Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.Daffy Duck has always been one of my all-time favourite animated characters, actually ever even. He is always so much fun to watch, though a lot of his outings with Speedy Gonzales in the 60s really didn't do him justice, but in his prime years (the 40s and 50s) he was wholly deserving of his iconic status. Norm McCabe, a very capable director deserving of more credit but in the shadow of very stiff competition, directs this relatively early black and white Daffy cartoon. While 'Daffy's Southern Exposure' is not one of the Daffy Duck classics, it is very intriguing to see Daffy in black and white and 'Daffy's Southern Exposure' is a worthy representation. Even if there are more original cartoons out there story-wise and those with wittier and more hilarious material, 'Daffy's Southern Exposure' has a lot of energy and is still very funny.It in no way disgraces Daffy, even in this early stage he has his iconic personality, already well established and not one of those still-evolving-and-not-fully-formed ones, and is so much fun to watch. His opponents are worthy of him, and just as amusing and interesting.Mel Blanc is outstanding as always. Blanc shows an unequalled versatility and ability to bring an individual personality to every one of his multiple characters in a vast majority of his work, there is no wonder why he was in such high demand as a voice actor.Billy Bletcher, also with a very distinctive voice perfect for villains in particular, is similarly splendid, both formidable and pitch perfect in comic timing.The animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail. McCabe directs very capably, even if prominent competition like Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones were more inspired and more inventive with more distinctive styles. Sorry if this sounds unfair, and it is, but it is hard to not make them and somewhat inevitable.Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.Overall, solid. 8/10 Bethany Cox

. . . the more deplorable aspects of Humanity. Phrases such as "the Wolf is at my door," "the Big Bad Wolf," "a Wolf in Sheep's clothing," and "Wolf Whistle" are just a few of the many negative connotations of the Lupine Kind. DAFFY'S SOUTHERN EXPOSURE finds Daffy Duck confronted with the ultimate Wolf Evil: the imminent prospect of being eaten alive by Nature's #1 Miscreant. To add insult to injury, the Wolf stuffs Daffy full of beans for an indiscriminate glutton's take of Foie Gras. When the meat cleaver comes out after his "Shampbell's Beans" repast, Daffy cleverly lures this fanged carnivore South--through the musical strains of Dixie at the 7:00 minute mark--and then down across South America, toward Mr. W's ultimate exile on Antarctica's Larsen Ice Shelf B. This is Warner Bros.' Extreme Early Warning to We Americans of (The Then) Far Future to get Red Commie KGB Chief Vlad "The Mad Russian" Putin's White House Sock Puppet Don Juan Rump (aka, "The Wolf of Wall Street") down, down below into frigid regions where he will harm us no more, pronto!

"Daffy's Southern Exposure" is one of the funnier Daffy Duck toons from his black and white period. There are two errors in the IMDb description of this cartoon: the animal who tries to cook and eat Daffy here is a wolf, not a fox ... and the voice of the wolf is supplied not by Mel Blanc but by (uncredited) Billy Bletcher, who also did the voice for Disney's Big Bad Wolf a few years earlier.Daffy has made the seemingly sensible decision not to fly south for the winter, because later he'll just have to fly north again, and so forth. But ... "You'll be sorry!" gloat a Greek chorus of ducks, just before their seasonal migration. Next thing we know, Daffy's caught in a blizzard right up to his gizzard."Daffy's Southern Exposure" was released in 1942, when a substantial portion of the audience still remembered silent movies. I was intrigued that the plot of this cartoon is advanced via the device of a silent-film intertitle; it works gracefully enough here (and includes a nice gag), but might have been jarring if used only a few years later, when the Warner toons were being made in colour.Seeking shelter and sustenance, Daffy ends up in a cabin inhabited by a locquacious wolf with an unlimited supply of beans but no meat. The wolf is partnered by a weasel who doesn't talk. For some reason, there seems to be a long cartoon tradition of teaming a speaking character with a partner who's either mute or only speaks incoherently. This is true not only at Warners (with Sniffles the mouse and his speechless worm companion) but at other studios as well. The wolf and the weasel in "Daffy's Southern Exposure" show real potential as characters who could have returned in later Warners toons, but their potential is undercut by the fact that the weasel remains silent. (This tradition of a 'silent partner' does not apply to Harpo Marx, who is never silent because -- although remaining mute -- he always makes as much noise as possible.)It's a shame that Billy Bletcher receives no screen credit for his voice-work here, as his performance is excellent. The wolf dons a Granny disguise, requiring Bletcher to speak in falsetto. While the wolf is en femme, Bletcher performs a rapid patter song with a complicated lyric, singing it entirely in falsetto. He's excellent! What a pity that so few people are familiar with this comedian's name and work. Mel Blanc does fine voice work here, too: wait'll you hear how he applies Daffy's speech impediment to the word "sustenance".The slapstick in "Daffy's Southern Exposure" is well up to the usual Warners standard, with less violence than usual for a carnivorous plot line. I'll rate this one 8 out of 10.