''Don's Fountain of Youth'' is a 1953 American animated short film 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 ...

featuring Donald Duck.

Plot

Donald and his nephews are in Donald's car on vacation in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and pass by an "old

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

fort" and a

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

. The nephews, however, are more interested in their comic book, refusing to look up from it. Donald's car begins to overheat, which sends him scrambling to find a source of water for his radiator. He comes across a small pond with a sign reading "This spring was mistaken for the

Fountain Of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...

". Donald decides to use this to trick the boys, with the intent of making them believe Donald is experiencing dramatic reverse aging. Donald breaks off the top half of the sign, leaving only the bottom portion reading "The Fountain of Youth," and yells for help to get the boys' attention. The boys find Donald wearing a baby bonnet and exhibiting baby-like behavior, including tearing pages from their comic book. "Baby" Donald's outlandish behavior causes the boys to decide that some discipline is called for, and the boys go off to find a tree branch to use as a switch. However, Donald uses this time to steal an egg from a nearby sleeping crocodile, place it where he had just been standing, and put his baby bonnet on it to fool the boys into thinking he has further regressed to an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

. Donald watches from a nearby hiding spot alongside the very crocodile he stole the egg from (who had just woken up from Donald sitting on him). As the boys lament losing their Uncle to the reverse aging process, Donald attempts to share a laugh with the crocodile, who soon discovers that his egg is missing and Donald is the culprit. Enraged, the crocodile whacks Donald on the head with his tail and a dazed Donald sits on his egg. He then chases the triplets for the egg and they throw it to coincidentally where Donald is. As Donald gets out of his daze from having the egg bounce off him, the two crocodile eggs hatch, imprinting the baby crocodiles into thinking Donald is in fact their dad. After further time spent evading the crocodile, Donald suffers a concussion that puts him into a stupor, after which the boys see him stumbling. Reuniting with the triplets, the baby crocodiles come up to Donald excitedly and Donald fears about them thinking he is their dad, so they run to the car and make a hasty exit. The babies begin to cry from Donald getting away. The crocodile is reunited with his babies, however due to their earlier imprinting onto Donald, they are terrified at the sight of their biological daddy. The daddy crocodile quacks, which caused his babies to accept him after all.

Voice cast

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 Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie

Releases

* 1953 – Theatrical release * 1954 – ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

'', episode #1.4: "The Donald Duck Story" (TV) * 1961 – ''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color 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 #8.11: "Kids Is Kids" (TV) * 1972 – ''

The Mouse Factory ''The Mouse Factory'' is an American syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions and created by Ward Kimball, that ran from 1972 to 1973. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies, hosted by celebrity guests (cre ...

'', episode #2.1: "Alligators" (TV) * 1978 – ''Donald Duck's Cartoon Mania'' (theatrical) * c. 1983 – ''

Good Morning, Mickey! ''Good Morning, Mickey!'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was first aired on April 18, 1983 when Disney Channel was launched. It was one of the Disney Channel's first original programs, a ...

'', episode #68 (TV) * 1990 – ''

The Magical World of Disney 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 ...

'': "Donald, the Star-Studded Duck" (TV) * c. 1992 – ''

Mickey's Mouse Tracks ''Mickey's Mouse Tracks'' is an American animated television series on The Disney Channel which ran from 1992 to 1995, and featured Disney cartoons and animated short films, dating from before the advent of The Disney Channel. A similar show was ...

'', episode #63 (TV) * c. 1992 – ''

Donald's Quack Attack ''Donald's Quack Attack'' is an American animated television series which ran on The Disney Channel and was later rerun on Toon Disney. It premiered on November 2, 1992,''The Disney Channel Magazine'', Vol. 10, no. 5, October/November 1992: p ...

'', episode #51 (TV) * 1998 – '' The Ink and Paint Club'', episode #1.34: ''Donald's Nephews'' (TV)

Home media

The short was released on November 11, 2008 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Four: 1951-1961''. Additional releases include: * 2000 – Bonus on Gold Collection DVD release of ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...

'' (DVD) * 2006 – '' Walt Disney's Funny Factory, Vol. 4: Huey Dewey & Louie Vol. 4''

References

External links

* * * {{Huey, Dewey, and Louie in animation 1953 short films 1953 animated films 1950s Disney animated short films Donald Duck short films Films directed by Jack Hannah Films produced by Walt Disney Films set in Florida Films based on mythology Films scored by Joseph Dubin 1950s English-language films American animated short films RKO Pictures short films RKO Pictures animated short films Films about ducks Films about crocodilians 1950s American films Films with screenplays by Ralph Wright