Poster

Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive

A Donald and Goofy Cartoon

Release Date : November 1, 1946

Running Time : 7:09

Synopsis

In a switch from "Tiger Trouble" and "African Diary", this time Donald plays the great white hunter, going after the "wild man of the jungle", Goofy.

Characters

Goofy
Donald Duck

Credits

Director
Jack Hannah
Animation
Hugh Fraser
Jim Moore
Al Coe
Andy Engman
Backgrounds
Thelma Witmer
Layout
Yale Gracey
Story
Dick Kinney
Music
Oliver Wallace

Video

Germany
Donald Ich bin der Größte
France
Donald Vedette de Television
Italy
Video Parade 4
La Storia de Paperino

Laserdiscs

Japan
Mickey's Jungle Trouble
This is Your Life Donald Duck
Donald Duck : A Star is Born

DVD

United States
Disney Treasures : Wave 5 : The Chronological Donald Volume 2
Germany
Disney Treasures : Wave 5 : The Chronological Donald Volume 2

Television

Donald's Quack Attack: Episode 5

Technical Specification

Color Type: Technicolor
Animation Type: Standard animation
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
Negative Format: 35mm
Print Format: 35mm
Cinematographic Process: Spherical
Original Language: English

Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Comments

From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project : I have made no secret that my two favorite of the Fab Five Disney characters are Donald and Goofy. So it should be no surprise that I enjoy the shorts where the two of them get together. In Frank Duck Brings Em Back Alive, though, it feels like we have a rehash of another company’s material, and it diminishes both of the Disney characters.

Goofy here plays the role of a feral wild man, lost in the jungle. The titular Frank Duck, played by Donald, arrives in the jungle to take him away. No one consulted the Goof about this decision, however, so he manages to fight back with all the resistance he can muster. While this leads to great gags, it feels like something we’ve seen before.

That’s probably my modern retrospective eyes talking. This seems like something that we would have seen many times from the Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny camp, and it plays that way. In doing so, Goofy tends to act out of character. He is not supposed to be a cunning acrobat who gets the last word on his opponent. Goofy is supposed to be a bumbler who lucks into (or out of) great fortune.

That Goofy, though, is not what we get here. Jungle wild man Goofy is a confident bumbler, if such a thing can be said. While he still makes some simple mistakes, like helping Donald with a cage that the duck wants to put him in, this Goofy is smarter than Donald. That shouldn’t be the case.

Donald acts the way he should for the most part. He is aggressive and irritable, but still easily fooled by the Goof. That leads to some great gags, like the cage carrying scene, where Goofy gets trapped in a cage with no bottom, but Donald lifts it up to carry it anyway, not realizing that Goofy is not inside. That’s just one gag, but there were plenty more, and they weren’t bad for the most part.

The final one was my favorite, however, as the two enter a darkened cave during their chase, and end up switching clothes somehow. I will not speculate what Donald and Goofy were doing in the cave, but the clothes get swapped and they are chased out by a lion. It’s funny, but again it feels a bit more Looney Tunes than Disney. That’s not necessarily bad, but it keeps Frank Duck from being one of my favorites.

From Dan : Not only my favorite Disney cartoon, but my favorite cartoon of all time, Frank Duck Brings 'Em Back Alive is a superbly made cartoon that has inexplicably been shown on television only a few times in comparison to others. What makes it so great is not only its beautiful depiction of a dark jungle, but it is very thrilling. As (literally) goofy as the wild man is, the notion of a lone explorer in the jungle tracking down the "savage" is exciting. Also it is very fast moving and humorous, with Donald and Goofy working well together as usual. Brilliant cartoon, should be showed far more often than it has been.
From Thad Komorowski : Believe me, this is NOT the same premise I had in mind when I heard of the cartoon's title. Goofy is the appropriate wildman, and Donald is the great, white hunter (pun intended). A good cartoon, it's really a shame that this one never aired too much.
From Baruch Weiss : This short was pretty funny. I liked the scene where Goofy eats Donald's contract.

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