Walt Disney Treasures Review: Chronological Donald Volume 3

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Donald and great imaginations (and foes) make for great laughs.

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Creativity

Makes all the gags here seem fresh

Well worth tracking down

Donald Still Charms in His Third DVD Set

Even though Mickey Mouse came first, Donald Duck eventually eclipsed him in popularity.  During the late 1940's and early 50's, Donald was the hardest working star the Disney studio had.  And that's the period preserved for us in The Chronological Donald - Volume Three, another two disc set in the Walt Disney Treasures line.

There are a total of 30 shorts here, representing 1947 through 1950.  But if you are worried that cranking out these shorts would make Donald become stale or boring, you'd be wrong.  In fact, I think there are some very creative shorts in this bunch.

As far as familiar characters to, Donald's main squeeze Daisy makes a few appearances.  The best of these is "Donald's Dilemma," which is told from her point of view.  In it, a bump on the head gives Donald amnesia and a singing voice like Sinatra's.  They also play around with his voice in "Donald's Dream Voice" in which pills give him a voice others can understand, but only temporarily.

Goofy makes an appearance when they are both stranded in the desert in "Crazy with the Heat."  I loved how their mirages came and went.

Donald has a few run ins with his nephew, Huey, Dewey and Louie.  In "Straight Shooters," they take on the shooting gallery Donald is manning in a carnival, and in "Soup's On," they attempt to eat dinner without properly washing.  My favorite of their appearances is "Donald's Happy Birthday" in which they try to get the money to buy their uncle a birthday present.

But it was also during this time that Donald began to take on new adversaries.  The most famous of these are Chip 'n Dale.  While the two chipmunks had appeared earlier in works for the studio, they really came into their own here.  (And as a side note, they both had black noses in their first appearance in this set, "Chip An' Dale.")  Frankly, these steal a few of these cartoons from Donald.  I find it funny, however, that's we've got a cartoon headlined by a character I have a hard time understanding featuring two more that are even worse.  At least the films don't rely on dialogue to carry them.  My favorite of their appearances here has to be "All in a Nutshell."  In it, they attempt to get some nuts back from Donald peanut butter factory.  Their antics are priceless.  But I also enjoyed their attempts to steal Donald's pancake breakfast in "Three for Breakfast."

Another character introduced here is Bootle Beetle, an old beetle who recalls stories of run ins he had with Donald when they were younger.  These include fighting over vegitables in "The Greener Yard" and trying to survive on a deserted island in "Sea Salts."

Louie the Lion shows up a few times here.  I especially enjoyed the fishing themed short "Hook, Lion and Sinker."

Finally, we come across the unnamed but determined Bee that Donald fights against.  Yes, there is a cartoon where they fight over honey.  But I really "Inferior Decorator" where the Bee mistakes Donald's new wallpaper for real flowers.  Probably the most creative one is "Slide, Donald, Slide."  In it, the Bee is trying to listen to classical music on the radio, but Donald keeps switching to the World Series.

Another standout from the set is "Drip Dippy Duck" in which Donald tries to sleep after a long day of work.  Several things keep him up including a dripping facet.  The pay off for this one is hilarious.

As you might have guessed by now, I really enjoyed this set.  All the cartoons are entertaining to some degree.  And they feature Donald is a variety of situations, so the variety made them all new.

As always, this two disc set is hosted by Leonard Maltin.  He opens each disc with some background on the time period in Donald's career and the studio as a whole.  And yes, he still lectures us before the cartoons with any potentially offensive content in them.  Fortunately, it's only once per disc now (although I found some of that same content in cartoons not in the special section of the discs).  The set includes still frame galleries from the shorts collected here.  All ten of the openings for The Mickey Mouse Club (which feature Donald and a gong) are hidden on the discs as Easter Eggs.  "The Many Faces of Donald Duck" is a fascinating talk about his career, but the focus is on his appearances in feature films.  "Sculpting Donald" interviews Ruben Procopio, an animator who turned to making sculptures as references for animators.  This one was only okay.

This set is must viewing for Donald and Disney fans.  The Chronological Donald - Volume Three features the duck as his best.

Included Cartoons:

1947 - Straight Shooters, Sleepy Time Donald, Donald's Dilemma, Crazy with the Heat, Bootle Beetle, Wide Open Spaces, Chip An' Dale, Clown of the Jungle

1948 - Drip Dippy Duck, Daddy Duck, Donald's Dream Voice, The Trial of Donald Duck, Inferior Decorator, Soup's On, Three for Breakfast, Tea for Two Hundred

1949 - Sea Salts, Winter Storage, Honey Harvester, All in a Nutshell, The Greener Yard, Slide Donald Slide, Toy Tinkers, Donald's Happy Birthday

1950 - Lion Around, Crazy Over Daisy, Trailer Horn, Hook Lion and Sinker, Out on a Limb, Bee at the Beach