June 30, 1939 – The Donald Duck Short Film Sea Scouts is Released to Theaters
“That looks like a fish…a flying fish!”
On June 30, 1939, the Donald Duck short film Sea Scouts premiered in theaters. It was the first short directed by Dick Lundy.
Donald is the captain of a ship, with his nephews serving as his crew. As his nephews sleep, he barks orders at them, quickly snapping them to attention. As they hoist the anchor, the anchor gets stuck under a rock and sends them flying. Donald tries to take over, and he too is thrown aside from the pushback. Donald then uses so much force that he almost capsizes the boat. His nephews laugh at his misfortune in raising the anchor, until he yells at them to raise the sails. Seeing that they are incorrect in the procedure, Donald orders them to lower the boom, which they do – on his head. Angered, Donald decides to do everything himself, and starts raising the sails. A strong wind comes in to carry them away, though none realize that the boat is still tied to the dock. The mast is broken from the force of the wind, and Donald gets tangled in a rope and swept away. Seeing his hat having fallen, he demands his nephews bring him down, until he spots a shark right below. Unfortunately, his calls to be brought back up come too late, but Donald manages to scramble his way back up the mast. The boys try to save him, but the shark scares them away, and Donald has to do battle with the beast. When Donald’s hat is ruined in the chase, Donald gets angry enough to fight – and win – against the shark. The boys then head back to short triumphantly.
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