film since 1965. A direct sequel to the wonderful original, “Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½th Century” from 1953, “Duck Dodgers and the Return to the 24 ½th Century” feels like a familiar childhood blanket.

The warm glow of nostalgia perhaps tints your perceptions of the strengths of this one. Entertaining though it may be, it’s missing much of the visual splendor and wit of the original. A few backgrounds retain the same sense of mischief and humor, like the egg-shaped planet’s strange omelet looking trees, and a couple of the jokes still snap with smart-ass verve, like Porky making his face disappear after being told to remove the smile from his face.

If the return of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig to new adventures never quite achieves great status, it at least is a very pleasing bit of fluff. Never tainting the allure and love for the original, this sequel is a solidly built if lesser creation. But after fifteen years off, of course things shouldn’t be expected to flow as easily or smoothly as they once did.