Donald der Rechenkünstler

In Grade 11 Trig class, we made our teacher rent this as a going away present for the Seniors who were graduating early. This is a great example of the teaching power of film. In straightforward fashion, Donald overcomes his fear of numbers through illustrative examples. Plus, it teaches kids to play pool! Learn to use the diamonds on the table, and you too can improve your game with geometry and simple arithmetic. Recommended!

Donald in Mathmagicland is the Alice in Wonderland of educational cartoons. It makes very little sense, and to explain the nonsensical happenings, is the simple fact that this is mathMAGICland. If you're into some strong story telling, this is not for you, but if you want an entertaining and educational Disney flick, than this one is for you.

Donald Duck is transported to Mathmagicland. In this land, various happenings in normal life are explained through math, and an ominous voice talks to Donald, voiced by Paul Frees. Donald learns how instrument strings are mathematically designed, and how the game of chess in a math process, how the game of pool can be mathematically calculated, and much more.

This is not much of a story. It makes no sense, and has no real ending, but it's still a great short. The animation is fantastic. The animation features constant morphing of shapes and it's hard to imagine that these animators could use these techniques 50 years ago. The live action is thrown in well, also. The scene where they teach how to calculate pool is the most interesting in the movie, and the mixture of live action pool and Donald Duck looks excellent, and is a nice throwback to techniques used in Donald's earlier picture "The Three Caballeros".

Paul Frees is an excellent narrator, and Donald Duck is the perfect character to send to this inexplicable math land. The animation is great, and this educational Disney film is brilliantly animated and very informative.

My rating: *** 1/2 out of ****. 30 mins.

This is a magically educational cartoon short starring Donald Duck where he delves into an adventure of numbers, points and charts in showing us how mathematics works in real life and how math can sometimes be magical.

I have seen this short a number of times in elementary and middle schools, particularly during the time when math is taught. Though it is not the typical funny cartoon where we see Donald and his misadventures, this short is actually pretty neat and engaging, showing us how shapes, charts, numbers and math gadgets work in a clever way, utilizing that special Disney touch.

The animation is vibrant and brilliantly done and it is fun seeing Donald take on a more unique role in getting kids to learn, while retaining his lovably frustrated personality.

Overall, a pretty good cartoon that can both be fun and educational.

Grade B

This movie is a must-watch by anyone from age 6+. It may be from Disney. It may have a cute, animated Donald Duck on the cover. It may be a classic "short" (27 mins). What is most impressive about this IMPORTANT piece of entertainment is the ability to converge entertainment with education to create something children, high school students, and professional mathematicians alike see the value of this excellent little film.

This is not your standard short about Donald playing hockey with his triplet nephews. It isn't Mickey and Pluto chasing Chip and Dale up one tree and down another. It isn't Goofy "YA-HA-hooey"ing his way along another bumbling adventure. This is good old fashioned egghead mathematics in the most joyful, silly, absorbing way possible. It is a marvel.

If you are a math teacher, PLEASE buy a DVD copy of this and show it annually to your classes, no matter what grade - 1st-12th -- even university-level would find it invigorating. If you are a student of any age, track this down and watch it. You'll never look at music, chess, pool tables, or algebraic equations (yes, they are all in there) the same again.

The best review I can give is this: My sister-in-law teaches 4th grade math and had never heard of this show. I went home and pulled it out of our library to "loan" to her. When my college-age son saw what I had in my hand, his eyes lit up. "My Trig teacher put that on for us! It's AWESOME!!!" I'm 52 and flunked geometry in high school. My 19yo son was an honors math student through high school. If we can BOTH find this little short to be incredible, I could ask nothing more.

Disney, I applaud you. Thank you for this tiny slice of edutainment that is worth every penny and every second spent watching. It's pure "mathematical joy" - two words I never thought would share the same sentence in my vocabulary.

This animated documentary was an excellent combination of entertainment and education and is a real feather in Disney's cap. Most people have varying degrees of either disinterest or dislike of mathematics. This renders math comprehensible as well as making it fun and interesting-a combination most of my math instuctors were either unwilling or unable to accomplish. After 41 years plus, this doesn't feel the least bit dated. I'm glad to see it's available. Three cheers for the mouse (and the duck too, though I must confess that, for the most part, Donald leaves me cold. Not here, though.). Most recommended.