See Ya Later Gladiator (Looney Tunes)

See Ya Later Gladiator (episode 990)
"We're certainly glad that this short is over with! I wouldn't want to watch THAT again!" - Daffy Duck
Directed by: Alex Lovy Written by: Cal Howard Release date: June 29, 1968 Prequel: "Feud with a Dude" (previous short) "The Door" Sequel: "3-Ring Wing Ding" (next short)

See Ya Later Gladiator is a Looney Tunes short released in 1968 from Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. This short is widely considered by both fans and critics alike to be the worst cartoon short ever made by Warner Bros.

In this short, Daffy Duck is annoyed by Speedy Gonzales' music, so he attempts to send him to Ancient Rome to unexpected results.

Why This Short Needs to Go See Ya Later

1. The animation quality is poor, as is typical for a Seven-Arts cartoon. A glaring error occurs when Daffy looks out a window and the same background is repeated, even though the second instance should depict Daffy's own house as seen from the lab window.
2. Similar to other shorts from the DePatie-Freleng and Seven Arts era, Daffy has been inappropriately cast as a malevolent antagonist due to extreme flanderization. In this particular short, he attempts to send Speedy back in time solely because of his "corny music". Indeed, the writers failed to devise a more compelling reason for Daffy's pursuit of Speedy beyond his musical band. Moreover, while the previous Daffy and Speedy shorts, "Fiesta Fiasco" and "Skyscraper Caper", made efforts to reduce Daffy's villainous characteristics, this short not only reinstates them but exacerbates them further.
3. Speaking of "corny music", the music itself sounds like stock music and doesn't fit in Looney Tunes. This is due to poor William Lava being forced to work a small orchestra.
   • The cartoon also opens with an weird, off-key version of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, which fortunately was only used on one more cartoon ("3-Ring Wing Ding") before the series went back to the version that had been introduced at the start of the Seven Arts era which is slightly better, but still rather oddball.
4. Awkward and clichéd dialogue, like "You broke my fiddle; now I'm going to break your neck!"
5. Obnoxious use of Hanna-Barbera sound effects.
6. The short is a large waste of potential. Previously, a 1955 Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam short of the same concept, "Roman Legion-Hare," crafted the Ancient Rome theme a lot better, with funny (and well animated) slapstick plus expert use of light and shadow to create tension. In this short, director Alex Lovy and his crew kept most of the backgrounds dead simple and limited the jokes to just the lion getting a haircut, eating a chili pepper and exploding fireworks out of its mouth. There is almost no slapstick in this short at all as well, which is unacceptable and dumb for a series like Looney Tunes, that often utilizes the use of slapstick.
   • Speaking of which, this short is basically a rip-off of the aforementioned short, minus all the great comedic timing from it.
7. The pacing is extremely slow for a series that is normally fast-paced on the jokes, which completely kills the series' comedic timing.
8. Very off-model art designs, with Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales being the worst offenders of this.
9. The ending is nonsensical, with Nero being transported to the 20th Century, and then everyone behaves as if he's stuck there, without anyone clarifying why they cannot simply use the time machine to return him to Ancient Rome.
10. It ended Daffy and Speedy's careers in the Golden Age on an awful note, and also ended the run of the classic characters abysmally.

Redeeming Qualities

1. The concept of Speedy and Daffy going back to Ancient Rome sounded like a promising idea, but was wasted and executed poorly due to the reasons stated above.
   • Giving what we call Rome its native spelling (then and now) of Roma is a nice touch.
2. Mel Blanc does a good job voicing the characters, as always.
3. The Mexican scientist, Nero and Speedy Gonzales are the only likable characters in this short. Speedy is at his much more sympathetic personality over here, unlike what happened five years back in "Mexican Cat Dance".
4. Volus Jones provides some fair animation -- he handles the lion's reaction to the hot pepper and continues to Nero threatening Daffy and Speedy.
5. A few mildly amusing gags, such as the scenes with the lion or the "Don't Walk" sign when Nero chases Daffy and Speedy.
6. Speedy is kind to Nero at the end, letting the stranded emperor join his band. Alongside that, Daffy gets his comeuppance, as with almost every other Daffy-Speedy short.
7. The music from the title card actually sounds very charming, and sounds better than the rest of the cartoon.

Gallery

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  "To the lions!"

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