Chasing Off Chipmunks Takes Ingenuity in Donald Duck and the Garden

I've always been very fond of chipmunks, so I love the Disney cartoons dealing with a mischievous Chip and Dale squaring off against an increasingly aggravated Donald Duck. Donald Duck and the Garden, a Disney Easy Reader written by Joan Phillips and illustrated by Francese Mateu, tells one of those tales.

In this summery story, Donald is a gardener, and he looks the part in his red plaid shirt and blue vest. All he wants is to grow some fruit and veggies, but that's hard to accomplish with Chip and Dale thwarting him at every turn. It's an epic battle of the wills, and the rascally chipmunks remind me of free-spirited hobbits Merry and Pippin making off with Farmer Maggot's crops in the film version of Fellowship of the Ring. They do it because they are hungry but also because it's fun to cause a stir.

Like other books in this series, Donald Duck and the Garden uses very simple language and plenty of repetition. The book establishes early on that Donald and the chipmunks are old rivals, which makes the repetition feel more natural. This is a game they've played again and again, just not always in this arena. This time around, Donald keeps coming up with new strategies to scare the duo away, while they keep coming back to try again another day.

"Stop! Stop!" "Help! Help!" "Run! Run!" These exclamations appear several times, as do assertions by the characters that they know each other very well and can anticipate what move the other will make next. Despite their bravado, the chipmunks do react with alarm to Donald's devices, but that doesn't stop them for long. This is a book about creative problem-solving and persistence with a resolution that leaves all three characters more satisfied than I would have expected from the madcap tone.

The pictures are cheerful and fun, with the instantly recognizable main characters getting on each other's nerves amidst several distinctive props. I especially like the robotic chipmunk Donald concocts, though I wonder how in the world he managed to construct it. While Donald often comes across as incompetent in his tales, that isn't the case here. His expressions of exasperation are entertaining, but they stem from the determination of his adversaries, not his own shortcomings.

This is a fun story focusing on three beloved Disney characters and featuring cameos by five others. The basic sentence structure and appealing pictures make it a fine fit for young readers, and the zaniness of the backyard battle is good for a laugh any time of year.

Chaos Ensues With Donald Duck at the Toy Store

There’s a wonderful scene in the Tom Hanks movie Big in which the main character, a 12-year-old kid in the body of a 30-year-old, goes to an expansive toy store and simply basks in the visceral delight of playing with just about everything in sight. The owner is so charmed by his enthusiasm that he not only joins him for an unconventional rendition of Heart and Soul on the giant stompable keyboard, he makes him a special consultant.

In the Golden Easy Reader Donald Duck at the Toy Store, the owner has a much less favorable reaction when Donald Duck decides to start trying out the merchandise. While it’s the same-old-toys malaise of his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie that prompts the excursion, Donald is the one who goes nuts when they arrive at the store, and his idea of testing out the toys seems to involve breaking them and everything in the vicinity. What a calamity for the shopkeeper! What an embarrassment for the triplets! What can be done to make him stop?

This book, written by Joan Phillips and illustrated by Willy Ito, Claudia Mielnik and Roy Wilson, is similar in tone and format to other Golden Easy Readers starring Donald, particularly Donald Duck, TV Star. Basically, it involves Donald making a mess and the boys (or ducklings, I suppose) trying to clean it up. In this book, however, it all starts with him wanting to do something nice for his nephews, so it’s hard to fault him too much. But once he gets to that store, a sort of madness overtakes him. The pictures capture that crazed enthusiasm very well, particularly with the rings in his eyes.

Like other books in this series, it uses a lot of repetition, particularly in the middle section, which involves one of the nephews pointing something out as a good toy, then Donald offering to try it, injuring himself as a result and declaring it a bad toy. It reminds me of the Berenstain Bears book in which Papa Bear takes his son and his fellow scouts on a camp-out and insists on showing them how to do everything, which inevitably leads to disaster and to them using their own expertise to fix the damage he’s done. Donald, like Papa Bear, is a great big kid at heart. While that makes him more lovable, it also makes him more disaster-prone.

