Disney Shorts - The Whalers

The Whalers

"A Mickey, Donald and Goofy Cartoon"

Release Date August 19, 1938

Running Time 8:15

Synopsis

While Captain Mickey struggles to empty a pail of water, Donald gets his head stuck in a boot that's tied to a harpoon rope, and in trying to save him, Goofy falls through the blowhole of the whale they're trying to capture.

Characters

Mickey Mouse

Donald Duck

Goofy

Credits

Director : Dick Huemer

Animation

Ed Love

Al Eugster

Art Babbitt

Videos

United States

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volume 1

Germany

Mickeys Größte Show

Happy Birthday Mickey

Italy

Buon Compleanno Topolino

Le Radici di Pippo

Come Divertirsti Con Paperino & C. (1)

Come Divertirsti con Paperino & C. (2)

Storie Quasi Titaniche

Topolino Apprendista Scalatore

Topolino : Un Eroe Mille Avventure

Laserdiscs

United States

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collection Volume 1

Japan

Mountaineering Mickey

Let's Relax

DVD

Disney Treasures : Mickey Mouse in Living Color

Region 1 : United States

Region 2 : France

Region 2 : Germany

Region 2 : Italy

Region 2 : Sweden

Region 2 : United Kingdom

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #10 : "Mickey, Donald and Goofy : Friends to the End"

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode #70

Donald's Quack Attack : Episode #21

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Technicolor

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Mono

Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Comments

From Jesus Daprice : Watching this short made me think of the movie "Titanic" (the best damn movie ever made) probably because of the icebergs and the fact that the setting was in the cold north sea (I'm not sure whether it was the Atlantic or Pacific, it could've been the Arctic Ocean too). One scene that made me think of the people on the ship was where Donald fell into the ocean and was swimming away from the whale. Unlike the people in the movie, Donald didn't freeze to death and he certainly showed no signs of coldness. (but that's the cartoon world for ya) Later when the whale destroyed their ship, all that Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had was a wooden raft. How are they going to get help? Let's hope they have a good communication system or they're going to end up victims of the sea just like the people on Titanic did.

From Andrew Nielson : Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are wonderful together and I always like it when they're together better than when they're separate. But if you're against the killing of whales like I am, you probably wouldn't want to watch this short.

From Dustin Hatfield : I liked the part where the water kept coming back to Mickey after he threw it out to the sea.

From Jerry Edwards : Some fun gags, but the short gets tiresome for me very quickly. Several scenes seem all too familiar from previous shorts.

From Ryan : This is another one of those famous "trio" cartoons. Each character is facing a situation: Mickey is throwing a bucket of water overboard, but the water keeps coming back to him. Donald is sitting in the crow's nest keeping watch whales. A pelican comes up and eats his sandwich. Goofy is preparing the harpoon for when a whale is sighted. One scene I liked was where Goofy's pants caught on fire and he quickly went to the bucket of water, but the ship slanted and so he ended up sitting in GUN POWDER! As Jesus Daprice pointed out above, this movie is quite similar to that famous James Cameroon film "Titanic." Their ship does get wrecked, but not by an iceberg a whale (who looks quite similar to Mostro from "Pinnocchio"). I always get a good laugh at the end when Goofy picks up a fish, thinking it's the whale and says "Gawrsh! He must've shrunk!"

From Ross : This cartoon is very wonderful and full of good comedy, just compare this to the Three Stooges. But there is something else about "The Whalers" that you should know, Mickey may be the star of this cartoon, but he doesn't talk in the cartoon. All the lines of dialouge go to Donald and Goofy. Still, I think it's awesome. Something else, this cartoon may similar to the movie "Titanic," but it's also similar to Herman Melville's classic, "Moby Dick." Just like in the story, the whale destroys the ship. Just absolutely filled with good comedy.

From Baruch Weiss : I like the music that plays over the begining and ending titles of this short.

From Severin : I'm not sure why, but this has been my personal favorite of the M/D/G series, next to "Clock Cleaners. The big chase scene at the end bares some resemblance to the chase at the end of Pinnochio, as does the whale bare resemblance to Monstro. Also, did people REALLY think whales were man-eaters back then?

From Andrew : I really enjoyed the spooky sound effects made when the whale opened its mouth just behind Donald. How were those likely made? They were probably working on "Pinocchio" at the same time as this one; perhaps the creators were inspired by the whale scene there for this cartoon.

From Mike : I always liked this cartoon. I still get a laugh out of the very end where Goofy holds up a regular fish & thinks he caught the whale. True genius.