Book Revue

Did You Know?

• The cartoon was released on January 5, 1946.
• The short was voted #45 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time in 1994.

Plot

When midnight strikes, a stack of books springs to life. The Complete Works of Shakespeare appears as clockwork figures moving to "My Grandfather's Clock." The action then shifts across different book covers. In Young Man with a Horn, a cartoon version of Harry James plays "It Had to Be You" in a jazz style.

Henry VIII behaves like a seal until Alice from The Aldrich Family interrupts, calling him a naughty boy. A very thin caricature of Frank Sinatra sings, drawing the attention of other book-cover characters. A jam session begins, featuring Tommy Dorsey on trombone, Gene Krupa on drums, and Benny Goodman on clarinet. Daffy Duck bursts in and orders the music to stop.

He speaks with a Russian accent reminiscent of Danny Kaye, then accidentally provokes the Big Bad Wolf, who chases Daffy through various book scenes. Police catch the Wolf, and a magazine cover judge sentences him to life in prison. The Wolf escapes but, with Sinatra's help, tumbles into the cover of Dante's Inferno. The party continues with everyone dancing to "Carolina in the Morning," but the Wolf climbs out of Dante's Inferno and shouts for the dancing to stop.

Influence

The short's original title card was swapped out for a Warner Bros. "Blue Ribbon" version in later releases, which misspelled the title. That original card has since been recovered, and a fully restored version of the cartoon is available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, the Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 2, and the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2. In 1994, animation professionals ranked it 45th on the list of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time.

The Animaniacs episode "Video Review," which aired on November 23, 1993, paid homage to the short: Yakko, Wakko, and Dot battle a tyrannosaurus rex that comes out of a Jurassic Park video box, mirroring Daffy's fight with the Big Bad Wolf. A 2015 4chan meme featured Daffy Duck in his zoot suit, with users posting the image and claiming it was "literally them" or asking "Where did you get this pic of me?" The meme later became linked to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure because of Daffy's resemblance to characters from that anime.

In the mobile game Looney Tunes World of Mayhem, Daffy appears as Zoot Suit Daffy, wearing the same outfit from the cartoon.

Reception

Animation historian Steve Schneider notes that while many jokes in Book Revue feel old-fashioned, that hardly matters. He urges viewers to instead appreciate the cartoon's wild energy, layered backgrounds, precise character movements, multiple storylines, clever use of color, and efficient framing. Most of all, he highlights Daffy Duck's outstanding performance—dancing, scat-singing, and contorting in a career-defining moment. Schneider calls Book Revue a masterclass in animation, a demonstration of what brilliant creators can achieve in the medium.