Tag Archives: 1940s

September 12, 1941 – The Donald Duck Short Film Old MacDonald Duck is Released to Theaters

“Let’s see…eenie meenie miney mo, okay, missy, here we go.”

On September 12, 1941, the Donald Duck short film Old MacDonald Duck was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King.

It’s a sunny day on Donald’s farm, and he is happily feeding the animals and singing “Old MacDonald,” with the animals accompanying him. He calls out for his cow Clementine, but she seems to be nowhere to be found. He finally spies her up a tree, eating leaves, and she gracefully jumps down to meet him. He sits down to milk her, and all is going well until a fly lands on Clementine’s nose. She accidentally whacks Donald with her tail, and although he is initially irritated, he resumes work until the fly lands on his own beak. After slapping it away, he tries to pull his hat down over his head, but the fly finds its way in and bugs him. He is interrupted to the point where he loses focus, and ends up milking into his hat, sitting on his pail, and wearing his stool as his hat. The fly continues to mock him, so Donald uses Clementine’s udder to shoot milk at the bug. The bug is terrified, but manages to safely get away. The bug seeks the ultimate revenge, and tricks Clementine into wrapping her tail around Donald’s neck before swishing him around to rid herself of the fly, and ends up dumping poor Donald into the milk bucket. The fly then bites the cow to make her kick Donald into the barn, with tools falling all over him. The fly laughs himself silly over his triumph.

September 1, 1944 – The Donald Duck Short Film The Plastics Inventor is Released to Theaters

“Now, the moment we’ve been waiting for: the first flight in our plastic plane.”

On September 1, 1944, the Donald Duck short film The Plastics Inventor was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King, with story by Jack Hannah and Dick Shaw.

Donald is listening to a radio program called “The Plastic Hour with Professor Butterfield,” of which he is a big fan. He is excited about learning how to bake an airplane out of a huge hunk of junk. He waits until the plastic is ready to be poured into the mold, and creates the parts for the motor while he waits, and is soon ready to fly his plastic plane after baking his helmet as well. Soon, he heads up into the sky with his plane, and enjoys his flight immensely. The professor warns that the plane will melt in water, so Donald should be sure not to get it wet, and should avoid all rainclouds. Unfortunately, a storm quickly brews, and Donald quickly tries to keep his plane together, to no avail. He acts quickly to avoid some mountains, but ends up quickly losing parts of his plane in the process. The plane completely disintegrates, and Donald ends up falling to the ground, covering a flock of blackbirds like a pie. Angered by the professor’s carefree attitude about Donald’s plan falling apart in the rain, Donald takes a nearby watering can and dumps it on the radio, which, like the plane, quickly disintegrates.

August 9, 1940 – The Donald Duck Short Film Donald’s Vacation is Released to Theaters

“Doggone it! Am I mortified. This is absolutely…!”

On August 9, 1940, the Donald Duck short film Donald’s Vacation was released to theaters. The short was directed by Jack King.

Donald is sailing in his canoe, singing while playing his guitar, when he falls over a waterfall. He makes his way out of the river and sets up his camp, which fits rather nicely inside his canoe contraption, which doubles as a tent. He decides to relax, and pulls out a new e-z folding model of the Comfy Vacation Chair, although for Donald, it is anything but easy. Donald ends up folded in the chair as if he were imprisoned, and is soon flung back into the river. He gets back to the chair and starts jumping on it, until it springs into shape. A herd of chipmunks, having watched the interaction, observe Donald as he sleeps in his chair, then make a break for his food supplies. They accidentally puncture Donald’s tail with a pineapple, waking him from his slumber; as he jumps in the air, he is once again trapped in his chair, helpless to watch as the chipmunks carry his food away. He uses the chair to propel him forward to chase the chipmunks, unaware that a bear has discovered his food as well. As he chases the chipmunks, he crashes into his food and ends up grabbing the bear by accident. Annoyed, the bear chases after Donald all over the woods, which ends with Donald quickly packing up his things and hightailing it down the river once again.

July 11, 1941 – The Donald Duck Short Film Early to Bed is Released to Theaters

“Doggone it. I’ll get to sleep if it kills me!”

On July 11, 1941, the Donald Duck short film Early to Bed was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King.

Donald lets out a long yawn as he stretches and gets ready for bed. He mutters that he has to get up early and mentions how tired he is before singing himself a lullaby. As he tries to land on his pillow, he hits the bed frame with his head. Annoyed, he moves his pillow, only to have all the feathers fly out when he tries once again to rest his head. He finally is able to go to sleep, save for the ticking of his alarm clock, which seems to grow louder every second he tries to sleep. His tail begins to move in rhythm with the clock, and he finally just shoves it into a drawer. The clock, however, continues to tick loudly, and Donald loses his temper and throws it against a wall. It lands in a nearby vase and continues to beat loudly, so Donald throws the clock out the window. The clock lands in a sock on the outside laundry line, and the force of Donald’s throw carries it back into Donald’s apartment, where he accidentally swallows it as it flies through the window.

Donald is shocked to find the clock inside his stomach after throwing it out the window

Donald is alarmed to find the clock in his stomach, and tries to kick it out with little success. He is able to break the clock into pieces, but doesn’t silence it. Finally, Donald is able to get the clock and all of its pieces thrown out of him, silencing the ticking forever. He tries to go back to sleep, only to find that his trundle bed has folded itself – and him – in half. The bed refuses to stay down, as the moment he turns out the light, it folds right up again. The bed’s springs also come out from the padding, launching Donald into his chandelier. The chandelier then falls back onto the bed, which folds up. Donald finally takes desperate measures when he ties down his bed with ropes and chains, and locks himself in at the top. Unfortunately, the broken clock magically reassembles itself and sets off the alarm, waking Donald up and causing the bed to self-destruct.

June 20, 1947 – The Donald Duck Short Film Clown of the Jungle is Released to Theaters

“Here in a jungle paradise, nature’s little songsters blend in unforgettable harmonies.”

On June 20, 1947, the Donald Duck short film Clown of the Jungle was released to theaters. It features the Aracuan bird, a crazy bird that was first featured in the film The Three Caballeros, tormenting Donald much as he does in this short. The Aracuan makes another appearance in the film Melody Time. Clown of the Jungle was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Ray Patin.

The audience is introduced to the jungle paradise of the South Americas, where the bliss is interrupted by the hyperactive Aracuan bird, known as the “slap-happy clown of the jungle.” The narrator then notices a strange sight in the jungle, and introduces Donald as a member of the Bird Lovers Photographic Expedition. Donald steps out of his tent to take pictures of birds, but the birds seem determined not to be photographed. Donald finally spies a sleeping stork and attempts to take a good picture, only to have the Aracuan step into the shot. Donald tries to send the Aracuan away, but the bird responds in a melodramatic fashion, acting as though it will commit suicide. The Aracuan is amused by Donald’s reassuring handshake, and starts “shaking hands” with everything he can get his hands on.

The Aracuan interrupts the hummingbirds song with a Russian-style dance

Donald, annoyed at the behavior, regains his enthusiasm for his expedition when he spots some hummingbirds. When he goes to take the shot, however, the Aracuan interrupts with a Russian dance. When Donald tries to attack the Aracuan, the Aracuan fights back, and Donald chases after the bird in a rage. Donald continues to be tricked by the comical Aracuan, including the Aracuan setting up a fake bird only to have Donald smacked with a hammer and blasted by a cigar. In the end, Donald sets up a machine gun and shoots the Aracuan, but is dismayed to find that he just destroyed his own tent, leaving the Aracuan unharmed. Donald then goes completely crazy, acting just like the Aracuan.