Eric Bauza’s final theatrical performance as Daffy Duck arrives on the big screen this weekend in the animated short “Daffy Season,” playing exclusively ahead of Skydance and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Cat in the Hat,” indiewire.com reported. The release comes just weeks after the sudden death of the prolific voice actor in October at age 46.
“Daffy Season” is the first theatrically released “Looney Tunes” short to hit cinemas in 14 years, following 2012’s “Daffy’s Rhapsody,” which originally screened before “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”
A new clip has arrived for ‘DAFFY SEASON’, the ‘LOONEY TUNES’ short featuring the late Eric Bauza. Daffy’s world becomes a nightmare when Elmer gets more invested in football than hunting. In theaters this weekend pic.twitter.com/aTCJLWNRYY
Todd Wilderman and Hamish Grieve Direct Daffy Season
- The Release: “Daffy Season” opens in theaters nationwide on November 6, attached to “The Cat in the Hat.”
- The Talent: Directed by Todd Wilderman and Hamish Grieve, the short features Bauza as Daffy Duck alongside Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Gabriel Iglesias as Speedy Gonzales, and Jeannie Tirado as Lola Bunny.
- The Legacy: The 7-minute short serves as Bauza’s final cinematic outing for the franchise he spent over a decade helping to revive.
Bauza Passes Away at His Los Angeles Home
The entertainment industry reeled when Bauza passed away at his Los Angeles home on October 25 due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease. His death arrived just two months after the theatrical release of “Coyote vs. Acme.” That film had previously been shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery as a tax write-off before being sold to Ketchup Entertainment, eventually pulling in $101 million worldwide.
For fans tracking the modern era of animation, Bauza had become the defining voice of modern “Looney Tunes.” He slowly inherited the studio’s crown jewel roles after initially succeeding Billy West as the voice of Stimpy in 2011. Over the years, his vocal cords powered Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety, and Porky Pig across projects like “Looney Tunes Cartoons,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” and “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”
Inside the Plot of “Daffy Season”
The new short breaks from traditional hunting tropes to tackle an entirely different obsession. “Daffy Season” centers on the titular duck turning his beak up at his fellow Tunes as they abandon their usual chaos to obsess over soccer.
Rabbit season!” routine, Elmer Fudd finds himself more invested in athletes kicking a ball than hunting waterfowl. Daffy, driven by classic egomania, demands the spotlight return to him even at the expense of his own hide.
| Project | Role | Release Status |
|---|---|---|
| “Coyote vs. Acme” | Tweety, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn | Released via Ketchup Entertainment ($101M gross) |
| “Daffy Season” | Daffy Duck | Theatrical release on November 6 ahead of “The Cat in the Hat” |
| “The Simpsons” | Two characters | Posthumous television broadcast on November 15 |
What Comes Next for the Franchise
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation producer Susan Rogers paid tribute to the actor’s encyclopedic knowledge of the studio’s rich catalog. “There wasn’t a single short he couldn’t quote or couldn’t reference,” Rogers noted in a tribute published by The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t think you replace Eric Bauza … The hole he leaves is huge.”
While studio executives have maintained that the iconic roster of animated characters will continue to move forward, the immediate future remains clouded. A planned musical feature titled “Bye Bye Bunny,” which had already enlisted Bauza’s vocal talents in pre-production, was ultimately canceled during development. Meanwhile, audiences catching “The Cat in the Hat” this weekend will also hear Bauza in additional minor voice credits for the Dr. Seuss feature, before his final scheduled posthumous television role airs on “The Simpsons” on November 15.