The simplicity of the writing makes this book a great one for readers just getting used to a few basic words like “toys” (which appears, in plural or singular form, 15 times) and “try” (which appears eight times). It’s also a bit of a fun challenge to keep the triplets straight; each one is singled out once, and after that, kids can go through the book and point out who’s who based on their clothes. The fact that all of them have both red and blue on them somewhere makes this even trickier.

This is a fun story that doesn’t discourage enthusiasm but does urge a bit of restraint. I think Donald would be a very fun uncle to have – as long as he doesn’t put everybody in traction.

Add Some Color to Your Keys With Donald Duck

Keys are very important objects, but they can also be befuddling. Most of them have either a silver or gold color to them, and the general shapes are usually so similar across the board that shuffling through a large set of keys can be a rather infuriating experience. If you’re standing at the front door itching to get in out of the rain, you don’t really want to have to search too hard for the correct key. One thing that has made things easier in my house is buying novelty keys and having them cut into the shape of our house key.

I first ran across these cheerful keys in a hardware store a few years ago. I was so charmed that I had to get one for myself, and with so many different designs to choose from, I encouraged my parents to do the same. Now we have several floating around the house. The spare key hanging above the stove is this particular design, which is Donald Duck.

Donald stands against a backdrop of bright green grass and clear blue sky. In the background are a cozy red farmhouse and a couple of trees. Donald himself is decked out in his traditional sailor suit, and he wears a big smile on his face. I often think of Donald as being frustrated, but that isn’t the case here. In fact, he looks very proud of himself. Given that this is a house key, I might venture a guess that he is proud because he is a homeowner. He certainly looks very satisfied about something as he stands there with his hands on his hips and beams.

The key is sturdy and works just as well as the original for getting into the house. This one simply hangs on the key ring with a couple of smaller keys, and finding the right key amongst them was never really an issue, as it was in with my parents’ much larger sets of keys. In their cases, having a key like this saves time because finding it is so much easier. Here, it just makes me smile to see Donald grinning at me while I turn the key to get into the house. The cheer is infectious.

Since I first came across these keys, I have seen them at multiple hardware stores. Many different designs are available, but Disney seems to be especially well represented. They only cost a few dollars, and getting a copy of your key made with this mold only takes a matter of minutes. Since the main point is making that particular key stand out, I wouldn’t recommend getting more than a couple of them – maybe your house key and car key, if your car key isn’t electronic. Some designs work better with certain key shapes than others, so that is something to be aware of; the person doing the key cutting should be able to tell you whether the design you have selected will be a good fit for your key.

I think that having Donald Duck on that key is a great idea. These snazzy designs make finding the right key in a pinch easier and express your personality and interests at the same time. What a fun thing to have on your key ring!

Flying Whales and Lovelorn Ducks Make Fantasia 2000 Even Better Than the Original

Back in May, my brother graduated from college. When I peeked out the door that morning to see how the weather was shaping up, storm clouds loomed ominously, making Pomp and Circumstance from Fantasia 2000 feel doubly appropriate for the day. Not only is the song instantly associated with graduations, but in Disney’s 38th animated feature, it serves as the backdrop to a quirky riff on the story of Noah’s Ark, and we seemed to be in for a similar soaker. I’m not sure what happened to those rainclouds; by the time we got to the ceremony, the weather was gorgeous. Still, I’ve had that Disney segment rolling around in my head ever since, so I was happy to rewatch Fantasia 2000 recently.

