''Three for Breakfast'' is a 1948 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 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 ...

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 ...

. Part of the ''Donald Duck'' film series, the film was 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 ...

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 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 ...

on November 5, 1948. The cartoon stars Donald Duck cooking himself a pancake breakfast at home. Donald is confounded by two chipmunks living in his stovepipe,

Chip and 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 ''Private ...

, who eventually succeed in stealing Donald's pancakes.

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 ...

stars as Donald while James MacDonald and Dessie Flynn voice Chip and Dale, respectively. The film includes original music by

Oliver Wallace Oliver George Wallace (August 6, 1887 – September 15, 1963) was an English composer and conductor.''Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans During Wartime'', Volume 3, ed. Benjamin F. Shearer (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 200 ...

Plot

Donald Duck is cooking pancakes in his kitchen, singing "

Shortnin' Bread "Shortnin' Bread" (also spelled "Shortenin' Bread", "Short'nin' Bread", or "Sho'tnin' Bread") is an African-American folk song dating back at least to the 1890s. James Whitcomb Riley published it as a poem in 1900, building on older lyrics. A " ...

", when two chipmunks,

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 '' Private ...

, get wind of the smell wafting through their home in the stovepipe while eating acorns. Once inside, they steal a few of Donald's pancakes by throwing a fork tied to a piece of string, but Donald soon discovers the chipmunks, and puts down a pot holder on his stack of pancakes for them to catch, but the chipmunks throw it back. They throw the fork again, but it misses the pancakes and it hits a bottle of

rubber cement Rubber cement (cow gum in British English) is an adhesive made from elastic polymers (typically latex) mixed in a solvent such as acetone, hexane, heptane or toluene to keep it fluid enough to be used. This makes it part of the class of drying ...

, causing it to spill. It forms into a fake pancake, giving Donald an idea. He puts down the "pancake" and when the chipmunks catch it, Donald grabs onto it. He then lets go of it while the chipmunks are pulling it. The chipmunks try taking a bite out of it and get into a tug of war with it, until Donald puts down a fork which pokes Chip while he is walking backwards, causing him to yelp in pain and let go of the "pancake". It hits the wall and springs back, hitting Donald in the face. Donald furiously chases the chipmunks and they hide in the toaster. But Donald pulls down the lever and waits. The chipmunks pop out and Donald catches them, but Dale bites his finger, causing him to shout in pain and let the chipmunks go. They then catch the pancakes with the string and bring them up to the roof, but Donald grabs the rubber cement pancake and tugs on it, tying up his entire house in the process. He climbs up to the roof, but Dale applies butter to the roof and has Donald lift his foot as he puts butter under it, causing Donald to slide down. He is then sent on a wild ride and unties the house. The cartoon ends with Donald jammed in the stovepipe, grimacing in an Asian stereotype and Dale imitating him as the chipmunks celebrate their victory.

Voice cast

as Donald Duck * James MacDonald as Chip *Dessie Flynn as Dale

Releases

*1948 – original theatrical release *2002 –

Lilo & Stitch ''Lilo & Stitch'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 42nd Disney animated feature film, it was written and directed by Chris Sande ...

re-release

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950''. Additional releases include: *1983 – "Chip 'n' Dale (with Donald Duck)" (VHS) *2005 – "Starring Chip 'n' Dale" (DVD)

References

{{Donald Duck Donald Duck short films 1940s Disney animated short films Films directed by Jack Hannah Films produced by Walt Disney 1948 animated films 1948 short films Films scored by Oliver Wallace American comedy short films 1940s English-language films American animated short films Films about ducks Films about rodents RKO Pictures short films RKO Pictures animated short films Animated films about birds Chip 'n' Dale films