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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.

December 14, 1951 – The Donald Duck Short Film Bee on Guard is Released to Theaters

“How are you, buzz buzz?”

On December 14, 1951, the Donald Duck short film Bee on Guard was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Nick George and Bill Berg.

A tall tree trunk has been turned into a castle hive for bees, and they set out to gather what they need to produce honey, leaving one bee behind to guard the castle. The bees set to work in Donald’s nearby garden, and he becomes excited about the prospect of honey. He follows them back to the hive and attempts to take the honey, but is thwarted by the lone guard. He heads home to create a giant bee costume, then attempts to trick the guard into believing he’s a part of the hive after the bees depart again. While the guard is occupied, he steals the honey from the hive and “flies” away. The rest of the bees return, and find the honey missing and the guard asleep. The guard is booted from the hive, and finds a trail of honey leading to Donald’s house. Discovering the ruse, the guard attacks Donald, and the other bees watch as the two duel. The other bees cheer when the guard wins the fight, and he is honored within the hive.

December 10, 1937 – The Donald Duck Short Film Donald’s Ostrich is Released to Theaters

“Hey, what’s the big idea?”

On December 10, 1937, the Donald Duck short film Donald’s Ostrich was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King.

Donald is listening to a shrill radio opera while at work, and quickly changes the channel, finally finding something he can dance to. The train arrives, dumping its packages on the platform – and on Donald – and is surprised to find one containing an ostrich, which gives him a kiss. The ostrich comes with a label: her name is Hortense, and she must be fed and watered, with a post script warning that she eats anything. Hortense continues to flirt with Donald, though Donald will have nothing of it. When Donald crashes into a stack of milk jugs, Hortense is left to her own devices, and starts eating what she can find, including an accordion, an alarm clock, and some balloons. The mix of the contents gives her the hiccups, and she starts hiccuping into a hose, which gives Donald a cause for concern. He works on curing her hiccups by scaring her with a tuba, but it only causes her hiccups to worsen. Hortense then eats the radio, which is set to a murder mystery. Each hiccup she has causes the station to change, and she reacts with each broadcast. Donald attempts to extract the radio, but pulls out the accordion first. Hortense, reacting to a racing broadcast, crashes in the station, and Donald unfortunately comes down with a case of the hiccups after yelling at Hortense.