When Walt Disney first conceived of Fantasia, which became the company’s third animated feature film, he intended to revive it periodically, retaining some segments and inserting new ones. That concept died after the rather unconventional movie using animation as a means of exploring classical music failed to prove as popular as he’d hoped, but six decades later, a sequel finally hit theaters. All new material except for the iconic Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the movie also features introductions by several celebrities and glimpses of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which performed the music. Some of the presenters, particularly Steve Martin and magical act Penn and Teller, are comical, while others, like Quincy Jones and Angela Lansbury, give more serious introductions. Bette Midler’s is perhaps the most educational of the intros, while James Earl Jones’ thwarted dignity in his amuses me, as does Mickey Mouse’s panicked conversation with conductor James Levine.

As with the original, some segments stand out more than others, but each has a distinct style and tells a compelling story without the need for dialogue. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice remains just as engaging all these years later as Mickey, apprenticed to glowering wizard Yen Sid, seizes his chance to try on his boss’s magical hat and calamity, mostly involving multiplying, marching brooms carrying buckets of water, ensues. Exciting and entertaining with a built-in lesson on the dangers of meddling in complex matters without permission or assistance. Meanwhile, Pomp and Circumstance becomes a showcase for Donald and Daisy Duck as these two lovebirds sail on Noah’s Ark, each unaware that the other has survived the flood until they reunite at last once the boat strikes land. The familiarity of the song, the sweetness of their relationship and the humor involved with having so many different types of animals contained in one place makes this a standout segment, starting with the glorious animation of the Lion King-like summons that draws the creatures to the ark.

Carnival of the Animals does not have the diversity of animals one might expect from the name, but it is a delightful romp involving a serious, well-coordinated flock of flamingoes troubled by a prankster with a yoyo. One of the shortest and funniest segments, it shows the havoc a yoyo would wreak amidst a flock of these otherwise elegant birds. Instead of birds, butterflies and bats are the subject of the abstract short set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Colorful and stylized, it does not feature any distinct characters but weaves a joyful tale nonetheless. This first segment makes a nice match for the final segment, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, as they both involve the tug of war between light and dark, creation and destruction. In Firebird, a vile volcano sends magma rampaging through a tranquil wilderness as an elk and a gentle wood sprite watch in horror. This segment reminded me quite a bit of the forest fire portion of Bambi, and it is probably the darkest part of the movie, though the scenes of restoration are quite lovely.

Another harrowing tale is Hans Christian Andersen’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier, set to Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No . 2 in F Major-I. I was familiar with this story as a child but always found it terribly depressing; Disney gives it a much more conventional happy ending. One of the most strictly narrative of the segments, it features a plucky toy soldier, a beautiful toy doll and a hideous jack-in-the-box that would give just about any kid nightmares. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue has a bit of a down tone to it, filled as it is with hard-luck cases wandering the streets in economic despair; after all, this is the Depression. The characters have a very interesting look to them, all one flat color or another, a reflection of the cartoons of Al Hirschfeld, a contemporary of Gershwin. Despite the air of disappointment and agitation hanging over New York City throughout much of the segment, there is also life and excitement, which we largely see from the perspective of one zesty character who is entirely too confident in his ability not to fall off of scaffolding. Ultimately a very fun piece.

My hands-down favorite, however, is The Pines of Rome, composed by Ottorino Respighi. In this mystical short, a family of humpback whales traverses the arctic by air rather than sea – though they never venture far from the water until the gloriously animated finale. The little whale who hasn’t quite mastered the newly acquired gift of flight prompts some laughter with his clumsy movements, but generally this segment feels solemn, with a beauty that almost brings tears to the eyes, particularly when the family joins with the larger pod. The short begins in disaster, yet there is the sense that these majestic creatures are moving toward something greater. Truly epic.

I’m not exactly an aficionado when it comes to symphonic music. I think I’d only heard about half of these songs in other settings, and as much as I enjoy them in this context, I haven’t sought the others out elsewhere. Still, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of those for whom Fantasia 2000 serves as an introduction to this type of music ended up immersing themselves in classical music. A triumph of art and silent storytelling, this is also a movie that can serve as a powerful introduction to some of the most notable composers of the last few centuries. Here’s hoping it won’t take another 60 years to see the next one.

