November 11, 1953 – The Donald Duck Short Film Working for Peanuts is Released to Theaters
“I don’t know – let’s open it and see! Look, two nuts!”
On November 11, 1953, the Donald Duck short film Working for Peanuts was released to theaters. Filmed in 3D, it was shown at Disneyland as part of an attraction called 3D Jamboree, and was later shown at Walt Disney World as part of the Magic Journeys attraction. The short was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Nick George and Roy Williams, and stars Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald Duck.
The short begins with Chip and Dale storing acorns in their tree for the winter, when Dale accidentally throws Chip a peanut instead of an acorn. They open up the shell of the nut and are surprised to see two nuts inside. They each take one, and like it so much that they run off to find more. Their search leads them to the zoo, where the crowds are throwing peanuts at the elephant named Dolores; the sight of all the nuts causes the chipmunks to drool. As Dale rushes to grab the nuts, Chip stops him, having caught sight of the caretaker, Donald Duck.
When Dale is caught stealing Dolores’ peanuts, he tries to bribe the elephant with one of the nuts
Once Donald leaves, the two get to work gathering some of Dolores’ peanuts. The elephant is alarmed at their thievery, but sets to work getting her peanuts back. The two can only watch as she uses her trunk to deplete their supply from the tree. As Chip and Dale retaliate, hitting her with a tree branch, Dolores runs to Donald for help. Donald chases after them, but knocks himself unconscious in the process. After Dolores revives Donald, he spies the pair tap dancing, “working for peanuts” as one customer puts it. The chase begins again, with the chipmunks knocking over a bucket of white paint. Seeing Dale drenched in the paint gives Chip an idea.
There’s a knock at the door of the zoo, which Donald opens to reveal a package that contains “genuine albino chipmunks.” The instructions for the creatures include to “feed only select grade A peanuts (and humor them).” Donald is excited about the find, and gives them a special place to stay. Dolores provides them with a swimming pool, and without thinking, Dale rushes in, losing the paint from his bottom half before Chip is able to pull him from the water. However, they fool Donald and Dolores into thinking Dale is only wearing suspenders, and remain at the zoo, happy and provided with all the peanuts they could ever want.
disneydetail 