Vacances Hawaiiennes

Hawaiian Holiday (1937)

*** (out of 4)

This all-star Disney short isn't a masterpiece but there are certainly enough funny moments to make it worth viewing. Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald find themselves in Hawaii on a vacation and while Mickey and Minnie dance away, the rest don't find the stay too pleasant. First of all, Goofy tries to go surfing but the water wants nothing to do with him. Second you've got poor Pluto running to a crab. Thirdly, Donald gets a bit too close to the fire. While the "story" isn't all that strong, there's no question that there are some hilarious moments to be had here with the highlight clearly being the sequence between Pluto and the crab. The beating poor Pluto takes is downright hysterical at times and especially as we see him just not being able to figure out what's going on. The animation is quite good throughout so fans of the characters will certainly enjoy this one.

Mickey Mouse and friends are vacationing in Hawaii where they get into one situation after another in their attempts to have fun. Goofy tries his hand at surfing but the waves aren't cooperating. Actually, the ocean kicks his butt. Donald sets his rear on fire then struggles with a starfish. Pluto has his own troubles with a seashell and a crab. Mickey and Minnie basically do nothing interesting. A slight but amusing short. Disney's first released through RKO after five years of working with United Artists. Nice animation and lovely colors. Good music, too. Funny in spots but nothing hilarious. A good way to kill eight minutes but nothing to write home about.

There is not really a story to speak of in Hawaiian Holiday, but I did find it interesting to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto all in the same cartoon. And it is a great one. Hawaiian Holiday is vividly animated with the backgrounds well and truly luscious and the character designs all well drawn, even if Mickey's character design is not as rounded as it would be later. The music is energetic and sounds lovely throughout, while all the characters are engaging and the gags range from amusing to hilarious. Minnie doesn't have all that much to do, other than set the musical tone of Hawaiian Holiday, but she actually does that very well. Mickey is a likable character and has a good gag as a guitar player where his hands dance across the strings, but like Minnie he doesn't have much to do. Donald's main gag is very quick but is still one of Hawaiian Holiday's funniest moments, where the grass skirt he is wearing catches on fire. Pluto and Goofy are the ones actually who get a lion's share of the comedy. Pluto's cuteness and energy and his ability to resonate so much with the audience without saying a word is put to great use, and his encounters with the shellfish and the crab are very funny. If I were to say who was the funniest character of the five and who had the funniest moments, it would be Goofy on all counts. His attempts to surf are like a hilarious pre-view to what he would become chiefly famous for later, and it also shows what Goofy was best at, finding that something that is obvious to us is not so much for him. Overall, colourful fun with the Disney gang. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

FOLLOWING THE BY then well established format of having Donald Duck and Goofy playing the stooges to Mickey's straight man, this musically energized short puts the trio through their usual type antics. This picture, however, has the additional element of having Minnie Mouse present and both singing and doing some rodent-type sexy Hula.

IN ONE SENSE this is a fine example of what has been called "a clothesline picture"; that being a short subject that has a threadbare sort of a minimally constituted plot (if one at all), but exists only to provide to present a series of unrelated gags. (Warner Brothers ROAD RUNNER & COYOTE Cartoons are q fine example of this type.)

AS WE HAVE already stated, the funny business is left to Donald, Goofy and Pluto. The situations generally pit the trio individually against the forces of nature, some local sea creatures and their own pride and ineptitude. The scene quickly shifts to one of the three, only to shift again and keep our attention.

FROM WHAT WE have read elsewhere, there was a lot of interest in the then territory of Hawaii. It was a time in which the typical American viewed the Islands as being our own very piece of paradise.

IRONICALLY, WITHIN THE coming four years, it would become the focus on a very different event, namely the attack on Pearl Harbor of December 7, 1941.

I remember when I was small and I saw this short, at the time it was my favorite short. One of the best Disney shorts. Highly recommend. Same very funny.