''Trick or Treat'' is a 1952 animated

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 ...

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-Orphe ...

. The cartoon, which takes place on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

night, follows a series of pranks between

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

and his nephews with

Witch Hazel Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...

. The film 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, California, Los Angeles in ...

and features the voices of

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 his nephews, and

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

as Hazel. The film introduced the song "Trick or Treat for Halloween" which was written by

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

, and

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

and performed by

The Mellomen The Mellomen were a popular singing quartet active from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s. The group was founded by Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith in 1948. They recorded under a variety of names, including Big John and the Buzzards, the Crackerj ...

Plot

The film opens with the song "Trick or Treat for Halloween", the lyrics of which tell the film's

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

– one must be generous on Halloween or face trouble. One Halloween night,

observes

Huey, Dewey, and Louie Huey, Dewey, and Louie are 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 the grand-ne ...

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

. When the trio goes to their uncle

's house, Donald decides to prank the boys (giving them a "trick" instead of a treat). So instead of giving them candy, he intentionally puts

firecracker A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental t ...

s in their bags, then pulls a string that dumps a bucket of water on their heads. After Donald bids farewell to the boys, the discouraged nephews go and sit on the curb. But Hazel, who was watching the drama unfold, approaches the boys and tries to encourage them. When she discovers that they believe in witches, she offers to help them get their treats from Donald after all. At first, she tries to convince Donald herself, but he skeptically retorts, yanks on her stretchy nose, and pranks her as well with a bucket of water, not believing she is a real witch. Realizing that the job may be harder than she anticipated, Hazel tells the boys she will use her magic for this situation. In another location, a scene paying homage to Shakespeare's ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' shows Hazel and the nephews concocting a magic

potion A potion () is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers.” It derives from the Latin word ''potus'' which referred to a drink or drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically ...

, adding somewhat more whimsical ingredients than the

Three Witches The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (c. 1603–1607). The witches eventually lead Macbeth (Macbeth), Macbeth to his demise, and they hold a striking r ...

in ''Macbeth'' (such as, "Eye of needle, tongue of shoe, hand of clock that points at two!", etc). After testing the potion, Hazel fills an insecticide sprayer (similar in appearance to a

Flit gun A Flit gun is a hand-pumped insecticide sprayer used to dispense FLIT, a brand-name insecticide widely used against flies and mosquitoes between 1928 and the mid-1950s. Although named after the well-known brand, "Flit gun" became a generic name f ...

) with the potion and returns to Donald's house with the nephews. Upon arriving back at Donald's house, Hazel sprays the potion on an assortment of objects (a

Jack-o'-lantern A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the reported phenomen ...

, a can of paint, three fence posts, and a gate) causing them to become animated or

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

. Donald, stunned at the magic being displayed before him, immediately gives in and agrees to treat his nephews, but when Hazel refers to him as a pushover, he changes his mind. Donald then locks his

pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...

and swallows the key. Hazel then uses the potion on Donald's feet to give her control of their maneuverability and commands them to kick out the key, causing Donald to perform a crazy dance. But when the key is kicked out, Donald throws it under the pantry door. Enraged, Hazel casts a spell "that's double-grim!" on Donald's feet by spraying them even harder and ordering them to "smash that door down" with Donald. This is initially unsuccessful, so Hazel commands him to take a longer start (About a mile or two!), and he literally run before he rams down the pantry door and is left unconscious on the floor in defeat. In the end, Huey, Dewey, and Louie collect their treats and Hazel flies off into the night. A final shot shows the enchanted Jack-o'-lantern from earlier suddenly pop onto the screen saying "Boo!" to the viewers before smiling.

Voice cast

as Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, Louie, the Scaredy Cat, and Beelzebub *

as Hazel the Witch

Adaptations

A print adaptation by

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...

was published simultaneously in the ''Donald Duck'' comic book. Barks was given a storyboard of the film by Ralph Wright while production of the film was still in progress. Barks was asked to create a 32-page comic adaptation, yet Barks did not believe he had enough material. In the end, he wound up making a lot of his own material, creating new characters such as Smorgie the Bad, a villainous eight-armed ogre serving Witch Hazel. When the final product was sent to the publisher, Barks' segment with Smorgie was rejected, and the story was cut to 27 pages. To fill out the rest of the comic book, Barks created an additional story called "Hobblin' Gobblins." The original story was later restored with the publication of the

Carl Barks Library ''The Carl Barks Library'' (''CBL'') is a series of 30 large hardcover books reprinting all of the Disney comics stories and covers written and/or drawn by Carl Barks. Stories that were modified in the original publication, sometimes for producti ...

Disneyland Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...

also produced an audio adaptation that was narrated by

Ginny Tyler Merrie Virginia Eggers (née Erlandson; August 8, 1925 – July 13, 2012), known professionally as Ginny Tyler, was an American voice actress who performed on dozens of cartoons and animated films from 1957 to 1993. In 2006, she was named a Disne ...

. This version was 12 minutes long and also included a song and story from the

Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...

Disneyland attraction.

Releases

*1952 – Original theatrical release *1957 – ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, 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 in ...

'', episode #3.15: "All About Magic" (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 #1.4: "Spooks and Magic" (TV) *1977 – ''

The Wonderful 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 ...

'' episode #5: "

Halloween Hall o' Fame "Halloween Hall o' Fame" is a 1977 Halloween-themed episode of ''Walt Disney anthology television series, The Wonderful World of Disney'' which originally aired on October 30, 1977. Synopsis Jonathan Winters stars as a night watchman working late ...

" (TV) *1983 – '' A Disney Halloween'' (TV Special) *1998 – '' The Ink and Paint Club'', episode #1.34: "Donald's Nephews" (TV) *2002 – ''

Mickey's House of Villains ''Mickey's House of Villains'' (also known as ''House of Mouse: The Villains'') is a 2002 American direct-to-video animated comedy-horror film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is based on the animated television series, ''House of M ...

'' (DTV) *2010 – '' 13 Nights of Halloween'' (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: *c. 1965 – Super 8 release *1990 – "Cartoon Classics: Halloween Haunts" (VHS) *2000 – ''

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled ''The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Written while Irving was living abroad in Birm ...

'', Gold Classics Collection (VHS and DVD) *2000 – '' The Black Cauldron'', Gold Classics Collection (VHS and DVD) *2001 – ''Disney Cartoon Classics - Birdbrain Donald (International Video CD Release)'' *2002 – ''

'' (DVD) *2010 – '' The Black Cauldron'', 25th Anniversary Edition (DVD) *2020 –

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

release *2021 – '' The Black Cauldron'', Disney Movie Club Exclusive (Blu-ray Disc)

References

{{Authority control 1950s Disney animated short films 1952 animated films Donald Duck short films American films about Halloween Films directed by Jack Hannah Films produced by Walt Disney Films about witchcraft Films scored by Paul Smith (film and television composer) 1952 short films 1950s English-language films American animated short films RKO Pictures short films RKO Pictures animated short films Films about ducks Animated films about birds