From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project : There have been some bizarre shorts to come out of the Disney studio in the post war era. We saw Donald’s Dilemma yesterday that featured Daisy as the focus, and the meta commentary that occurred. In Crazy From the Heat, things get even weirder as we see Goofy and Donald re-team for the first time in years.

As they are crossing the desert, Donald and Goofy have their car break down, which leads to a long trek across the sand to find water and shelter. With the heat beating down upon them, there’s ample opportunity for comedy. It’s a formula that cartoons have used for many years. So we can expect some mirages and fun ideas when the two turn on each other, right?

Strangely enough, we get the first but not the second. That makes all the difference in this short as we veer from the predictable and funny to the unpredictable and insane. Let me explain as best I can, because the results are truly bizarre. We see Goofy and Donald squabbling over water a little bit, but the true fun starts when Goofy sees a mirage of a soda fountain.

The Goof wanders over to take part in the delicious ice cream treats that the fake soda fountain has to offer, only to be denied each time he tries to take a sip. If it sounds weird, it is. The even stranger thing is that when Goofy tries to sip, the mirage disappears, but he stays suspended in air! It gets worse when he is threatened with washing dishes because he can’t pay, and the dishes appear to be real.

The line between reality and mirage is very confusing in this one, and it only gets worse. Donald sees his own mirage of an iceberg, but then gets sucked into Goofy’s delusion. Goofy drops the dishes and the mirage figure who is threatening him ends up chopping off the top of Donald’s hat and giving him a black eye. It doesn’t make sense!

Watching this short is like pulling on a loose thread of a sweater. You keep pulling, trying to figure out where the end is, but it keeps unraveling. While there were parts of this that were funny, it was so confusing overall that it was difficult to understand what was going on. What was real? What was mirage? Figuring that out in Crazy From the Heat was difficult at best, and just plain weird as well.

From Ryan : This is one of my favorite Donald Duck/Goofy cartoons. I like the scenes where they see different mirages. One part about this short that I dislike is the fact that a small scene where the Arab punches Donald in the face is deleted so the scene just goes from the Arab cutting off Goofy's hat to a close-up with a black-eyed Donald.

From Benke Cloudberry : I don't like this short - nothing new - an artwork without heart. The only reason for my commenting it is the fact that there are no cuts in the versions there are being sent on the Nordic Disney Channel - but in this case I wouldn't object if they had cut it all.

From Grace : This is one of my favorite Donald and Goofy cartoons. By watching the cartoon I really felt sorry for Donald because he's dehydrated and needed a lot of water, their car is broken down and has to walk lets just say 9 or 6 miles or something, Goofy gets tricked by some genie with the soda fountain scene, and Donald gets punched on on the face. Well fortunately they're saved by riding a camel.

From Jacob : I like the Goofy holler can be heard in the end of short. It's nice.

From Baruch Weiss : I also loved the Goofy Holler as well. This short was okay, but I guess it is not one of my favorites. Goofy did not pay his bill, he should have so he would not have had to carry all those dishes (where the heck are ya gonna find a sink in the desert?!) However, I can see why it was Donald who got punched in the face. He should have watched where he was going. Speaking of Donald, I also noticed that his hat looks similar to the one he wore in the other 1947 classic Clown of the Jungle.

From Al Galen : I saw this short in "The Roots of Goofy" on the Disney Channel during the early 1990s. Gary Owens was its host. This is one of classic Disney's rare Goofy cartoons to also feature Donald Duck. This short is set either in the Middle East or northern Africa. I recommend it to fans of classic Disney animation.

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Crazy with the Heat

A Donald and Goofy Cartoon

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Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

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