Truant Officer Donald
Encyclopedia
Truant Officer Donald is an animated
short film produced in Technicolor
by Walt Disney Productions
and released to theaters on August 1, 1941 by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942 but lost to another Disney cartoon Lend a Paw
. The story features Donald Duck
working as a truant
officer and making sure that Huey, Dewey and Louie
go to school. The film was directed by Jack King
while Clarence Nash
provided the voices of Donald and the nephews.
He captures Dewey and Louie, but Huey swims away. Donald throws out a fishing line and eventually lands him. He drives them to the schoolhouse in his truant officer van. While he endlessly goes on about the importance of a good education, the boys pull out their rather large pocket knives, managing to cut themselves out of the van and make a run for it. Donald notices the back of his van is gone and he chases the boys to their clubhouse.
Donald tries to get in, but fails. He jacks up the clubhouse to load onto his van. But the boys manage to reverse the jack so it comes back down on top of Donald. He tunnels out and decides to smoke the boys out. Meanwhile inside the clubhouse, the boys are cooking three chickens over the fire when suddenly they notice smoke pouring in. They decide to beat Donald at his own game. They put the chickens in the bed and escape through the roof. Donald peaks inside to see if his ploy had worked, and sees the three cooked chickens in the bed and thinks the boys were cooked alive.
Donald is very beside himself. Then, Huey disguises himself as an angel and is lowered into the clubhouse. He manages to kick Donald in the rear. The second one causes him to fall and his disguise falls off. This causes Donald to finally capture them and take them to school. But in a twist ending, as they reach school, Donald is shocked when he notices that school is closed for summer holidays. The nephews give him an angry glare and Donald literally shrinks from embarrassment over his mistake.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short film produced in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
by Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and released to theaters on August 1, 1941 by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942 but lost to another Disney cartoon Lend a Paw
Lend a Paw
Lend a Paw is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on October 3, 1941. In the cartoon, which was largely a remake of Disney's 1932 film Mickey's Pal Pluto, Pluto saves the life of a kitten, and later feels jealous towards the kitten...
. The story features Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
working as a truant
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
officer and making sure that Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
go to school. The film was directed by Jack King
Jack King (animator)
James Patton "Jack" King was an American comics artist and animator best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions.Born in Alabama, King began his animation career in the silent era in 1920 working at Bray Productions animation studio...
while Clarence Nash
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
provided the voices of Donald and the nephews.
Synopsis
Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck are enjoying a nice, leisure swim in the lake. But they are being watched behind the SCHOOL sign, by Truant Officer Donald Duck. He has a duty to uphold: to make sure all kids are in school.He captures Dewey and Louie, but Huey swims away. Donald throws out a fishing line and eventually lands him. He drives them to the schoolhouse in his truant officer van. While he endlessly goes on about the importance of a good education, the boys pull out their rather large pocket knives, managing to cut themselves out of the van and make a run for it. Donald notices the back of his van is gone and he chases the boys to their clubhouse.
Donald tries to get in, but fails. He jacks up the clubhouse to load onto his van. But the boys manage to reverse the jack so it comes back down on top of Donald. He tunnels out and decides to smoke the boys out. Meanwhile inside the clubhouse, the boys are cooking three chickens over the fire when suddenly they notice smoke pouring in. They decide to beat Donald at his own game. They put the chickens in the bed and escape through the roof. Donald peaks inside to see if his ploy had worked, and sees the three cooked chickens in the bed and thinks the boys were cooked alive.
Donald is very beside himself. Then, Huey disguises himself as an angel and is lowered into the clubhouse. He manages to kick Donald in the rear. The second one causes him to fall and his disguise falls off. This causes Donald to finally capture them and take them to school. But in a twist ending, as they reach school, Donald is shocked when he notices that school is closed for summer holidays. The nephews give him an angry glare and Donald literally shrinks from embarrassment over his mistake.