"A Donald Duck Cartoon"
Alternate Titles
Release Date March 31, 1944
Running Time 6:57
Synopsis
Characters
Credits
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Television
Technical Specifications
Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Comments
On a cold and rainy night, we find inside a dilapidated house Donald and his nephews listening to the radio and hearing an announcement of a gorilla on the loose. Huey, Dewey, and Louie get hysterical when the radio announcer says that the gorilla "is a killer." Donald laughs and mocks them, then sees a pair of gorilla gloves next to the lamp post where he is sitting. He plays a prank on the nephews by turning the lights out, sneaked behind the couch and nearly snatched the three petrified nephews. When one of the nephews sees who did this prank, it was time for them to get even.
The three of them decide to dress up as one gorilla and decide to turn the tables on Donald. Donald grabs a book, and as he sits down he sits on gorilla's lap (the nephew's one obviously) without even knowing it. He also takes a lick of his lollipop, but the nephews take a huge "Dracula" bite into it and eventually scares the living daylights out of Donald once he realized who (or what) he was sitting on. As Donald runs for cover, the real gorilla shows up by entering through the upstairs window and scares the nephews away. It did not take long for Donald to see who played the prank on him as costume bodyparts ran like spastic nerves all over the place. Donald comes back and tries to jump on the gorilla knowing it was his nephews inside the costume, but little did he realize that he was jumping on a REAL gorilla until he sees the costumed one pass by. Donald finally realizes what he got himself into when he yelled for the boys inside the gorilla only to get an echo chamber as a response.
The radio made another announcement that suggested that anyone could tame a wild animal by looking at him straight into the eye of gorilla. Donald sees the gorilla's eye with a volatile message: "Here lies a dead duck." Donald better run safari away that he won't be caught! But anyway, despite my foul attempt in humor, Donald takes his defense weapon (an umbrella) and shoves it in the gorilla's mouth, slowing him up for sure!
All four of them (Donald and the nephews) sneak all over the upstairs part of the house, but unfortunately, wax falls on the tail of Donald, and the wax ironically shaped up as a gorilla's hand. One of the nephews takes the waxed hand off of Donald's tail, then later nails Donald again with the flame in the fanny! Talk about your hot feathery butt! Donald then takes the candle and chases the nephews away, but Donald turns completely clumsy by burning his hand as he lights the doorknob with the flame!
As Donald "ballets" his way across the floor, the gorilla is swinging across the wooden poles at the top of the inside of the house. Somehow, Donald runs up on the gorilla, but as he tries to run away, he is yanked through door by the gorilla, but without it paying attention until the duck imprints fall off. The chase is on!
Donald speeds away with the gorilla close behind, swings down a pole, pulls a ladder in front of him and causes the gorilla fly airborne through about 15 stories of rooms! But the gorilla quickly recovers and the chase resumes across long corridors and very lengthy tables. Donald tries to backpedal away from the gorilla but leaves lots of plywood in the hands of the monster. But Donald's luck runs out when he falls through the open insert of the table and finds himself sandwiched as the gorilla tries to bite his hiny.
During the battle, another radio announcement is made to use tear gas, which the nephews get. One of them throw it into the room where Donald was getting himself crunched. The nephews saved him again as the gorilla is hit right away with the chemical. Donald breathes a sigh of relief, then laughs once he sees the gorilla suffering. At that instant, Donald gets hit, and he now shares in the gorilla's misery, forcing the two of them to share a tissue and make funny foghorn noises to close out the cartoon.
Now I'm not about to be affected by this lack-of-a-tearjerker ending, if you know what I mean!
--- Tom Wilkins
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