Walt Disney Treasures - The Chronological Donald, Volume One (1934 - 1941) [DVD]

This collection portrays Donald Duck in his early years of cartoon stardom, when he came to become the most prominent force in Disney cartoons, eclipsing Mickey Mouse in the late 1930s and into the 40s. He started off as a simple supporting character in a 1934 Silly Symphony called the Wise Little Hen, and his only personality trait was his complete lack of desire to do any work. That, and the instantly recognizable duck voice of Clarence "Ducky" Nash. He also would make what could have been a one-off appearance in the Mickey Mouse cartoon Orphan's Benefit, from the same year. In this short, he was the ill-tempered, clueless duck that movie audiences would soon be laughing out loud with. From here on out, he would appear in 11 more cartoons with Mickey. This would help the Disney staff fully realize his character before finally giving him a shot at the spotlight. In addition to The Wise Little Hen, here's a look at what goes on throughout this collection.The first cartoon to feature Donald without the support of Mickey Mouse was 1936's Donald and Pluto, which naturally features Donald and Pluto. While Donald is about equal in terms of screen time with Pluto (he may even have less), Pluto's assertive yet cowardly nature coupled with Donald's lack of temper and intellect proved to be a winning combination. Five more cartoons would be made with these two starring without Mickey, and four appear on this collection: Beach Picnic, Put-Put Troubles, Window Cleaners, and Donald's Dog Laundry. What's notable about Beach Picnic is it is the first run-in that Donald would have with ants getting into his food, which would create an award-nominated cartoon later on. Window Cleaners is also notable for creating a theme that would be recurring in a series of shorts from the late 40s and early 50s: Donald versus a bee. Granted, that also happened in the Mickey cartoon The Band Concert, but there was a 5 year difference between those two.In several Mickey cartoons, Donald and Goofy would join Mickey for a combination that came to be known as "the gang." Outside of Mickey, a half dozen cartoons were made and billed as Donald and Goofy cartoons. The balance of these two help make them great; both are rather empty in the mind, but while Donald's short temper and Goofy's somewhat gentler nature may clash on the surface, they work very well together. The Fox Hunt, Polar Trappers, and Billposters all appear on this collection, giving them odd jobs much like the ones they performed with Mickey Mouse. While some of the magic is missing without Mickey's presence (save a cameo in The Fox Hunt), the two of them still find great new ways to fail every time. Notably, the more epic portion of the failure is provided by Donald in these shorts.Another vital supporter to Donald would be Huey, Dewey and Louie. These pesky nephews made their first appearance in the aptly titled Donald's Nephews and proved to be nothing short of a burden to him, continually outsmarting him... as if that's really hard to do! Regardless, other cartoons to star the trio on this collection are Good Scouts (an Oscar nominee), Donald's Golf Game, The Hockey Champ, Sea Scouts, Mr. Duck Steps Out, Fire Chief, and Truant Officer Donald. Much like Donald and Goofy continuously find new ways to fail at their odd jobs, the nephews continuously find new ways to outsmart their uncle... it is most amusing when he won't listen to them when they warn him of his errors, for usually, this is when Donald screws up the worst.One of the cartoons mentioned in the Huey, Dewey and Louie segment above, Mr. Duck Steps Out is notable for being the first appearance of Daisy Duck by name. A female duck did appear in another short on this collection, Don Donald, but she was known as Donna Duck at this point. While no other cartoons with Daisy or any female duck appear on this collection, it would prove to be a popular character relationship in the mid-late 40s; unfortunately, despite Donald's far superior character to Mickey, it never did take off at the level of Mickey and Minnie. What's also notable about these two particular Daisy cartoons is the fact that she was voiced by Clarence Nash at this point.The last major supporter in the Donald Duck cartoons was Pete, the big cat who would often give Mickey trouble in his heyday. The brash nature of Pete would prove to be much more entertaining combined with Donald's ill temper. Officer Duck, The Riveter, and Timber are the three cartoons in this collection to feature Pete. The common trend about all of these, is that they are the rare instances where you see the cartoon end with Donald triumphing. And much like Donald and Goofy find various ways to screw themselves over, Pete does the same for himself in these shorts.Other than that, Donald had plenty of luck without major supporters, as almost all of the remaining cartoons are ones I enjoyed from the get-go. Modern Inventions, Donald's Ostrich, Self Control, Donald's Cousin Gus (he would be a major player in the comics), Donald's Vacation, Golden Eggs, A Good Time For A Dime, Early To Bed, Old MacDonald Duck, Donald's Camera, and Chef Donald all put Donald in situations where he finds new ways to lose. You could almost call him victorious in what are actually my two personal favorites here: Donald's Better Self, where he realizes the errors of following his bad conscience; and The Autograph Hound, where he finally gets back at a pesky Irish cop that bugs him throughout the cartoon, Hollywood Caricatures abound. The one that I initially did not like was Donald's Penguin; part of it actually made me sick to my stomach the first few times I watched it. Now, I deal with that part, and I always laugh at the ending when I see Donald in a rare sentimental moment. In fact, seeing Donald sobbing and teary-eyed comes off to me as downright hysterical, considering that's the antithesis of his character!All in all, this collection should prove enjoyable to anyone who's looking to get into Donald. These 36 original, uncut cartoons look phenomenal for artifacts that are no less than 70 years old at this point, and can be enjoyed by all!

