Poster

Straight Shooters

A Donald Duck Cartoon

Release Date : April 18, 1947

Running Time : 6:21

Synopsis

Donald, as a carnival barker, cheats his nephews out of their prizes when they try his booth. The nephews, of course, have to retaliate.

Characters

Donald Duck
Huey, Dewey and Louie

Credits

Director
Jack Hannah
Animation
Bill Justice
Volus Jones
Judge Whitaker
Fred Jones
Backgrounds
Thelma Witmer
Layout
Yale Gracey
Story
Jack Huber
MacDonald MacPherson
Music
Oliver Wallace

Video

Germany
Alle Enten Fertig ... Los!
France
Donald Se Fache!
Italy
Video Parade 18
Vita da Paperi

Laserdiscs

Japan
Mickey's Jungle Trouble
Goin' Quackers

DVD

United States
Disney Treasures : Wave 7 : The Chronological Donald Volume 3
Walt Disney's Funny Factory with Huey, Dewey and Louie
Germany
Disney Treasures : Wave 7 : The Chronological Donald Volume 3
Canada
Walt Disney's Funny Factory with Huey, Dewey and Louie

Television

The Ink and Paint Club: Episode 51: Triple Trouble
Mickey's Mouse Tracks: Episode 8

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 : It’s refreshing to see Donald mixing it up with his nephews again, if only for the sake of my sanity. The interactions between Donald and the boys are fabulous in almost every regard, and in Straight Shooters, we get to see one of the best ever. This kind of short is exactly what Donald is meant to do.

Donald has set up shop at a carnival in this one, running an old-fashioned shooting gallery game where he delivers candy as the prize. Huey, Dewey and Louie show up in their best faux military dress uniforms to crash the party, managing to win a prize on their very first shot. This, of course, enrages Donald, because he thought he had everything set up to ensure that no one would win.

From there the gags start flying, and they do not let up until the end of the short. It’s always the interaction between the boys and Donald that is the core of the gag, however. That’s a key difference from some other shorts that Disney has put out in the 40s. In other shorts, we have seen gags that are about the environment instead of the characters. This short gets it right all the way through.

Take the example of when one of the boys is in the back of the booth breaking things regardless of where the shot goes or IF it is shot. When Donald finds out, he confronts his nephew, and the comedy takes place between the looks and gestures. This is physical and emotional comedy done right, and it is a pleasure to watch.

Donald’s charm, as I’ve said many times, is that his frustration and anger rise so easily. Watching the tensions ramp up is the joy of seeing Donald, because we can all relate to him. The other part of Donald that I love so much is that he is so easily fooled. In this short he gets fooled twice by the boys, using the same trick of standing on one another’s head to imitate a full size person.

The combination of the boys outsmarting Donald, some amazing visual gags and fabulous acting in the animation makes Straight Shooters a classic in the Donald Duck canon. You cannot beat a shot of Donald on a shooting gallery duck line. You just can’t.

From Ryan : This short is wonderful. I find quite a few of the scenes funny. One such scene is where the nephews disguise themselves as a mummy. They use a record to provide a voice over. The voice over tells Donald to deposit a quarter and the record repeats itself (as records tend to do) saying "Another one." Donald plays a typical carney in this short. He tries to rip off customers, even if they're his own nephews.
From Grace : This is a hilarious short! It has tons of gags and a couple of scenes really amusing. I really loved the scene when the boys [Huey, Dewey and Louie] disguise themselves as Cleopatra, it really made me laugh so hard when they did there sexyback stuff. Anyway I highly recommend this short, and it's perfect for April Fool's Day.
From Gabe Bennett : While on one hand, the whole "Cleopatra" gag the nephews pull to get back at their scheming uncle is funny, it also tends to conjure-up a bit of the ick-factor, since Donald (although oblivious) is basically lusting after his own nephews!
From Baruch Weiss : This short features Donald as a carnival barker who likes to rip of his customers, even if they are his own nephews. I enjoyed the part where the nephews dressed up as Cleopatra and hog all the candy. I sense a Looney Tunes influence in some of these cartoons.

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