Iconic Disney Characters Meet Classic Fantasy in Wizards of Mickey: Mouse Magic

One of the most iconic incarnations of Mickey Mouse is as the mischievous sorcerer's apprentice in the most famous segment of the film Fantasia (and the only segment repeated in Fantasia 2000). I imagine that this role served as inspiration for the Wizards of Mickey comic book series, which was compiled into graphic novel form and published by Boom! Studios. The first part of this originally Italian saga, Mouse Magic, includes four comic books written by Stefano Ambrosio, with artwork by Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, Marco Gervasio, Marco Palazzi and Alessandro Perina.

The story begins with Mickey, who once again is a sorcerer's apprentice, but this time, he works for a wizard named Nereus who seems less intimidating and has more faith in him. Nereus reminds me of Gandalf here, cantankerous but profoundly good and concerned about the well-being of the common folk. Like Gandalf, he entrusts Mickey with a magical object, asking him not to use it but to prevent others from using it. Unfortunately, brawny bullies are about, which makes Mickey's task much more trying and ultimately leads to his involvement with a much larger crisis than the drought facing his home village.

While Mickey is the main character here, classic villain Pete soon surfaces as a primary antagonist, and before too long, Mickey meets and befriends Goofy, an aspiring herbalist who distrusts magic, and Donald, whose consistently nonfunctional spells keep getting him into trouble. While Pluto does not make an appearance in Mouse Magic, that void is filled by Fafnir, a "puppy dragon" who adopted Donald and whose clumsy but lovable ways hinder the trio at times and help at others. Late in the book, we also encounter spunky sorceress Daisy, who has a prior history with Donald and is friends with pampered princess Minnie and clairvoyant Clarabelle. It seems plain that this trio of gals will soon team up with the fellas to present a united front against the forces of evil.

The mix of established and new characters works well, with several fresh faces emerging at the wizards' tournament in which Mickey and his friends end up competing. Of these, my favorites are the enormous dragons, who scoff at their "scaleless" competitors and insist that their ancient magic is far superior to any requiring a wand or a "diamagic," one of the shards of the crystal where all the magic in the land was once concentrated. The purpose of the tournament is to win the diamagics from each other so that the ultimate victor will be able to unite the crystals and become Sorcerer Supreme. Naturally, with this degree of power at stake, some competitors will be resorting to underhanded methods in an effort to emerge triumphant.

The tournament itself becomes central to the story fairly quickly, but each of the story's four parts involves time away from the tournament as well, both with Mickey and with Nereus, who is being held prisoner by an old enemy. While this is an epic adventure, there is room for some humor, particularly where Donald and Fafnir are concerned. Some of the spells that are used have some amusing effects as well. The quality of the artwork is excellent; while I find the purely white faces of Mickey and Goofy, not to mention Minnie and Clarabelle, a little strange amidst all the vibrant color surrounding them, the characters otherwise look fully themselves, and the panels are filled with intricate detail. While the story still seems a bit complex for those in early elementary school, it doesn't feel nearly as dark as Mickey Mouse and the World to Come.

Unlike other Disney graphic novels I have read, this one includes no sneak previews at the end, so it's considerably shorter than most, but I can't say for sure whether the story itself is of significantly different length. It seems about average, though, at roughly a hundred pages. That's plenty of time in which to get to know the characters and become acquainted with their world, with the promise of more installments to follow. The mouse at the heart of the Magic Kingdom could hardly be a Muggle; delve into his enchanted side with this first volume in Wizards of Mickey.

A Raging Bull Means Big Trouble for Donald Duck in The Fair Fiasco

Donald Duck certainly has a way of making a mess of things. Sometimes it's his own fault, but sometimes, as in the 1955 Carl Barks picture book Donald Duck: The Fair Fiasco, disaster finds him, and there's not a lot that he can do about it.

The story begins with Donald's nephews informing him that his horoscope indicates that whatever he dreamed the night before will come true. Donald can't remember his dream but hopes it was pleasant, and when he sees an ad for a county fair with an old-fashioned rig contest, he figures that fortune is on the horizon for him.

