20 Days of Summer, Day 9: Donald's Vacation

Day 9: Donald’s Vacation (1940)
Starring: Donald Duck
Setting: A pine forest
Plot: Donald’s peaceful vacation is thwarted, first, by chipmunks and then a bear.

Tan Lines
Donald’s weaving around and through the series of waterfalls evokes the sensation of experiencing the back side of water from Disneyland’s classic attraction The Jungle Cruise (1955 – present).

On multiple occasions, Donald mutters the phrase “no respect for the human kind.”  We can only assume that he’s the “human.”

Along with the ridiculous amounts of food and bugs, I’ve also begun to notice a pattern in referencing Native Americans.  In this series alone, we’ve already had the orphans from Orphans’ Picnic, the ants from Beach Picnic and now Donald all doing stereotypical “Indian things.”

The scurry of unnamed chipmunks appear to be a precursor to Chip ‘N’ Dale.

At this point, it’s not even worth detailing the amount of food brought on these camping trips/picnics anymore.  Also, we get a repeat scene of the chipmunks stealing the food just like the ants did in both Orphans’ Picnic and Beach Picnic.

The bear looks like the same one from The Pointer (1939).

Sitting by the Campfire
This short is notable for giving us the prototype for Chip ‘N’ Dale.  I also love the irony of Donald hoping to establish “Camp Peaceful” when he’s anything but.  This is a great example of Donald not looking for trouble but finding it through bad luck.  Sure, he has a short temper but, this time especially, he’s the victim and not the instigator.