This first phase in covering all of Donald Duck's cartoon shorts is no doubt going to be the most popular (and most extensive with future, multiple volumes) of any of the previous Walt Disney Treasures collections. It will probably be hard to find by the beginning of 2004. (A limited amount made is once again expected.)Because Donald Duck appeared with other characters throughout the years, it's hard to tell how series host/compiler Leonard Maltin will categorize these. Donald was already appearing in Silly Symphony and Mickey Mouse cartoons starting in 1934--though this set starts in 1936 (with "Donald and Pluto"). You can catch the ones not included here (up to 1941) on the now hard-to-find Silly Symphonies/Mickey Mouse in B&W/MM in Living Color Vol. 1 Disney Treasures sets to fill in the gaps. Those shorts are:1934--"The Wise Little Hen" (A Silly Symphony--and Donald's debut), "Orphan's Benefit", "The Dognapper" (both on MM in B&W).1935--"Mickey's Service Station" (MM in B&W), "The Band Concert", "Mickey's Fire Brigade", "On Ice" (the last three on MM in Living Color Vol. 1).1936--"Mickey's Polo Team", "Orphan's Picnic", "Mickey's Grand Opera", "Moving Day", "Alpine Climbers", "Mickey's Circus" (all on MM in Living Color Vol. 1).1937--"Magician Mickey", "Moose Hunters", "Mickey's Amateurs", "Hawaiian Holiday", "Clock Cleaners", "Lonesome Ghosts" (all on MM in Living Color Vol. 1).1938--"Boat Builders", "Mickey's Trailer", "The Whalers" (all on MM in Living Color Vol. 1).1940--"Tugboat Mickey" (will be on upcoming MM in Living Color Vol. 2).The only other ones between 1934-41 that aren't available yet on DVD are "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (a 1938 Silly Symphony where Donald has a cameo), and "The Volunteer Worker" (only a two-minute trailer from 1940 that probably won't be included in this collection). "The Nifty Nineties" (another Donald cameo) is already available on the Vault Disney 2-disc edition of "Pollyanna."All the starring shorts (up to '41) with Donald Duck on this collection will be (year-by-year):1936--"Donald and Pluto" (more or less his first starring short, only because he's billed before Pluto).1937--"Don Donald" (the debut of Daisy Duck--"Donna" Duck in this short), "Modern Inventions" (technically Donald's first solo effort).1938--"Donald's Ostrich (usually billed as Donald's first solo short), "Self-Control", "Donald's Better Self", "Donald's Nephews" (the debut of Huey, Dewey, and Louie), "Polar Trappers" (starring with Goofy), "Good Scouts", "The Fox Hunt", "Donald's Golf Game"1939--"Donald's Lucky Day", "Hockey Champ", "Donald's Cousin Gus", "Beach Picnic", "Sea Scouts", "Donald's Penguin", "The Autograph Hound", "Officer Duck", "The Standard Parade"1940--"The Riveter", "Donald's Dog Laundry", "Bill Posters", "Mr. Duck Steps Out", "Put-Put Troubles", "Donald's Vacation", "Window Cleaners", "Fire Chief", ("The Volunteer Worker" would have been next).1941--"Timber", "Golden Eggs", "A Good Time for a Dime", "Early to Bed", "Truant Officer Donald", "Old MacDonald Duck", "Donald's Camera", "Chef Donald"In future volumes of "The Chronological Donald", we can hopefully enjoy Donald's later, interesting shorts such as "Working for Peanuts" (the first Disney short in 3-D) and the ones made in the mid-50's using Cinemascope ("Grand Canyonscope", among others). Donald's WWII shorts will probably be incorporated into the upcoming "Disney on the Front Lines" Treasures collection. We'll have to wait and see how his appearances with Chip & Dale and his educational shorts ("Donald in Mathmagic Land", "How to Have an Accident" cartoons, "Steel and America", "Donald's Fire Survival Plan"--all late 50's/mid-60's) will be presented while covering his entire output. If they're not included here, then hopefully Leonard Maltin will compile an educational short Treasures collection in future years.One would think that with all this wide output and popularity, Donald Duck would have been the Walt Disney Company mascot (perhaps he's still clamoring for the job ;) ).The other Disney Treasures released this December '03: "Disney on the Front Lines" (WWII animated shorts and propaganda films), "Mickey Mouse in Living Color 2" (completing Mickey's color cartoons), "Walt's Tomorrowland" (will include Ward Kimball's "Man in Space" series).Lastly, a personal thanks to Leonard Maltin for championing the releases of these vital parts of American film so people can enjoy them again or discover them for the first time.