Donald's Garden

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

The gopher who decides to eat the produce in DONALD'S GARDEN must first deal with the furious duck.

This unremarkable little film is cute, but routine. Whenever any of the Disney Gang must match wits with a small, cuddly creature - you already know which one is going to win. Clarence "Ducky" Nash supplies Donald's voice.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

I've said before how tired I am of all the problems a very competent guy like D. Duck has with rodents. He is good enough at gardening to grow amazing crops. He does have trouble with the watering process, but that's OK. But when a stupid gopher gets into the act, the cartoon is pretty much ruined.

I love Disney and the character of Donald Duck. Donald's Garden is a pleasant cartoon, if one that doesn't hold that many surprises. However, the story is very cute and moves briskly with enough amusing moments to satisfy. Donald is wonderfully temperamental, a personality that contrasts well with the adorable gopher. The animation is beautiful with a lot of vibrancy in the colours and fluidity in the background art. The music is bouncy and energetic as is always the case with the Disney(and Looney Tunes as well as a matter of fact) cartoons, and Clarence Nash voices Donald as ever impeccably.

Overall, cute and amusing if unexceptional. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I know Donald Duck's trademark is being the brunt of bad luck, but is it really hard for Disney to make some cartoons where Donald ends up being the winner once in a while?? I really feel bad for Donald in this one, him having to watch a greedy, annoying, fat little gopher eating away at the garden he worked so hard to plant. It would have really been a miracle if the story-writers have had the foresight to make Donald the victor and give that gopher a good wacking with the shovel. Too bad!

Grade F