January 14, 1955 – The Donald Duck Short Film No Hunting Premieres in Theaters
“But your old grandpappy up there on the wall didn’t have it so soft. No, that old boy really had to work for his vittles.”
On January 14, 1955, the Donald Duck short film No Hunting premiered in theaters. This is one of the few shorts filmed in Cinemascope, and Donald is noted for being the only classic Disney character to appear in this process. No Hunting was nominated also for an Academy Award, but lost to Speedy Gonzales from Warner Brothers’ Merrie Melodies series. It was the ninth nomination for Donald Duck’s series. The short also features a cameo of Bambi and his mother, with her remarking, “Man is in the forest. Let’s dig out.” The short was directed by Jack Hannah, with story by Dick Shaw and Bill Berg, and stars Clarence Nash as Donald and Bill Thompson as Donald’s grandfather.
Donald sits at his dining room table, staring up at a picture of his grandfather, who was a hunter. The narrator explains that while Donald has a nice spread of food in front of him, his grandfather didn’t have it so easy, having to hunt buffalo for his supper. As the narrator notes in Donald’s newspaper that hunting season begins soon, the image of Donald’s grandfather is suddenly excited and tears himself away from the portrait. He declares that he and Donald are going hunting, and his spirit takes over Donald, forcing him to go hunting.
Donald stalks the hunting grounds, with medics waiting patiently, along with food vendors and other interested parties
As Donald travels to the hunting grounds, the local residents begin preparing for the worst, including all farm animals leaving the barn and taking shelter in the root cellar. Hunters appear with expensive gear, and all wait with anticipation for hunting season to begin. At the stroke of midnight, Donald sounds his horn, and the hunters begin to shoot, turning the forest into trench warfare. Donald’s grandfather appears every so often to give him advice, including the difference between a cow (not fair game) and a deer (fair game). He tries to hide among all the chaos, and when he finally asks his grandfather what to do, the grandfather tells him to “dig out fast” before fleeing the scene. The men begin to march home, covered in bandages, and Donald’s grandfather appears once more with a cow, calling it “meat on the table.”
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