How to Have an Accident in the Home

Donald Duck, in his first educational cartoon, offers many lessons in how to destroy yourself at home. J. Jonah Fate offers narration as we watch our second-favorite duck -- sorry, I like Daffy -- set up his home so we can watch him get into innumerable accidents that would defy Buster Keaton's ability to survive.

Fortunately this is a cartoon, and we know that Donald is going to survive situations that would kill the rest of us. So, when you've finished laughing heartily at the pratfalls and explosions, take the lesson to heart.

A Walt Disney Cartoon with DONALD DUCK

Donald demonstrates HOW TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT IN THE HOME.

This informative little film warns against the improper uses of electricity & gas, the danger of littered floors & crowded stairways and other safety hazards about the home. Followed by HOW TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT AT WORK (1959). Clarence Nash provides Donald with his unique voice.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

This was my favorite cartoon short when I first saw it as part of the episode, Man Is His Own Worst Enemy, of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. It features a character called J.J. Fate who tells about some people's carelessness in the home, including Donald Duck's. What results are classic and hilarious scenes featuring Donald having mishaps around his house, including tripping over toys, falling downstairs, electrocuting himself and blowing up the kitchen. While funny and displays classic Donald humor, gags and energy, the story also leaves a good lesson and message as to what the consequences are if you don't take care of yourself and things around you.

It's a great cartoon short with vibrant animation and a fun plot!

Grade A

It may be unusual to see a Disney How to short with Donald as the lead character rather than Goofy. That doesn't matter though because How to Have an Accident in the Home still manages to be almost as good as the best of Goofy's How to shorts. How to Have an Accident in the Home may not have the best animation of any Disney short, but it still looks colourful and fluidly drawn and it never undermines the quality of the gags. The gags- revolving around Donald's accidents around the house and JJ Fate getting the blame- themselves are quite brutal but also hilarious and imaginative, while the character of JJ Fate has a very informative role. The music is lovely to listen to and adds a lot of life and energy to the story. Donald's temperamental personality and charisma are put to great use. The voice work is very good as well.

So overall, hilarious and informative. 10/10 Bethany Cox