A Pest in the House
| A Pest in the House | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies (Daffy Duck/Elmer Fudd) series | |
| Directed by | Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Edward Selzer |
| Story by |
Tedd Pierce Michael Maltese |
| Voices by |
Mel Blanc Arthur Q. Bryan |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by |
Ben Washam Ken Harris Basil Davidovich Lloyd Vaughan |
| Layouts by | Richard Morley |
| Backgrounds by | Richard Morley |
| Studio | Warner Bros. |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 2, 1947 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 minutes (one reel) |
| Language | English |
A Pest in the House is an animated short film released on August 2, 1947. It is directed by Chuck Jones and stars the characters of Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. The title is an appropriate play on "a guest in the house." The film is notable for featuring a sort of "in-between" interpretation of Daffy. He is not necessarily the zany, impish interpretation used famously by Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, nor is he the greedy, self-centered version that Chuck Jones later popularized in the 1950s. As Paul Dini said in the DVD audio commentary for this cartoon: "[In this cartoon, Daffy] is really kind of almost like a sprite. He's just a little, almost elfin creature who's not really out to hurt anybody or has any ill will or malice toward anybody. He's just completely out of his mind."
It was only one of three non-Bugs Bunny cartoons from 1947 not to be reissued. The others were Catch as Cats Can and Mexican Joyride.
The cartoon was followed up in 1948 by Daffy Duck Slept Here, wherein Daffy (this time as a fellow guest) again doesn't let a hotel patron sleep - in this case Porky Pig
The cartoon starts with a brief narration describing a labor shortage that "became so bad" that compels employers to hire "anybody or anything". Daffy is a hotel bellboy and Elmer Fudd is the manager. Elmer tells Daffy to take a customer to room 666. The customer (voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan, in his natural voice) asks for peace and quiet, and suddenly threatens to punch Elmer right in the nose if he's disturbed at any time.
Daffy, in a Jerry Colonna-like sarcastic aside to the audience, remarks: "Likable chap, isn't he?" Daffy does many stunts that keep the man awake, complete with escorting him to room 666. Every time he is awakened again, the increasingly irritated man trudges to the lobby, to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel", and at the second where the song says "pop", he punches Elmer in the face.
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Wikipedia