Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck was Looney Tunes next big star; making his debut in the 1937 cartoon, 'Porky's Duck Hunt'. Created by Tex Avery, Daffy was the definition of 'Screwball' (seen extensively in the 1943 cartoon 'Yankee Doodle Daffy'). His character was unrestrainable and was seen bouncing about the screen and yelling for the majority of the cartoons; this loony yelling was to become his catch phrase trademark. "At that time, audiences weren't accustomed to seeing a cartoon character do these things. And so, when it hit the theatres it was an explosion. People would leave the theatres talking about this daffy duck." - Bob Clampett. "A person could say that Daffy Duck single-handedly let the looniness into the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies" [http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/daffy.htm]. The character of Daffy was seen as off-the-wall and zany but Daffy himself quoted "I'm not crazy, I just don't give a darn" in the 1938 cartoon 'Daffy Duck and Egghead'.

In the early 40's, Robert McKimson took on Daffy, "instilling some of Bugs Bunny's savvy into the duck, making him as brilliant with his mouth as he was with his battiness" [http://looneytunes.wikia.com/wiki/Daffy_Duck]. However, as time passed, Bugs became the studio biggest rising star - leaving Daffy behind. To help keep Daffy alive, he was once again redesigned into Bugs' somewhat rival; often jealous of the rabbits success and determined to steal back the spotlight. This is seen best in the 1957 cartoon, 'Show Biz Bugs' in which Daffy does whatever it takes to out-do Bugs to be the best.

 Another cartoon which showed Daffy's want off control was 'Duck Amuck' (1953). In this cartoon, Daffy continuously battles with a god-like animator in order to get the scene right. Through-out the cartoon, the background disappears only to bleed into a completely different setting. Daffy is also be continuously erased by the artists pencil only to be re-painted into a ridiculous version of himself. It's this constant, unnecessary change that sends Daffy insane with fury; asking questions like "Would it be too much to ask if we could make up our minds?". The sound gags, and visual changes that cause Daffy to explode with anger: "Never been so humiliated in all my life!" and makes him think that he could direct the cartoon better himself, "A close up you jerk! A close-up!" and "How about some colour stupid!" later saying "Not me you slob artist!" when the artist instead paints Daffy instead of the scenery. In between demands, he would scream out "Noooo!" when things didn't pan out his way, causing him to get even more heated. It later turns out that all this aggro was the work of Bugs himself - further intensifying the 2's rivalry.

Sources:
http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/daffy.htm
http://looneytunes.wikia.com/wiki/Daffy_Duck