Truant Officer Donald
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Truant Officer Donald'' is an
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 ani ...
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 film, 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 ...
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 1 ...
and released to theaters on August 1, 1941 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-Orph ...
. 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 1942 but lost to another Disney cartoon ''
Lend a Paw ''Lend a Paw'' is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and released to theaters on October 3, 1941. ''Lend a Paw'' was directed by Clyde Geronimi and features original music ...
''. The story features Donald Duck working as a
truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not ref ...
officer and making sure that
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Multiple birth, triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist (screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and th ...
go to
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
. The film was directed by Jack King while
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 ...
provided the voices of Donald and the nephews.


Plot

Huey, Dewey and Louie are enjoying a swim in the lake. But they are being watched by Truant Officer Donald Duck, as he believes that they are skipping school to have fun in the lake. He captures the nephews and drives them to the schoolhouse in his truant officer van. While he endlessly goes on about the importance of a good education, the boys pull out their pocket knives, managing to cut themselves out of the van and make a run for it. Donald notices the back of his van is gone, and he chases the boys to their clubhouse. Donald tries numerous ways to get in, but each attempt fails miserably. In one attempt, he jacks up the clubhouse to load onto his van, but the boys manage to reverse the jack, so it comes back down on top of Donald. He tunnels out and decides as a last resort to smoke the boys out. Meanwhile, inside the clubhouse, the boys are cooking three chickens over the fire when suddenly they notice smoke pouring in. They decide to beat Donald at his own game by putting the chickens in the bed and escape through the roof. Donald peeks inside to see if his ploy had worked, and is horrified to see the chickens in the bed. Donald is very beside himself as he thinks he cooked the nephews alive. Then, Huey disguises himself as an angel and is lowered into the clubhouse. He manages to kick Donald in the rear. The second one causes him to fall, and his disguise falls off. Realizing that he has been tricked, Donald angrily beats up the trio and takes them to school. But in a
twist ending Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...
, as soon as they reach school, Donald is shocked when he sees a sign that says "NOTICE SCHOOL CLOSED FOR SUMMER HOLIDAYS"; he realizes his nephews weren't playing hooky like he thought, and his intention of bringing his nephews back to school was all for nothing. As such, the nephews give Donald an angry glare for what he did to them, and Donald literally shrinks from embarrassment over his mistake.


Reception

The cartoon was nominated for an Academy Award in 1942, but lost to another Disney cartoon,
Lend a Paw ''Lend a Paw'' is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and released to theaters on October 3, 1941. ''Lend a Paw'' was directed by Clyde Geronimi and features original music ...
starring Mickey Mouse and featuring Pluto.


Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume One: 1934-1941''.


References


External links

* * {{Jack King Donald Duck short films 1940s Disney animated short films 1941 animated films 1941 films Films directed by Jack King Films produced by Walt Disney Films with screenplays by Carl Barks Films about the education system in the United States