Daffy is wandering across a Dalí-style desert. Under the broiling sun, he is suffering from hyperthermia and dehydration. He seeks water, but finds a gold nugget instead. A pack rat wants to give him water in exchange for the gold, but Daffy refuses to trade.
The desert heat and his thirst take a toll on Daffy's sanity, as he begins imagining that he is in a bar, in a hotel, playing baseball, waiting for the bus, and dancing with a cactus. Finally, Daffy becomes so severely dehydrated that he turns to dust and agrees to surrender the gold after the rat restores him with a drop of water.
As he takes a glass of water, a storm swamps him in a flood. For the closing line, he says, "One thing's for sure, when I buy water, I sure get my money's worth!"
Leonard Maltin, writing in Of Mice and Magic, considered this film a low point among Daffy Duck cartoons.[3] Charles Gardner found John Dunn's story creditable but was disappointed with the animation, direction and voice characterization.[4] The Daffy on Video page gives Aqua Duck one star out of four, finding its execution "cheap and lazy."[5]
^Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 344. ISBN0-8050-0894-2.
