Now look at me! A has-been! A henpecked duck! A Kansas-back cassanova! And it's your fault!
The Stupid Cupid is a 1944 Looney Tunes short directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.
Spring is in the air, and Cupid (played by a giggling Elmer) is out to spread all the love he can. After a few successful shots, including bringing two lovebirds together and making a dog fall in love with the cat he was chasing, Cupid attempts to shoot Daffy, only to be stopped short by the duck who tells him to back off, explaining he had shot him the previous year, resulting in him ending up in a Shotgun Wedding and becoming a Henpecked Husband with a dozen kids. Angry with the cherub for putting him in this fix, Daffy breaks Cupid's arrows and sends him flying with his own bow. In retaliation, Cupid targets Daffy with a giant bow and arrow made from a tree that sends Daffy flying. Daffy is soon overcome by the arrow's magic and falls in love with a nearby hen. Unfortunately, not only is the hen not interested in Daffy, she happens to be Happily Married.
Tropes appearing in this cartoon:
- Bathtub Scene: Daffy is shown bathing in a water trough.
- Batty Lip Burbling: Daffy is hit by a giant arrow from Cupid, which hits him with such force that he ends up with his beak stuck through a piece of wood from a tree. He struggles to lift his arm just to burble his lips.
- Bowdlerization: Two censored versions of this cartoon (both of which cut the scene of the cat shooting himself in the head after the dog gets hit by Cupid's arrow and declares his love for the cat) exist:
- The a.a.p. version (which aired on Cartoon Network before 1995 and currently airs on Latin America's Tooncast channel) removes the entire scene featuring the cat and the bulldog, making the cartoon go from the horse getting hit with Cupid's arrow and gleefully bouncing around the barnyard after kissing the female horse to Daffy bathing in a trough and Cupid Elmer about to target him.
- The 1995 dubbed version (which aired on Cartoon Network after 1995 and is the version that currently airs on Boomerang) leaves in the part with the cat and dog fighting, Cupid Elmer firing his arrow at the dog, and the dog suddenly sounding like Charles Boyer and declaring his love for the cat, but as soon as the cat shrugs his shoulders, the edited version fades into the scene of Daffy bathing in a trough and Cupid Elmer about to target him.
- The popular version that airs on television and home media (the Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies version) releases has some cuts made during Daffy pursuing the hen and the end where Daffy gets between the rooster and the hen while they kiss.
- This actually goes as far as the theatrical release. According to animation historian Greg Ford, the reason for the abrupt ending is because the Blue Ribbon reissue deleted a somewhat raunchy line from Daffy, where, upon realising he is kissing the rooster, he makes an aside to the audience "If you haven't tried it, don't knock it."
- The Casanova: Daffy thinks he's one, with part of his reason for being mad at Cupid is ruining his lifestyle. In actuality, he's a Casanova Wannabe, which is shown when he tried to woo the hen and she flees in terror.
- Cupid's Arrow: Cupid Elmer uses the standard for cartoons, "instantly fall in love with the first person you see" variety.
- Goo Goo Getup: Being Cupid, Elmer is clad in nothing but a hat and a diaper.
- Here We Go Again!: Daffy has just been forgiven by the rooster when Cupid Elmer shoots him again. He runs back to the hen to kiss her again, right in the middle of her being kissed by her husband. The cartoon ends rather abruptly at that point.
- Hypocrite: Just before Cupid attempted to shoot him, Daffy was singing a song about love. He then reveals that he's actually bitterly married.
- I Have a Family: As he begs for his life to the rooster, Daffy tells him that he has a wife and kids... and then quickly runs off-screen and drives up with them all in a car, then driving off and getting back in position.
- Impact Silhouette: After being struck by the giant arrow, Daffy is sent flying through several coops, a fence, and even a silo, each with his impression in the walls.
- Interspecies Romance:
- As a result of being shot by Cupid, a bulldog falls in love with the cat he was chasing.
- Also a one-sided version between Daffy and the hen.
- Naked People Are Funny: Cupid Elmer, though he wears a diaper.
- Rule of Three: Before attempting to shoot Daffy, Cupid shot a bird, a horse, and a dog with his arrows.
- Seen-It-All Suicide: Elmer shoots an arrow at a bulldog who's chasing a cat. Instantly smitten, the dog gets on his knees and declares his love for the cat in a French accent. To which the cat—that is, the male cat—shrugs to the camera, "Now I've seen everything!" and shoots himself in the head... followed by all the rest of his nine lives doing the same.
- Shotgun Wedding: Daffy shows Elmer a photo album of the results of being shot last year. One photo has an overbearing female duck in a bridal gown clutching Daffy by the neck as her father holds a shotgun to his head.
- Stalker with a Crush: After being hit by Cupid's Arrow, Daffy becomes this to the hen, pursuing her wherever she goes.
- This Means War!: In response to Daffy sending him flying, Elmer doesn't say anything, but based on his angry expression followed by targeting Daffy with a giant bow and arrow, it's clear what his intentions are.
- Title Drop: While explaining to the rooster that it wasn't his fault he chased the hen, Daffy said it was because of that "stupid cupid!"
- Tree Buchet: Elmer hits Daffy with a giant arrow, using a tree as the bow.
- The Voiceless: As Cupid, Elmer has no lines other than his Signature Laugh.
