Go Away Stowaway (Merrie Melodies)

Go Away Stowaway (episode 980)
"Some cartoon this turned out to be!"
Directed by: Alex Lovy Written by: Cal Howard Release date: September 30, 1967 Franchise: Merrie Melodies Prequel: "Rodent to Stardom" (previous short) Sequel: "Cool Cat" (next short)

Go Away Stowaway is a 1967 Merrie Melodies short directed by Alex Lovy. This marks Daffy and Speedy's final appearances in the Merrie Melodies series.

Plot

Daffy Duck takes a vacation to get away from Speedy, but Speedy stows away and causes havoc.

Bad Qualities

1. The cartoon rips-off the concept of two Tweety and Sylvester cartoons, "Tweety's S.O.S." from 1951 and "Tugboat Granny" from 1956. For instance, one of the gags involve Speedy waving a wave background to make Daffy sick, much like Tweety doing the same to Sylvester in "Tweety's S.O.S.", and a scene where Daffy Duck lands into the smokestack of the ship, something that also happened to Sylvester in "Tugboat Granny".
   • In addition, the cartoon is also a rip-off of another terrible Looney Tunes short, "Good Noose". For instances:
     • Daffy Duck stowed away on a ship in that cartoon, and was sentenced to be hanged, while in this short, Speedy Gonzales stows away on a ship where Daffy's vacation is settling place in, only for Daffy to chase Speedy Gonzales and have him locked up. This is not only hypocrisy at its finest, but Daffy is set to be killed in that short cruelly by lynching, while Speedy Gonzales is set to be locked up, whereas a Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Mississippi Hare" shows, stowaways usually would get kicked off or arrested by the police... Oh dear. What logic are they trying to go by now?
     • As mentioned above, Daffy Duck is an utter hypocrite, because he stowed away almost five years ago on a ship beforehand in "Good Noose", before "Go Away Stowaway" was released, yet, he calls out Speedy Gonzales for stowing away on the ship. The hypocrisy coming from Daffy is just as comparable to his acts and role in "Snow Excuse".
     • The short even goes as far as to recycle the ending from "Good Noose", where the ships sink and the characters have to take themselves back home or on land through different means (the captain and Mr. Tristan with Daffy Duck through barrels, and Daffy Duck with Speedy Gonzales via swimming).
2. Atrocious animation, as with the standard of the Seven Arts cartoons.
3. Daffy, as mentioned above, resumes back to his evil characteristics instead of his sympathetic character, and probably at one of the worst here, due to extreme hypocrisy. He tries to leave his house to get away from Speedy and tries to taunt him by stating that he will not go anywhere else, and when he finds out that Speedy stows away, he tries to kill him or get him locked away to the point of sinking an entire cruise ship!
4. Overly talky, with much expositional dialogue. For example, when Daffy sees an emergency whistle with its identifying sign, he reads the sign out loud.
5. Obnoxious use of Hanna-Barbera sound effects.
6. This cartoon has perhaps some of the slowest pacing out of any cartoon in the series. There are only four gags in the short, and they all carry out and repeat for too long.
7. Overly predictable gags and ending. Speaking of the ending, Daffy's actions could've possibly killed many people who were on the ship. Not helping the fact is how there are no visible people shown after the ship sinks.

Good Qualities

1. Speedy Gonzales, while having little character unlike his other shorts, is the only likable character here in this short.
2. Mel Blanc voices the characters greatly, as with any other cartoon.
3. William Lava's music, while still not as good as previous shorts, is one of the best music in provided in the Seven Arts era and is one of the highest points of his composing in the series.
4. Daffy Duck still gets his comeuppance in the short, as with his other pairings as a miscast villain with Speedy Gonzales.

Reception

It currently has a 5.7 on IMDb.

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