''Duck Pimples'' is a 1945

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 ...

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...

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 1 ...

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-Orph ...

. The cartoon parodies radio crime stories and film noir dramas.

Plot

Donald Duck's imagination, enhanced by scary stories on the

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and in books, moves him into a seemingly real crime world, which ultimately turns out to be imaginary. Donald's dream is enhanced by the backgrounds that abruptly change each time a new character appears in it. Scenes where Donald is threatened with a

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...

and the detective is threatened with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

were at one time cut, but have been restored for the VHS Release and DVD release. The cartoon is perhaps the closest Disney ever got to the fast-paced and surreal nature that reminiscent of

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

, and specifically references his '' Who Killed Who?'' (1943) in two ways: the use of an organ instead of a traditional orchestral score, and having

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 Disne ...

voice the detective.

Voice cast

* Donald Duck:

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 ...

* Radio actor/Salesman/Dopey Davis/J. Harold King/Donald's conscience: Jack Mather * Pauline: Mary Lenihan * Radio host:

Doodles Weaver Winstead Sheffield Glenndenning Dixon "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 17, 1983) was an American character actor, comedian, and musician. Born into a wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In the late 1930s, he p ...

* Leslie J. Clark: Harry E. Lang * Radio actor/H. U. Hennessy:

Home media

The short was released on December 6, 2005, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Two: 1942-1946''.

Reception

Cartoon Brew called ''Duck Pimples'' "the creepiest Disney short ever made" and its animation a "top-drawer work".

References

1945 films 1945 animated films 1940s crime films 1940s Disney animated short films Donald Duck short films American crime films Films about dreams Films directed by Jack Kinney Films produced by Walt Disney American parody films Films scored by Oliver Wallace Film noir cartoons {{Disney-animation-film-stub