Donald au Ranch

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

Visiting the old Bar-None Ranch, Donald the DUDE DUCK has his hands full in just getting his assigned horse, Rover Boy #6, to give him a ride.

The main enjoyment in this little film comes from watching Donald's growing impatience at not getting the horseback riding he's obviously paid for. The Disney artists used the rotoscope technique in portraying the human young ladies as they arrive at the Ranch. Although he gave a frisky performance, this would be Rover Boy's only appearance in a Disney cartoon. Clarence "Ducky" Nash supplied Donald with his unique voice.

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.

Donald Duck visits a dude ranch and attempts to ride on a horse who had just seen all the other horses been picked by some beautiful women.

Donald gets the run-around and bad vibes from the horse in this cartoon, making failed attempts to get the animal to let Donald saddle him up. It's funny to see Donald's priceless expressions of frustration and desertion, and in the part where he mimics a woman's voice in coerce the horse.

The horse on the other hand is pretty irritating as he rejects poor Donald. The facial expressions it makes are annoying. But, I guess it's all in good fun to watch as Donald almost always get stuck with all the bad luck.

Grade B

Don is always fun to watch.In this short he tries to ride a horse with hilarious results.Especially where he immitates the women voices and the laugh out finale another classic short with the''impatient loser'' Donald.

Perhaps not among the very best Donald Duck cartoons (although, like all of Jack Hannah's efforts, it has some very funny moments), at least one thing about it is outstanding: when Donald approaches the horses, innocent, self-satisfied, looking like a prize pillock, he is wearing what is probably THE most hilarious facial expression of his entire career. The horses clearly think so, too.

Dude Duck is not my favourite of Donald Duck's cartoons, or quite one of my favourites. But it is fun and entertaining, with beautiful animation, vibrant colours and fluid backgrounds are both on sight here, and energetic scoring with the opening bars(excluding the catchy title song) almost reminiscent of the part of the William Tell overture where it sounds like dawn has arrived. Duke Duck is very funny too, I have been more imaginatively and crisply timed Donald Duck cartoons, but I did love Donald's facial expression as he walks up to the horses and the last minute or so is very amusing, but for me the best part was when Rover Boy was pretending to be a cow. The story is routine but still maintained my interest, and both characters are just great, I just wish endearing Rover Boy was in more cartoons and Donald as always shines with his charm and temperament. Clarence Nash is as bravura as ever as the voice of Donald. In conclusion, a fun, entertaining cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox