Bonne nuit Donald

I may be biased in loving Early to Bed as I love most of the Disney shorts and Donald Duck. But I do find it a fine short, that will make you sympathise with insomniacs and with Donald as he tries to go to sleep and it is made as a big chore. The animation is colourful and fluid, and the music is orchestrated beautifully and brims with character. The story is not particularly innovative, but that doesn't matter at all when you are constantly entertained watching. Early to Bed really puts Donald's personality to great use, it shows him easily frustrated and his mumbled asides are hoots. The gags are a great many, and from Donald's attempts to stop the sounds from the clock and Donald looking like a snake charmer to Donald's struggles with the mattress and when the bed folds up on Donald. Clarence Nash is impeccable, making the most of Donald's asides. All in all, a very fine short. 10/10 Bethany Cox

One of the best shorts at Disney. Highly recommend.

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

It's EARLY TO BED for a very tired Donald - too bad his alarm clock & fold-up bed are determined to keep him awake.

Here is a very funny little film which should have any insomniac viewer sympathizing with the Duck. The legendary Carl Barks was one of the writers on this project. Donald's muttered asides, as voiced by the inimitable Clarence Nash, are hilarious.

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 storm of naysayers, 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.

Donald is planning an early night in an effort to get up early the next day. But first he cannot get comfortable in his bed and then the ticking of the alarm clock gets on his nerves and he just can't sleep. The annoyances escalate and eventually Donald goes completely berserk.

I admit I did laugh a few times at the start of this cartoon but it's a total one-joke affair. It became pretty unfunny rather quickly and my attention started drifting after his bed acted up for about the 86th time. Nah, there were some moments of good humor but overall I wasn't too impressed with this cartoon at all, despite the amusing beginning.

And why is Donald living in a different house every time we see him?

This is a funny cartoon featuring Donald Duck who has to get up early in the morning. However, he has everything against his as he attempts to get his slumber.

It is entertaining seeing Donald go through a host of misadventures of him trying to get his much-needed sleep, like his loudly ticking alarm clock and his folding bed that flips on top of him. Adding to the gags is Donald swallowing his clock to quiet it down, only to see its dial shine through his feathers.

It's classic Donald with his fiery temper and iconic personality - entertaining from start to finish. It's Donald at one of his best!

Grade A