December 16, 1949 – The Donald Duck Short Film Toy Tinkers is Released to Theaters
“Prepare to defend yourselves!”
On December 16, 1949, the Donald Duck short film Toy Tinkers was released to theaters. The sixteen mm release of the film gave it another title of Christmas Capers. The short was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Harry Reeves and Milt Banta.
It’s a beautiful winter’s night, and Chip and Dale are sound asleep in their log when Chip is awakened by Donald chopping down a Christmas tree. Chip wakes up Dale, and the two follow Donald home, where they spy all sorts of Christmas goodies through the window. Chip devises a plan to get inside and unnoticed, and the two start collecting the nuts they spotted inside. Dale gets a bit distracted after taking a hat and cane from a teddy bear, and starts playing with the toys. Donald notices the two stealing the nuts, and decides to play a prank on the while reclaiming the nuts; the chipmunks are much smarter than Donald, however, and the two groups go back and forth trying to one-up the other. The two engage in a war, throwing ornaments at each other, but eventually, Donald raises the white flag of surrender while the boys make off with the nuts and the toys.
