Donald's Happy Birthday

Donald's Happy Birthday
Donald's Happy Birthday
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jack Hannah
Written by	Nick George; Bill Berg
Produced by	Walt Disney
Starring	Clarence Nash
Music by	Oliver Wallace
Animation by	Bob Carlson; Volus Jones; Bill Justice; Jack Boyd
Layouts by	Yale Gracey
Backgrounds by	Ralph Hulett
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	February 11, 1949;
Running time	6:40
Country	United States
Language	English

Donald's Happy Birthday is a 1949 Donald Duck cartoon featuring Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.^[1] In the short film, Huey, Dewey, and Louie would like to buy a box of cigars for Donald's birthday but Donald decides to keep the money.

Plot

On March 13, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are in their treehouse debating what to get their uncle Donald for his birthday, ultimately setting on a box of cigars. Their plans are halted when they realize they do not have the required $2.98. To raise funds, the boys do a frenzied set of chores for Donald's lawn and gardens, after which they hand Donald an invoice for $2.98. Finding the charges reasonable, Donald happily pays the boys, but then immediately forces them to deposit the funds in a locking coin bank (whose song advises the boys to "Take my advice, Do as I say, Save a little money for a rainy day"). Later, believing Donald to be napping, the boys take the bank, and sneak it to their treehouse to open it, but Donald, not actually asleep, gets up and follows the boys. After admonishing them, he takes the coin bank and returns it to the house.

A subsequent attempt to take the coin bank fares better, and the boys run off with the money. Donald uses his telescope to spot the trio exiting the cigar store, and mistakenly concludes they bought the cigars to smoke themselves. A furious Donald then makes his nephews forcibly smoke all of the cigars themselves to teach them a lesson, and the triplets end up passing out due to extreme smoke inhalation. Just as the cigar box is emptied, Donald discovers a birthday card written by the trio inside the box, making him realize that the triplets were actually going to give the cigars to him as a birthday present. Horrified of what he has done, Donald shrinks out of shame and jumps out a hole in the tree house floor.

Voice cast

Clarence Nash as Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie

Continuity of Donald's birth date

Although this short lists Donald's birthday as March 13, Disney later decided that Donald's official birthday would be celebrated on June 9, the date of his film debut.^[2]

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950.^[3]

References

^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
^ "When Is Donald Duck's Birthday, and How Old Is He?". AllEars.net. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
^ "The Chronological Donald Volume 3 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.

External links

Donald's Happy Birthday at IMDb

This article about a Disney animated film of the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.

[2] "When Is Donald Duck's Birthday, and How Old Is He?". AllEars.net. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

[3] "The Chronological Donald Volume 3 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.

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