Sweet but feisty farmer Grandma Duck, a character I only recall encountering in one other Disney book many years ago, has a role to play here, as she is the one who owns the ox cart that Donald takes to the fair, as well as the bull that will pull it. Although Grandma assures Donald that he is docile and has never charged at the color red, the bull begins to display erratic behavior almost as soon as Grandma's house is out of sight. Was this a terrible mistake?

The nice thing about this book is that neither Donald nor his nephews are being obnoxious, which all four have been known to do. Donald is just a guy who'd like a lucky break, and his nephews seem to want him to have one too. Johnny, the bull, is a gentle creature - except when he isn't. Given Grandma's recommendation, Donald is not so much to blame for his wild behavior as he is for the car that he can't control in Donald Duck, TV Star! Still, there's a lesson here about properly preparing for something before diving into it. Then again, this was a last-minute decision, so further preparation would not have been possible.

The book almost has a comic book feel to it, as most pages include boxes set inside the primary pages. Barks also uses dialogue bubbles occasionally with Donald, as well as jumbo-sized onomatopoeia. The varying background colors on each page help add variety and interest in this visually appealing book. Johnny is particularly vivid, especially when he sees something that makes him angry. It becomes a race against time to discover what is triggering Johnny's rages. Can Donald or his nephews figure it out in time, or will the bull be left to cut a path of destruction across the county? The clues are evident, so kids can have fun trying to work out the solution before the characters do.

Donald Duck: The Fair Fiasco is a funny book that paints Donald in an almost entirely sympathetic light. More than half a century old, this classic story still provides laughs.

Does Donald Duck Have What It Takes to Be a TV Star?

There’s something very appealing about the thought of being on TV. My time on the air has been mostly limited to seeing my face on the screen at the CROP Walk or some other large event where you might be able to pick my face out of a crowd of hundreds. I was actually interviewed once when I attended a local memorial service for Pope John Paul II, but that’s pretty much the extent of my television experience. Still, I understand the excitement that grips Donald when a TV crew starts filming a show nearby in Donald Duck, TV Star!

In this Golden Easy Reader by Mary Carey, Donald has much bigger things in mind than a ten-second spot on the evening news. He wants to be an actor. And when he finds out that what this show needs is a stunt driver, he wants to be a daredevil. But can he really handle those curves, or is he headed for failure? I’ve always loved Donald Duck books, largely because he is always getting himself into ridiculous messes, so it should be apparent right from the get-go that Donald’s road to super-stardom will not be an easy one. The chiming of his nephews’ warnings does not increase the reader’s confidence in him.

Most of the action in this book hinges on the unlikely premise that Donald could simply walk up to a TV producer and say, “Hey, I know how to drive a stunt car!” and have him hand him the keys. Nobody’s going to take that kind of chance on some guy who just came up out of nowhere, especially when there is an expensive racecar at stake. There’s also the fact that he simply tells Donald to drive and starts filming, so Donald has no idea where he’s supposed to be going. In a real TV show, a scene like this would be carefully planned out.

Aside from that, however, this is a fun story demonstrating that dreaming about doing something and actually doing it are two very different things, and sometimes the gap between them can’t be closed. Huey, Dewey and Louie know that making a television show is hard work. Donald likes the glamour and fun of TV but isn’t prepared for what he’ll need to do in order to become a star. There’s a lesson in there about having realistic expectations and a strong work ethic, but mostly, this is just a fun story that offers the chance to see Donald Duck crashing into things. It’s not Blues Brothers territory since he mostly has a clear path, but there’s still concern over how he is going to stop this car that he can’t control and whether he will get hurt in the process.

