THE STUPID CUPID (1944)
Article 4815 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-7-2015
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Featuring the voices of Mel Blanc and Frank Graham
Country: USA
What it is: Warner Brothers cartoon

Cupid is on the loose again and causing all of the animals to fall in love. He sets his sights on Daffy, but Daffy, who has bad memories of his last amour, wants none of it. However, he may not have a choice…

There is a certain perverse logic to casting Elmer Fudd as Cupid given his well-known love of hunting. Furthermore, Daffy Duck (in his manic incarnation) is a good choice for his victim. This is a fairly standard Warner Brothers cartoon of the period, but it does have a few standout moments. My favorites include a snapshot of Daffy’s family which shows that there is a strain of genetic mutations in his DNA, and there’s a fun variation on the “Well, now I’ve seen everything…” gag. Oddly enough, Blanc does the voice of Elmer Fudd in this one, but that’s explained by the fact that Elmer doesn’t have any dialogue; he just giggles. Director Tashlin would move on to non-animated features after his stint as an animator; he brought a certain cartoony quality to many Jerry Lewis movies.