Holiday for Drumsticks

Holiday for Drumsticks is a 1949 Merrie Melodies short directed by Arthur Davis.
== Title ==
The title is a play on the song "Holiday for Strings."
== Plot ==
A hillbilly husband brings home a turkey. After shooting back at their feuding neighbor, the wife prepares some food to fatten up the turkey for Thanksgiving. The turkey is thrown into the animal pen. Daffy Duck, who happens to be one of the farm animals, is jealous of all of the food that the turkey is receiving. Once he sees a feast for the turkey, Daffy rushes to the turkey and tells him to stop eating. Daffy explains that the hillbillies want to fatten up the turkey and then eat him, so Daffy says that the turkey should reduce his weight so the hillbillies won't eat the skinny turkey.
In a montage, the turkey exercises day by day, while Daffy eats up the entire feast that was supposed to be for the turkey. On Thanksgiving Day, the turkey is now extremely slim, while Daffy is fat. Pa finds the turkey and states that it's too bony for him to eat. However, the tables turn when Daffy brags that he is a healthy duck himself and that the hillbillies can't eat duck for Thanksgiving. Pa finds Daffy a suitable alternative and attempts to axe and shoot him. Daffy frantically tries to lose his weight, but he nearly gets shot in all attempts. Daffy begs the turkey to save him, and the turkey hides him in various areas before admitting that Daffy can't be saved aside from moving to a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. The turkey tells Daffy to take a boat to Rio de Janeiro, which is a trick to get Daffy into the oven. However, the hillbillies are unable to cook Daffy, as Daffy keeps blowing the matches out.
== Music Cues ==
* "All The Time" (by Sunny Skylar)
** Plays during the opening credits.
* "Arkansas Traveler" (by Sandford C. Faulkner)
** Plays throughout the short.
* "Home, Sweet Home" (by Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne)
** Plays when Daffy Duck sees Tom Turk at the pen.
* "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" (by Harry M. Woods and Mort Dixon)
** Plays when Daffy eats up the food while Tom Turk exercises.
* "Freddy the Freshman" (by Cliff Friend and Dave Oppenheim)
** Plays during the montage.
* "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You" (by Joseph Meyer, Al Dubin, and Billy Rose)
** Plays when Daffy Duck brags that he is healthy.
* "A Rainy Night in Rio" (by Arthur Schwartz and Leo Robin)
** Plays when Tom Turk tells Daffy Duck to leave the country.
* "Aloha 'Oe" (by Lili'uokalani)
** Plays when Daffy Duck is about to enter the potbelly stove.
== Availability ==
StarsOfSpaceJam Daffy.jpg|(1996) VHS Stars of Space Jam: Daffy Duck
Bumper06.jpg|(1996) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 6)
Spacedaffy.jpg|(1997) LaserDisc Japanese Looney Tunes LaserDiscs Daffy Duck
=== Streaming ===
Lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App (2018 -)
== Censorship ==
* On ABC's The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, two scenes involving gun use were cut:http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-h.aspx
** Ma and Pa's neighbor firing a rifle at them (with Ma using the bullets to pour the coffee, Pa using the bullets to light the match for his pipe, the bullets hitting Pa's hat when he hangs it up, and Pa firing back at their neighbor, followed by his agonized scream).
** Daffy trying to lose weight by sweating it off in a sauna machine, only for Pa to shoot the sauna machine and cause it to shrink tightly around Daffy's neck.
== Notes ==
* MeTV aired this short on 24 November 2021 on Toon In With Me; however, this airing uses the 1997 "THIS VERSION" print, without the disclaimer notice.
* This short is one of three non-Bugs Bunny cartoons from 1949 not to get a Blue Ribbon reissue. The others were "Porky Chops" and "Curtain Razor".
== Gallery ==
Holiday For Drumsticks Black and White Ending Title.png|Original closing title (from a 16mm black and white print)
HolidayForDrumsicksLC.jpg|Lobby card
45166194 10157979146848345 7078005592983339008 n.jpg|Lobby card (preliminary sketch)
HolidayForDrumsticksPreliminaryLobbyCard.jpg|Lobby card (preliminary sketch)
File:Hillbilly Blank Stare.png
== References ==
es:Holiday for Drumsticks
Category:1949
Category:Daffy Duck Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Arthur Davis
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Featured Media
Category:Cartoons written by Lloyd Turner
Category:Cartoons animated by Emery Hawkins
Category:Cartoons animated by Basil Davidovich
Category:Cartoons animated by Bill Melendez
Category:Cartoons animated by Don Williams
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Don Smith
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Cartoons originally produced in Cinecolor