''Toy Tinkers'' is a 1949 American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

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 in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films running through a special ...

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 Octobe ...

and released to theaters on December 16, 1949 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-Orpheu ...

. Set during Christmas time, the film shows

Chip 'n' Dale Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) is a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company. Concept The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short '' Privat ...

trying to steal nuts from Donald Duck's home using toy weapons. The film was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

in 1950, but ultimately lost to Warner Bros'. ''

For Scent-imental Reasons ''For Scent-imental Reasons'' is a 1949 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on November 12, 1949, and stars Pepé Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat. It won the Academy Aw ...

'', a Pepe Le Pew ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' film directed by Chuck Jones. ''Toy Tinkers'' was directed by

Jack Hannah John Frederick Hannah (January 5, 1913 – June 11, 1994) was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts. Biography Hannah was born on January 5, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to study at the Art ...

and features original and adapted music by Paul J. Smith which includes the song "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...

" and Schubert's ''

Marche Militaire The Three ''Marches Militaires'', Op. 51, D. 733, are pieces in march form written for piano four-hands by Franz Schubert. The first of the three is far more famous than the others. It is one of Schubert's most famous compositions, and it is ofte ...

''. 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 and Jimmy MacDonald and Dessie Flynn as Chip and Dale respectively. It was later reissued as ''Christmas Capers'', and 16mm prints of this version still exist.

Plot

Chip and Dale's curiosity leads them into Donald's house after they see him chop down a tree near their log home to use as a Christmas tree. They follow Donald and their tree and they see nuts and candy through a window and decide to try to take them. They slip in through the mail slot and load the nuts into a toy truck. During the theft, Dale pretends to be in a make-believe neighborhood, but when he come across Chip, he beats Dale up for playing around. But Donald sees them stealing the nuts and uses the toys to foil them. When Chip and Dale catch on, Donald next dresses as Santa Claus and gives Chip a much larger present than Dale making him jealous and start fighting with Chip. The plan initially works and Donald traps them with a handgun inside the big nut and then crashes them in a toy police car. Donald then loads a pop gun with nuts and the chipmunks retaliate. At last, the confrontation escalates into full-out combat. Donald sets up a fort of presents on one side of the living room while Chip and Dale bombard him from across the room with a toy cannon. Dale covertly sneaks a Ca telephone into Donald's fort which Chip uses to distract Donald to transmit direct cannon fire. Angered, Donald loads the phone with dynamite, but it doesn't explode. When the chipmunks call him again, he answers & the TNT explodes. After the chipmunks have neutralized Donald's means to resist, they march back home, and in a scene reminiscent of '' The Spirit of '76'', employ the help of the mechanical toys to transport the hoard of nuts.

Voice cast

* Donald Duck:

* Chip: Jimmy McDonald * Dale: Dessie Flynn

Adaptations

A comic book adaptation of the short was published in ''Walt Disney's Christmas Parade'' #2, printed by

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

in 1950. This adaptation was titled "Christmas Fray" and "Such a Clatter" in reprints.

Releases

*1949 – Theatrical release *1958 – ''

Walt Disney Presents The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'', episode #5.12: "

From All of Us to All of You ''From All of Us to All of You'' is an animated television Christmas special, produced by Walt Disney Productions and first presented on December 19, 1958 on ABC as part of the '' Walt Disney Presents'' anthology series. Hosted by Jiminy Cricket ...

" (TV) *2010 – ''Mickey's Christmas Special''

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950''. Additional releases include: *c. 1960 (Super8)8mm Forum
/ref> *1985 – ''Cartoon Classics: The Continuing Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale Featuring Donald Duck'' (VHS) *1986 – ''Jiminy Cricket's Christmas'' (VHS) *2005 – '' Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals'' (DVD)

References