La poule aux oeufs d'or

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

Donald looks for a fast profit selling the GOLDEN EGGS his hens have produced.

Here is another 'Donald gets greedy' film, but it's still fun just to watch The Duck get ever deeper into trouble. Clarence "Ducky" Nash supplies the voice of Donald; the incomparable Florence Gill voiced the hens.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by 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 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 simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Golden Eggs (1941)

*** (out of 4)

The price of eggs are going through the roof so Donald decides to try and make some money. He goes to a chicken coop to pick some eggs but he's caught by the rooster security guard. The rest of the short has Donald trying to get to the eggs.

This isn't the greatest Disney short ever produced but it certainly contains enough good moments to make it worth watching. The highlight is certainly an early scene where Donald is working his magic to try and get the chickens to lay more eggs. The production of this scene was quite funny. T he rest of the short basically has Donald dressed up as a rooster and trying to fool the guard. Again, there's nothing great about this short but it's entertaining.

As I can't help nitpicking I do find it a little odd that Donald Duck, who is himself a bird, keeps loads of hens. In this cartoon he learns of the skyrocketing price of eggs (there must be a shortage of hens then) and rushes out to the barn to prompt them into laying loads of them with some upbeat music.

But the barn Rooster has other ideas and insists that the eggs stay put. Why would Donald allow the Rooster to push him around so much? And why would the Rooster really care what Donald does with the eggs? It's not like he's going to be doing much with them himself. Despite these moans, the cartoon is very funny and Donald's irritable, persistent personality mixes well with the hijinks.

Golden Eggs does have a somewhat predictable story, but it is a fun Donald Duck cartoon that leaves me smiling. The animation is very good for its time, with lovely backgrounds and colours. Another delight was the music, it is rousing and beautiful like in most Silly Symphonies. I love a good score in films, TV shows and cartoons, and this is no exception. The jokes are good, very funny if like the story a little on the predictable side. The voice acting from Clarence "Ducky" Nash as Donald and Florence Gill as the hens is top notch as always, Nash rarely disappoints when he voices Donald. As for Donald himself, he isn't as cantankerous as he is in the cartoons with him and his nephews, but he is funny. The barn rooster is a fun supporting character too, and the little caterpillar is sweet. Overall, puts a smile on my face no matter how predictable it is. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Donald Duck is reading the paper and finds out that he gets 85 cents per a dozen of eggs. He goes to the chickens and collects as many eggs as he can carry but the rooster gets a little mad. To find his way to the eggs without getting caught by the rooster Donald dresses up like a chicken. The rooster falls instantly in love with Donald and some nice sequences follow.

A pretty funny short, especially after Donald has dressed up as a chicken. Although some of the jokes are pretty predictable they will make you smile. Worth a watch.