Donald Duck Review

When I was a youngster growing up in the late forties and early fifties, my dad and I used to go regularly to the theater on Saturday mornings for the kiddie show they presented. There would always be a chapter of an adventure serial, a comedy short, something along the lines of the Three Stooges, and about 800 cartoons. I'm not sure if it was here that I first saw Disney's Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse or not; it seems like the shows I watched were always dominated more by Looney Tunes than anything else, but I'm sure there must have been some Disney in there somewhere, and this second two-disc tin of Donald Ducks brings back memories of those old days.

I wish I could say I liked the Duck and his pals as much today as I once did, but I'm afraid he hasn't aged as well as WB's Road Runner, Bugs, Daffy, and the gang. Still, the Disney artwork alone may be enough for any adult to enjoy, especially in this second batch of short features, dating from the War years, 1942-19

It's a lot of Duck for the buck.

Each of the two discs in the set contains sixteen or seventeen cartoons at six-to-eight minutes apiece. Plus each disc contains various additional bonuses. It's a lot of Duck for the buck.

Disc One:
The cartoons on the first disc are divided into two categories. The first is called "The Shorts" and covers the years 1942 and 1943; it includes cartoons that never mention the War that had engulfed the country. The first of these is "Bellboy Donald" (1942), in which Donald is working at a posh hotel and tangles with Pete and his obnoxious kid. The artwork is typical of the period, detailed and lush. The next is "The Village Smithy" (1942), wherein Donald is a blacksmith trying to shoe a donkey. Some minor grain is all that separates it from a more-recent production. In "Donald's Snow Fight" (1942) the Duck gets into a winter brawl with his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Then, in "Donald's Garden" (1942) he's raising prizewinning fruits and vegetables for the Pomona Fair, but a pesky gopher gives him a hard time. "Donald's Gold Mine" (1942) finds Donald the owner of the Lucky Duck Mine, a cartoon best remembered for Donald's quacking a rendition of "Clementine." In "Donald's Tire Trouble" (1943) he gets a flat while speeding around a mountain road in his roadster, and attempting to fix the tire proves more trouble than anticipated. Finally, there's "The Flying Jalopy" (1943), where Donald buys a dilapidated airplane from a shady buzzard, only to find that the buzzard is out to collect on Donald's life insurance!

The second section of short subjects on disc one is called "From the Vault," and it's here you'll find the Donald Duck cartoons that Disney made specifically for the War effort. Unfortunately, I could not find a way to access these cartoons without having first to listen to film critic and historian Leonard Maltin and his two-minute introduction. I could neither fast-forward through it nor bypass it. I had to endure it and listen to his apologies for the guns, violence, stereotypes, even cigarettes in the War-oriented films. I suppose Disney was taking no chances with its reputation, assuring us that it was not politically incorrect during World War II to use violence and propaganda even in children's fare. As if anybody would seriously be offended.

Anyway, things start with "Donald Gets Drafted" (1942), which seems something of a misnomer because he doesn't get drafted, he enlists, only to find Pete his drill sergeant. Among other things, we find



out Donald's full name; I'm not sure if this is the first time it came up, but it's the first time I remember seeing it. It's Donald Fauntleroy Duck. Next is "The Vanishing Private" (1942), with artwork and color that is less intense than in previous issues. The backgrounds are more like a soft and simple watercolor wash. In "Sky Trooper" (1942) Donald longs to be a pilot, all the while being hounded by Sgt. Pete. Then comes the highlight of the set, "Der Fuehrer's Face" (1943), featuring the famous song deriding Hitler. In the story, Donald dreams he's a German factory worker having to salute the Fuehrer at every turn, as the cartoon mocks the enemy--Germans, Japanese, and Italians--mercilessly in caricatures and song. That's followed by "Fall Out, Fall In" (1943), with Donald on a hike in the desert with his platoon; "The Old Army Game" (1943), in which the visual imagery changes from the photorealistic backgrounds of the early cartoons to the more stark and angular look of the later animation. In "Home Defense" (1943) Donald and his nephews are plane spotters; it's colorful but rather simple in execution. Lastly, there's "Commando Duck" (1944), where Donald is sent on a secret mission into enemy Japanese territory.

