"A Donald Duck Cartoon"

Release Date April 5, 1940

Alternate Titles

Donalds Hunde-Waschmaschine - Germany

La blanchisserie de Donald - France

Kalles hundtvätt - Sweden

Running Time 8:17

Synopsis

Donald builds himself a "Modern Dog Washer" and Pluto just happens to be handy to try it out on. All Donald has to do is to find a way to get him into it.

Characters

Donald Duck

Pluto

Credits

Director : Jack King

Animation : Johnny Cannon

Videos

Germany

Donald Duck die Grösste Schau der Welt

Pluto Präsentiert

France

Donald Superstar

Italy

Buon Compleanno Paperino

Laserdiscs

Japan

Donald's Golden Jubilee

DVD

Region 1 : United States

Disney Treasures : The Chronological Donald Volume 1 : (1934-1941)

Cartoon Classics Favorites: Starring Donald

Region 2 : United Kingdom

Everybody Loves Donald

Region 2 : France

Tout le Monde aime Donald

Region 2 : Germany

Alle Lieben Donald

Region 2 : Sweden

Alla Alskar Kalle

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #37 : Mickey's Pal, Pluto

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode 40

Donald's Quack Attack : Episode 15

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 Atsuko : Donald once again has trouble with machines. This time he builds an automatic dog-washer for Pluto, but only gets caught up in it himself. He is scrubbed, washed, and powdered before being hung on a clothesline to dry. Poor Donald!

From Ryan : While this short can get tiring seeing poor Donald have problems with the "dog washer", it was still a pretty good short. It is somewhat similar to "Modern Inventions" where Donald has trouble with modern technology.

From Ajisai : While most of Pluto's antics get old pretty fast, I love the end where we finally see the dog washer in action, even if the whole scene is far shorter than it could and should be. I really love the "homemade" look of the dog washer, and the music that plays along with the scene while Donald's getting scrubbed, showered, dried and flea-powdered fits perfectly. I always think Donald is at his best when he's on the receiving end of some misfortune, and he really gets it in this one!

From Baruch Weiss : I disagree with Ryan on his comment about this short that it is similar to "Modern Inventions". Donald is not having trouble with modern technology, he is having trouble getting Pluto to take a bath. The plot was later used in the 1948 Goofy cartoon "The Big Wash" and 52 years later in a Spongebob episode titled "Gary takes a Bath". All end with the ironic ending that the main character ends up getting the bath instead. In my opinion, this cartoon was not all that great and it gets tiring after the first few minutes.

From Mikhail : This is one of my favourite Donald Duck cartoons, because unlike most of them, Donald is actually happy in the end! Also, the part where Pluto is hiding from Donald in the doghouse and nods and shakes his head with the roof was very creative, and acutely amusing.

Referenced Comments

Donald's Lucky Day (1939)

Gallery

Donald tries to lure Pluto.
Animation sketch courtesy of Van Eaton Galleries

Donald tackles Pluto in preparation for a
bath from "Donald's Dog Laundry"
Animation sketch courtesy of the
Acme Animation Gallery

Click on the thumbnail for the full-sized picture

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