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April 25, 1952 – The Donald Duck Short, Let’s Stick Together, is Released to Theaters

“You know, strange as it may seem, I used to be in business with that old duffer.”

On April 25, 1952, the Donald Duck short, Let’s Stick Together, was released to theaters. It features one of Donald’s many adversaries, Spike the Bee, who made his premiere in the 1948 Donald Duck short, Inferior Decorator. The short was directed by Jack Hannah, with the story by Nick George and Al Bertino. It also stars Clarence Nash as Donald, Bill Thompson as Spike, and voice actress legend June Foray in a cameo as Spike’s wife.

The short opens on a crisp fall day in the park, where an old bee is seen sitting on a ledge of a tree in his rocking chair, smoking a corncob pipe. He is suddenly startled as something lands into the ground in front of him. As the camera pans out, we see that the item belongs to an elderly Donald Duck, who is picking up trash in the park. He sits down on a bench to rest, and the bee laughs, narrating to the audience how he knows Donald, and taking the audience with him as he reminisces.

Spike discovers that his stinger is part of his secret talent

The flashback begins with Spike looking at the want ads in an abandoned newspaper. Just as he picks out what he thinks is the perfect job, the paper is snatched out from under him, flipping him into the air and dropping him harshly on the ground. Annoyed, Spike flies up to perch on a flower to look at his “attacker.” He then spies Donald, who is picking up the trash in the park, and gets an idea: he can use his stinger to pick up trash, and calls it his “hidden talent.” Excited by this discovery, he flies around Donald and shows the duck that he can help pick up trash. Donald is impressed, but is confused when Spike pushes Donald to the bench, letting him know he won’t be needed.

Spike makes quick work of the trash, and brings Donald part of a cigar he’s found. Donald pats Spike on the head and begins to relax while Elderly Spike relays to the audience that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The next day, the two went into business together, beginning at a local carnival. Donald is seen selling balloons for 10 cents a balloon, and after he sells them, he sends Spike out to pop them, forcing the children to buy from Donald again. Spike is distracted, however, by an ad for a balloon dancer, and slips inside, popping the balloons that cover the girl. She lets out a shriek, and Spike flies out again, shrugging.

Spike working on creating a lace pattern

The next job the two held was a tattoo parlor, with Donald using Spike’s stinger for a needle. Donald is impressed with Spike’s work, and they move on to other projects, including making socks, lace, monogrammed handkerchiefs, and even fancy curtains. Soon, as Spike tells us, they were in full production mode. As the orders kept coming in, Spike became more and more fatigued. He pleads with Donald to let him have a vacation, and Donald surprises him with a greenhouse full of flowers, complete with a lady bee as well. Falling in love makes Spike work harder than ever, only he destroys everything by stitching hearts everywhere.

Donald, seeing as how everything has been vandalized, cries out that he’s ruined, and glares at the lovesick bee before trying to swat the lady bee. Spike runs to protect his lady, and decides to sting the duck in the tail. It was the end of their partnership, and Spike and his lady “have been happy all these years,” Spike tells the audience. The audience hears the truth, however, as Spike’s lady begins to scream at him for lounging around. Spike decides to join Donald once again in their partnership, and the two hobble down the road together.

April 23, 1943 – The Donald Duck Short, Fall Out – Fall In, is Released to Theaters

“After supper…? Please?”

On April 23, 1943, the Donald Duck wartime short, Fall Out – Fall In, was released to theaters. As with the other Donald Duck wartime shorts, it was based on the experiences many of the animators had when they were in the army during World War II. It is also one of the few times that Donald’s headshot in the opening shows him without his usual sailor hat—he’s wearing an Army hat instead. The short was directed by Jack King, with Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald Duck.

The short opens just as the sun is rising, with a rooster letting out his call. Soldiers are marching on the horizon, with Donald Duck the last one in line. When he passes a sign saying that the group has traveled five miles, Donald marks it down on the bag of the soldier in front of him, and continues marching with a smile. At the 10-mile mark, Donald’s cheer has waned slightly, and his rifle seems to be pulling his shoulder down, but he adjusts it and continues to march, though definitely not as enthusiastically as before.

Donald using ingenuity to keep himself dry

A harsh storm hits the troops by mile 20. Donald is annoyed with the raindrops hitting his helmet, but he comes up with an idea to shield himself from the rain by using the bag of the soldier ahead of him. As they continue to march, the rain turns into snow, and icicles hang from the duck’s tail. Donald is still wearily keeping track of the miles on his fellow soldier’s bag, with the count at 35 miles traveled.

As suddenly as the snowstorm arrived, the snow disappears and is replaced by scorching hot weather, 40 miles into their march. Donald isn’t so much as marching any more as he is limping, and sweating buckets. As the sun sets on the troops, their commanding officer calls them to a halt, and we see that Donald has marked the soldier in front of him up and down with hash marks for each mile they’ve crossed. When Donald is told to fall out, he collapses.

Donald rushes madly to grab his meal after the excruciating hike

When a trumpet sounds, Donald revives, knowing that the sound means that it’s dinnertime. Excited, he opens his overstuffed bag, grabs his utensils, and runs to get his food – but his commanding officer won’t let him eat until he’s made up his tent. Donald leaps to the task, driven by the promise of food; unfortunately he has the worst luck when it comes to building his tent, and we see him still trying to build it long after the other soldiers have gone to sleep. Exhausted, Donald collapses and refuses to take care of his tent, but he can’t sleep because all of the other soldiers’ snoring keeps him awake.

Donald has only closed his eyes for a second, when the trumpet again sounds, telling the soldiers that it’s time to wake up. Too exhausted to even notice that he’s tied his belongings around a tree, Donald falls in line, carrying the tree and his belongings with him for the long trek back to camp.