Disc Two:
The second disc contains Donald cartoons released from 1944 to 1946, although you might note that the actual copyright dates on a few of the early ones are a year before their release. Things begin with "Trombone Trouble" (1944), where Donald is annoyed by noisy neighbor Pete and his nonmusical talents. Even the gods are annoyed and provide Donald with super powers to combat the problem. "The Plastics Inventor" (1944) is a cute one for anybody who remembers a time before television when radio was king. It's also one of the more clever of the Duck cartoons. In "Donald's Off Day" (1944) Donald is cooped up with this nephews and winds up being driven into hypochondria. "Donald Duck and the Gorilla" (9144) is a pretty funny parody of horror films, with an escaped gorilla terrorizing Donald and his nephews. We can see an artistic change in "Contrary Condor" (1944) from Disney's usual detailed and realistic technique to the simple and stylistic art that would come later. Characters are still well drawn, but backgrounds are largely absent. Fortunately, in "The Eyes Have It" (1945) the detailed backgrounds return as Donald experiments with hypnotism on dog Pluto. "Donald's Crime" (1945) was nominated for an Academy Award; it does a smart take on conscience as Donald steals from his nephews' piggy bank to go on a date with Daisy. Then, there's the play on "goose pimples" in "Duck Pimples" (1945), another fine salute to radio days and the effect of radio and books on the imagination.

Disc two continues with "No Sail" (1945), a joint Donald Duck and Goofy cartoon, a little grainier than the others in the set. "Cured Duck" (1945) shows us more of the wrong side of Donald, as Daisy takes exception to her boyfriend's temper and his smoking big cigars. Children beware. In "The Clock Watcher" (1945), Donald can't wait for five o'clock to leave his day job. And in "Old Sequoia," (1945) Forest Ranger Donald must protect a valued tree from the ravages of local beavers.
I liked "Donald's Double Trouble" (1946) more than some of the others because it reveals more of the Duck's troubled personality than most of the other cartoons. Donald finds a refined double for himself, a fellow who sounds like British actor Ronald Colman, and has him impress Daisy. In "Wet Paint" (1946) Donald tries to paint his car but is harassed by a bothersome bird. "Dumb Bell of the Yukon" (1946) finds Donald in the far north country, involved with bears. It's Donald vs. a pesky pelican in "Lighthouse Keeping" (1946), and, lastly, it's another play on words with "Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive" (1946), Frank Buck being a real-life wild-game explorer of the day.

Video:
Given the age of these cartoons, there is surprisingly little variation in the picture quality. The Disney studio brass have always been famous for keeping their products in the best-possible condition, originally reissuing them in theaters and now reissuing them on tape and disc. The colors show up quite vividly, with no real signs of age, and only a touch of grain here and there, which is probably inherent to the master prints. Of course, given the wide variety of cartoons on the disc, it's understandable that some of them would be slightly less rich or deep in color than others.

Audio:
The audio is done up in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, and it probably sounds better now than when it was first heard in theaters, given that the audio tracks have been cleaned of background noise and are now reproduced on modern home-theater sound systems (unless you're among those people who are still listening to DVDs through your TV's feeble, built-in speakers; but certainly no respectable DVD Town reader would be doing such a thing.)

Extras:
There are bonus items on both of the discs. On disc one in addition to several introductions by Leonard Maltin, you get "A Day in the Life of Donald," a forty-nine minute segment of television's "Disneyland" from 1956. Naturally, it's in black-and-white, despite the fact that it includes two Donald Duck cartoons originally in color. Its title is self-explanatory as we follow Donald, a big-time Disney star, through a typical day at the studio. There he meets Uncle Walt; his voice, Clarence Nash; some of the studio animators; plus Jimmie Dodd and the Mouseketeers. English is the only spoken language offered throughout the set, but there are English captions for the hearing impaired.

Disc two contains even more extras. First, there's an excellent eleven-minute segment, "Drawing and Talking Duck," where Leonard Maltin interviews Tony Anselmo, the animator who took over the voice of Donald from Clarence Nash in 1987. Next, there's a nine-minute tribute to "The Art and Animation of Carl Banks," the man who developed Donald in the comic books. After that is a brief, two-minute bonus cartoon from 1940, "The Volunteer Worker," that finds Donald helping to pitch a worthy cause that the film never specifies. Then, there's a four-minute timeline highlighting important Disney studio events during the War years, 1941-1945. The final item is an animation art gallery, providing stills and early concept art from fourteen of the Duck cartoons in the set.

The two discs come housed in a slim-line keep case, further enclosed in an attractive metal box. A booklet insert, a miniature poster, and a certificate of authenticity complete the package.

Parting Thoughts:
If in my book the Donald Duck short subjects never quite equalled the Warner Bros. products for sheer fun or lunacy, well, chalk it up to personal taste. Donald Duck became the most popular character in the Disney stable of animated characters, and for good reason, his barely subdued brand of anarchy and temper a surefire hit, especially among children. Surely, if you like the Duck, this two-disc second volume is everything you could hope for and more.