Birth of a Notion (film)

Birth of a Notion is a 1947 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob Clampett and Robert McKimson.[3] The cartoon was released on April 12, 1947, and stars Daffy Duck.[4]

Birth of a Notion
Blue Ribbon reissue title card
Directed byBob Clampett (planned)
Robert McKimson (completed)
Story byWarren Foster
StarringMel Blanc
Music byCarl Stalling
Animation byRichard Bickenbach
Cal Dalton
I. Ellis
Rod Scribner
Anatole Kirsanoff
Fred Jones[1]
Layouts byCornett Wood
Backgrounds byRichard H. Thomas
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • April 12, 1947 (1947-04-12)[2]
Running time
7 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Director McKimson uses his "Barnyard Dawg" character design as Leopold, the mad scientist's dog, while the scientist is a caricature, both visually and vocally, of Peter Lorre.[5] The title is a play on The Birth of a Nation, but there is no other connection to that 1915 film.

Birth of a Notion is one of three shorts that had been scheduled for direction by Bob Clampett before he left Warner Bros. Cartoons; the other two were Bacall to Arms and The Goofy Gophers, both of which were finished by Arthur Davis. Mel Blanc voiced Daffy Duck, Leopold and Joe Besser Duck, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voiced the mad scientist.

Plot

Daffy is not going to fly south for the winter like other ducks. He manages to convince the rather simple-witted dog, Leopold, to let him stay for the winter by pretending to have saved Leopold's life. Unfortunately, Leopold's master is a mad scientist who needs the Furcula of a duck for his experiment.

Daffy is insulted by the scientist's requirement and tries to get rid of him, while Leopold interferes to save his master. At one point, Daffy throws a baseball bat at the scientist from behind, and Leopold grabs it, but cannot stop it in time from hitting the man. The scientist misunderstands, taking the bat away and calmly scolding Leopold while breaking the bat into many pieces with his bare hands before going to sleep. Daffy's assassination attempt fails, and the scientist turns the tables, trying to kill Daffy with numerous booby traps around the house. Meanwhile, Leopold feels left out of the cartoon.

Daffy finally leaves, but the master decides a dog's wishbone will do, so Leopold flees as well. As Daffy starts to try to con his way into another house, a grey duck (with a Joe Besser-like personality) who is already occupying the place kicks Daffy into the sky, southbound. On his flight, he is surprised to find he has company - Leopold, aided by a fan strapped to his back, is flying south too.

References
  1. Baxter, Devon. "Birth Of A Notion (1947)". Cartoon Research. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  2. Beck, Jerry (January 1, 1981). The Warner Brothers Cartoons. p. 125. ISBN 9780810813960. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  3. Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 174. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  4. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 70–72. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 90. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
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