Oh, to be a kid again.
Donald Duck was my favorite Disney character. I had an old VHS tape when I was about six or seven that contained a lot of the cartoons found in this set. Instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons, I’d find my Donald Duck tape and spend the whole morning watching it.
The Show
This is the fourth volume that Walt Disney Treasures has put out featuring a collection of Donald shorts. Many of Donald’s friends find their way on to this DVD set. You’ll find Chip and Dale; Huey, Dewey, and Louie; Humphrey the bear; Daisey Duck; and even the goofy park ranger J. Audubon Woodlore.
These cartoons have held up perfectly. It’s interesting to watch Donald change and evolve as the animation technology and styles were getting better. The colors become more vibrant, and the backgrounds more detailed. Seeing the quality of this early animation gives you an idea of how Disney worked its way up to Sleeping Beauty, which was finished in 1959.
The DVDs
Disc one shorts:
“Dude Duck” (1951)
“Corn Chips” (1951)
“Test Pilot Donald” (1951)
“Lucky Number” (1951)
“Out of Scale” (1951)
“Be On Guard” (1951)
“Donald Applecore” (1952)
“Let's Stick Together” (1952)
“Trick or Treat” (1952)
“Don's Fountain of Youth” (1953)
“The New Neighbor” (1953)
“Working for Peanuts” (1953)
“Canvas Back Duck” (1953)
Disc two shorts:
“Donald's Diary” (1954)
“Dragon Around” (1954)
“Grin and Bear It” (1954)
“The Flying Squirrel” (1954)
“Grand Canyonscope” (1954)
“Bearly Asleep” (1955)
“Beezy Bear” (1955)
“Up a Tree” (1955)
“Chips Ahoy” (1956)
“How to Have an Accident in the Home” (1956)
“Donald in Mathmagic Land” (1959)
“Donald and the Wheel” (1961)
“The Litterbug” (1961)
Each disc give you the ability to play the episodes in chronological or alphabetical order. I personally really enjoyed playing the episodes in chronological order. It allows you to see how Donald Duck changed and evolved from 1951-1961.
The Quality
Most of the episodes are offered in 1.33:1 fullscreen. But, on the second disc there are a few Cinemascope offerings available. These are presented in widescreen. The episode “Grand Canyonscope” has a hilarious bit right at the beginning when J. Audubon Woodlore is telling the tourists about the Grand Canyon. All the tourists are bunched in the center of the screen and Woodlore says, “Don’t worry this is Cinemascope, please spread out.”
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