''Donald Gets Drafted'' is a 1942 American animated

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

. The cartoon has

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

being drafted into the

U. S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and follows his introduction to military life. The film was directed by Jack King and introduced the song "The Army's Not the Army Anymore" by

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...

and

Leigh Harline Leigh Adrian Harline (March 26, 1907 – December 10, 1969) was an American film composer and songwriter. He was known for his "musical sophistication that was uniquely 'Harline-esque' by weaving rich tapestries of mood-setting underscores and ...

. The voice cast includes

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor. He was best known as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and ...

as Donald, John McLeish as an officer, and

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney' ...

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

who is Donald's

drill sergeant A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Austr ...

. ''Donald Gets Drafted'' was the first of a six-part series, within the larger ''Donald Duck'' series, which shared a continuity of Donald serving in the army during World War II. The cartoon also revealed for the first time Donald's middle name – Fauntleroy – seen on his "Order to Report for Induction" form from the film's title screen.

Plot

Filled with enthusiasm, Donald reports to his local

draft board {{further, Conscription in the United StatesDraft boards are a part of the Selective Service System which register and select men of military age in the event of conscription in the United States. Local board The local draft board is a board th ...

after receiving a draft notice. Along the way, he passes several recruiting posters that romanticize military life. Especially intrigued by one for the Air Force, featuring attractive women and the promise of escorting them around, Donald decides that he "wants to fly". After arriving at the draft board, Donald expresses his desire to join the Army Air Forces, adding excitedly, "I came from a family of aviators!" The desk officer directs Donald to a room where he is to undergo a physical examination. Inside the exam room, a team of white-coated doctors hurriedly pass Donald around, measuring him and testing his vital signs, vision, and hearing. Several gags during the scene emphasize the army's willingness to accept as many recruits as possible, such as a color vision test that Donald passes even after mistakenly identifying a green card as being blue. At the end of the exam Donald is issued a uniform - vastly oversized, but shrunk to fit thanks to a bucket of water dumped over his head - and has his rear end stamped with a large "OK." During basic training, Donald's unit is marched around the field by the drill sergeant (

). Donald is distracted by some planes flying overhead, reminding him that he would rather be flying. His lack of concentration causes him to march out of step with the other soldiers and accidentally chop Pete's necktie in half with his rifle bayonet when he is ordered to turn "about face". Pete dismisses the other soldiers to drill Donald personally, but Donald's inability to understand Army jargon causes him to make a series of comical mistakes. Pete finally orders Donald to stand at attention, but Donald mistakenly stands over an anthill, and struggles to maintain his composure as the ants crawl all over him. Finally he snaps and scrabbles madly to get the ants off, accidentally firing his rifle several times and striking Pete as he climbs a tree to get away. Donald is later punished by being assigned to peel a roomful of potatoes, shaving off one peel to form his catchphrase "phooey" in response to the chorus' lyrics that describe the good conditions in the Army.

Voice cast

* Donald Duck:

* Sgt. Pete:

* Officer: John McLeish

Background

The

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

humor in ''Donald Gets Drafted'' reflects an anti-military sentiment felt in particular by

, one of the writers of the film. (He had written the lyrics to the theme song, scripted the film, and also drew the recruitment posters which Donald passes on his way to the draft board.) Barks himself was a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

who was against America's involvement in the war. He once said "When I saw how little we accomplished with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, I thought, why in the devil kill off another whole generation of young men to accomplish the same result?" In ''Donald Gets Drafted'' Barks ridicules military recruitment, in particular its deceptive propaganda. The film is meant to draw a sharp distinction between the glamorous life presented in the posters outside the draft board compared to the reality Donald faces inside. Later, when Donald is at basic training, Barks pokes fun at military discipline, and even gives the sergeant a punishment of sorts by getting shot. This played well with audiences who were resentful of military strictness as America was mobilizing itself for war.

Releases

*1942 – Original theatrical release *1984 – ''

Donald Duck's 50th Birthday ''Donald Duck's 50th Birthday'' is a 1984 television special broadcast on ''The Magical World of Disney'' on November 13, 1984 on CBS. As the title suggests, it was produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Donald Duck character, who first ...

'' (TV special) *1997 – ''Ink & Paint Club'', episode #1.31 "The Unseen Disney" (TV)

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Walt Disney on the Front Lines''. and on December 6, 2005 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Two: 1942-1946''. Additional releases include: *1985 – " An Officer and a Duck" (VHS)

References

External links

* * {{Jack King 1940s Disney animated short films Donald Duck short films World War II films made in wartime Military humor in film 1942 animated films 1942 short films 1942 films Films about the United States Army Films directed by Jack King Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Paul Smith (film and television composer) Films with screenplays by Carl Barks 1970s English-language films 1970s American films