Ducking the Devil

Ducking the Devil is a 1957 Merrie Melodies short directed by Robert McKimson.
== Plot ==
At a zoo, a cage was reserved for Taz the Tasmanian Devil. He soon escapes and runs amok, resulting everyone in the zoo (including the zookeeper) to run away in fear. Meanwhile, Daffy is at home in his duck pond, reading about Taz's escape in a newspaper. The latter of which soon finds him and then attacks and gives chase to the black mallard. While fleeing Taz, Daffy hears a news bulletin on a radio posting a five-thousand-dollar reward for the Tasmanian Devil's capture and return, which also says that he becomes surprisingly docile when exposed to music. And so, after using many different kinds of music, (some of which fail miserably), Daffy eventually resorts to using his own voice and singing talent to calm the devil. Eventually, after serenading him for ten miles, Daffy leads Taz back to the zoo, and his cage, and successfully contains the beast just as his voice was about to give out. After Taz grabs a bill which slipped on the ground, Daffy rushes inside the cage screaming "It's mine, mine, all mine," and beats him up, before coming back out victoriously and saying that he may be a coward, but that he's a "greedy little coward."
== Availability ==
StarsOfSpaceJam Taz.jpg|(1996) VHS Stars of Space Jam: Tasmanian Devil
Space Jam Double Feature.jpg|(1997) VHS Space Jam Double Feature
Bumper05.jpg|(1997) VHS Special Bumper Collection (Vol. 5)
Spacetaz.jpg|(1997) LaserDisc Japanese Looney Tunes LaserDiscs Tasmanian Devil
Taz's Jungle Jams.jpg|(1998) VHS Looney Tunes Presents: Taz's Jungle Jams
400px-Looney Tunes Super Stars - Daffy Duck - Frustrated Fowl.jpg|(2010) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl (cropped to widescreen)
51LA0AzTVqL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|(2011) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two (original fullscreen format)
LTPC VOL 1 DVD.jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1, Disc Two (original fullscreen format)
Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection- Looney Tunes.jpg|(2013) DVD Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Looney Tunes, Disc 1
lt ssfm2.jpg|(2017) DVD Looney Tunes Super Stars Family Multi-Feature Vol. 2, Disc 1
lt sosj td dvd.jpg|(2018) DVD Stars of Space Jam: Tasmanian Devil
lt sosj cv1.jpg|(2018) DVD Stars of Space Jam Collection Volume 1
=== Streaming ===
lt boomerang.jpg|Boomerang App (2017 - )
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2022)
== Notes ==
* This short is one of the few times Daffy goes after a large sum of money and not only succeeds in getting it, but keeps it by the cartoon's end.
* Zookeeper Burton is likely a reference to John W. Burton, who would later take over as the producer of Warner Bros. Cartoons following Eddie Selzer's retirement the following year.
* The sequence where the patrons run away from the zoo in fear at the beginning of the cartoon is reused animation from "Wild over You".
** Additionally, the sequence where Taz encounters Daffy combines reused animation from "Devil May Hare" and "Bedevilled Rabbit".
* "Ducking the Devil" is notable for being the only pairing of Daffy Duck and Taz in the Golden Age, and the only Taz cartoon in the Golden Age without Bugs Bunny in it.
* The concept of Taz becoming docile when exposed to music in this short is based all too literally on the metaphorical saying "music soothes the savage beast."
**Despite Zookeeper Burton stating that Taz becomes docile when exposed to music, Taz seems to not be affected by music that sounds unpleasant to his ears. In this case, Scottish pipe music, resulting in Taz snatching away Scottish pipes from Daffy and smashing it.
==Gallery==
DuckingtheDevilCredits1.png
DuckingtheDevilCredits2.png
Tumblr 1443e2Tpze1s92nono1 1280.jpg|Color guide
LTMMLC7.jpg|Lobby card
DuckingTheDevilLobbyCard.jpg|Lobby card
Category:Cartoons directed by Robert McKimson
Category:Daffy Duck Cartoons
Category:Taz Cartoons
Category:Shorts
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:1957
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons animated by George Grandpré
Category:Cartoons animated by Ted Bonnicksen
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Robert Gribbroek
Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by William Butler
Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn
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 that reuse footage from earlier cartoons