Donald und die Schulschwänzer

Is it just me, or does "Donald Duck" sound just like Katharine Hepburn here? He's got himself a shiny new badge and is on the look out for school dodgers when he finds his three nephews frolicking in the pool. He swiftly apprehends them but suffice to say they are not going to go willingly and are soon besieged inside their den thwarting all of their uncle's efforts. Whatever wheeze he comes up with, they have a plan - they even have three oven-ready turkeys and loads of self-raising flower! It's good fun this one, with plenty of imaginative action and mischief right from the start and it's even money throughout as to who might come out on top.

Donald Duck is the truant officer in this cartoon short, catching his nephews playing hooky from school. He thinks they would be easily caught and urged back to school, but the nephews had some tricks up their sleeves and outsmarts Donald - even faking their own deaths!

The classic Donald humor, from slapstick gags to his frustrated innuendos, continue with more laughs and fun. It's just hilarious seeing him use his unorthodox disciplinary skills on his nephews, including trying to smoke them out of their clubhouse. The laughs pile on and on as poor Donald tries to get the upperhand. To my surprise, he does pretty much get the last laughs on his nephews in this one!

It's one of the better Donald cartoons with Huey, Dewey and Louie in it.

Grade A-

This is my sixth review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1941, having previously done the same for George Pal's Rhythm in the Ranks, Friz Freleng's Rhapsody in Rivets, Walter Lantz' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B, Rudolf Ising's The Rookie Bear, and Hanna-Barbera's The Night Before Christmas. In this, one of two Walt Disney Studios entries, Donald Duck is indeed a truant officer who eyes his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie having fun swimming thinking they're skipping school. So he takes them any way he can but those three manage to find ways to elude him everytime. At least until they go to their clubhouse. I'll just now say this was quite a funny cartoon nearly from beginning to end. Resident Duck director Jack King really brings the laughs throughout. Only four more Academy Award nominated animated shorts to go...

In this cartoon, nominated for an Oscar, Donald-animation's answer to the ulcer- is his typical genial and charming, sweet-tempered self. Haf the fun of these is watching Donald come out on the short end of things time and time again, for Donald is about as bright as he is even-tempered. The rest of the fun is watching his inevitable comeuppance, which here is as appropriate as it is predictable. Recommended.

Once again, a hilarious and fun if slightly predictable cartoon. Donald is as volatile and entertaining as ever and his nephews Huey, Duey and Louie are cute and mischievous. Clarence Nash voices all four characters and does a stellar job, keeping things amusing while never overdoing it. The story is in a way unsurprising, but well-paced and kept afloat by the imaginative gags especially the gag with the chickens/turkeys and one of the nephews pretend to be an angel and the wonderfully ironic ending is also noteworthy. Also north of note are the pristine-looking animation, the colours look gorgeous, and the energetic music score, always a big part of why I enjoy Disney(and Looney Tunes too for that matter) cartoons as much as I do.

Overall, Truant Officer Donald is a lot of fun, makes me appreciate Disney all the more and that you are never too old to love Disney. 9/10 Bethany Cox