"A Donald Duck Cartoon"

Release Date August 1, 1941

Synopsis

Donald is responsible for making sure his nephews get to school when they attempt to play hookey.

Characters

Donald Duck

Huey, Dewey and Louie

Credits

Director : Jack King

Animation

Ed Love

Paul Allen

Jim Armstrong

Story

Jack Hannah

Carl Barks

Awards

Nominated for an Academy Award (Short Subjects - Cartoons.) The award went to "Lend a Paw."

Videos

Cartoon Classics : First Series : Volume 5 : Disney's Best of 1931 - 1948

Laserdiscs

United States

Cartoon Classics : First Series : Volume 5 : Disney's Best of 1931 - 1948

Japan

All Star Cartoon Review

DVD

United States

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

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #51 : Triple Trouble

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode 51

Donald's Quack Attack : Episode 8

Comments

From Ryan : Donald Duck plays a truant police officer in this short. We've got his nephews playing hookey (or so we think when we first see the short). I liked the part where Donald grabs the nephews and puts them in a bag until he throws them in his truck (you'd think he'd go a little easy on his nephews don't ya?). Then, while he's lecturing them about how crime doesn't pay and how an education is very important, they saw through the bars of the truck while going through a heavily wooded forest. Donald sees them running off and chases them in thier hideout. I also laugh at the scene where Donald trys to smoke them out. The nephews put three turkeys in their bed and their hats on each one. Donald then thinks he killed them. When I saw this short for the first time, I thought the nephews really were playing hookey. They weren't. As soon as Donald dragged them to school, he saw a sign that read: SCHOOL CLOSED FOR SUMMER HOLIDAY. This is definitely a classic Donald Duck short and would fall into my "favorites" categories.

From Bo Engwall : Here is a another example of a theme sometimes later used by Carl Barks himself in his 10-pagers for Walt Disney´s Comics & Stories. Both in a 1946 and a 1949 story, even with reused gags. In the late fifties Barks somewhat copied himself in similar fasion from earlier comic book work, but that is another story.

From Baruch Weiss : This cartoon is quite similar to a Little Audrey cartoon titled "Fish Tackler" it's pretty much the same in both cartoons with the exception of the ending. In this cartoon Donald deflates, but in the Little Audrey cartoon the Truant Officer becomes a slave to the cute little girl!

I have seen "Truant Officer Donald" and would like to
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