The Scarlet Pumpernickel is a 1950 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese.

[5] Daffy Duck, tired of comedic roles, pitches a dramatic script called The Scarlet Pumpernickel to studio head Jack L. Warner.

When Daffy realizes that he has neglected to write an ending, he ad-libs a chaotic cliamax involving various natural disasters, culminating in the Scarlet Pumpernickel's comedic "suicide", to sell the story.

Most modern-day satires trade on anachronism, and the hero and the audience end up complicit in their smug superiority to the antiquated vehicle.

But what's funny about The Scarlet Pumpernickel is the tremendous investment its hero puts into his costumed character, and the vast chasm that yawns between Daffy's inflated perception of himself and the highly flawed little black duck that he really is.