Just Ducky

Just Ducky
File:Just Ducky title card.JPG The title card of Just Ducky
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Animation by	Irven Spence Ed Barge Ray Patterson Kenneth Muse Al Grandmain
Color process	Technicolor
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time	7 minutes 57 seconds

Just Ducky is a 1951 Tom and Jerry cartoon, released in 1953. It was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. The cartoon's music was scored by composer Scott Bradley and the animation was by Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson, Kenneth Muse and Al Grandmain.

Plot

A mother duck witnesses all but one of her eggs hatching into little ducklings, and takes them for a swim. After the mother duck and her ducklings have left, the final egg hatches, and out comes Quacker. Rushing behind, trying to catch up, he wades into the water but finds himself unable to swim. He calls for his mother, but she is too far way to help.

A despondent Quacker cries, and Jerry overhears his sobbing. He offers to teach Quacker how to swim. Jerry instructs him to grope forward through the water, but all Quacker does is slap the water. Jerry demonstrates a perfect circle and turns it over to Quacker. Quacker turns his arms like fan blades and wades out of the water, then turns around, but still cannot stay afloat. Jerry saves him and instructs Quacker to stay put while he looks for something to help Quacker.

Quacker kicks a rock and walks around, depressed, lamenting his inability to swim, but doesn't notice Tom cooking up some water. Tom hears the duck and slants his spoon such that Quacker will walk up it and fall into the water. Tom salt and peppers him when he does and cries out. Jerry saves him by whacking Tom with a 2x8.

Jerry removes Quacker from the scene. Tom chases them, but he runs into a hoe that they have placed. Jerry hides Quacker and instructs him to keep quiet, but Quacker dives into a hole when Tom approaches and Tom ends up getting pulled instead of Quacker. Tom is pulled through a pipe before Jerry turns to him and realizes he has taken Tom. Jerry dives into a pool, but has to breathe through a straw. Tom easily finds him and blows through the straw such that Jerry inflates. Jerry grabs the straw and inflates Tom in return. Quacker pops Tom with a safety pin.

Jerry and Quacker flee, but Quacker falls into a bowl with a few drops of water in it and Quacker thinks he's drowning until he spots Jerry. Jerry motions for him to follow, but Tom upends the bowl and sends him back into Tom's water. Tom spoons out Quacker, but Jerry pelts a brick at Tom and shatters the cat into hundreds of pieces. Quacker gets out of the spoon and runs off with Jerry, but Jerry is captured in a jug by Tom and Quacker beats it. Tom chases Quacker out to a lake and Quacker hides under the promontory while Tom falls in.

In an ironic twist, it turns out that Tom is unable to swim, and begins to drown. Quacker is reluctant to save him, as he himself cannot swim, but he bravely summons up the adrenaline to jump in the lake, and miraculously rescues Tom from drowning. At the end of the cartoon, Tom and Jerry have made up, and Jerry is helping Tom recover from a cold. They watch on as Quacker swims with his family (though Quacker is doing an impressive backstroke).

Notes

• This is the last cartoon in which Tom has a light-grey stripe separating his eyes.