Donald Duck, TV Star! was written with first- and second-graders in mind, and the sentences are crafted to be easy for those in that age range. The book is very repetitive. Several successive sentences will use the same structure or will refer back to something that was said earlier, echoing it or closely mimicking it. Most of the sentences contain only a few short words. For instance, during Donald’s driving stint, we see two repetitions, with slight variations, of “The car raced down the street. It went very fast. It went faster. ‘Too fast!’ cried Donald.” This helps with ease of reading and allows kids to anticipate what is coming next.

The easy writing and the colorful pictures featuring familiar characters acting in expected ways make Donald Duck, TV Star! a fun story for young readers. While it won’t teach them much about the television industry, it will take them for an entertaining ride.

That Mickey Mouse is Such a Card...

We play a lot of cards in my house, so we have a cardboard box full of card decks, and every once in a while one of us will pick up a new one just to give us some variety in our card options. One of our decks is a set of Disney Mickey Mouse playing cards. I think I actually picked them up with the intention of incorporating them into a birthday project, but I needed two identical decks of cards and there was only one on the shelf. Since I never found a matching box, I went with another deck design for the present but kept the cards for myself.

The blue box in which the cards came has a smiling Mickey on the front, and the box bears his name as well, but the deck features not just Mickey but several of his friends as well. The backs of the cards are purple and feature a group portrait of Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Pluto and Minnie, all smiling widely. The picture is full of vibrant color, and the characters are shaded in such a way as to give them a slightly three-dimensional look. The arrangement of the characters adds to the fun, as each is in a distinct position. Minnie sprawls in the front, her chin resting on her gloved hands, while Goofy, in the back, has one arm on Mickey’s shoulder and the other on Donald’s. Next to them, Pluto pants cheerfully, one ear raised as if to indicate that he has just heard an intriguing noise.

While Mickey is not the only character in this deck, he’s certainly the star. In each suit, numbers 2 through 9 focus on Mickey, and the pose is the same across the suits. For instance, each 5 shows Mickey eagerly pointing at something, while the Mickey on 9 bashfully holds out a bouquet of pink flowers. In all 36 cards, he looks the same, with black arms and legs and dressed in his traditional red shorts with white buttons. The aces are a bit different, as each features Mickey in a different pose and costume engaged in some type of physical activity. For instance, the ace of clubs shows a scowling, green-shirted, yellow-helmeted Mickey doing a difficult skateboarding trick, while the ace of diamonds shows him in jeans and a red shirt kicking a soccer ball.

The face cards are where the real variety comes in, as each character has a number to his or herself, and each character gets four different poses. The 10s feature Pluto, though he only has two to himself as Mickey shares the limelight with him on the other two. Jack Goofy, Queen Minnie and King Donald all get to fly solo for all four of their cards. My favorite suit for the face cards is spades, as Goofy, Minnie and Donald are all dressed in marching band uniforms and each plays a different instrument.

Only three of the cards in the deck – two with Mickey, one with Pluto – feature any less-than-happy facial expression, and it’s not so much that they are unhappy in them, it’s just that they are concentrating hard. It might have been fun to have a little more variety in the expressions; Donald is particularly entertaining when he is angry. However, this choice gives the deck a very cheerful feel.

One thing I appreciate about this deck is the balance between variety and uniformity. For instance, I’m glad that the suit colors are the traditional black and red. I have other Disney decks with blue and purple instead, and while they are pretty, the color difference throws me off, especially when I am playing a fast-paced game like double solitaire. The suits are further differentiated from each other in that each suit has its own background color. Every card has a white border and a white rectangle in the upper left and lower right corner where the number and suit of the card are displayed, but the main picture is contained in a rectangle, with the character in question sometimes spilling out into the border a bit. The clubs have a pink background, the spades green, the hearts blue and the diamonds yellow. What’s more, in the face cards, the corresponding suit design is set in the middle of the card as part of the backdrop. This makes it look as though each character is peeking out from behind a frame with a hole in the shape of a club, spade, heart or diamond.

Along with the 52 regular play cards, there are two identical jokers. Each has a purple background and features a laughing Mickey receiving a slurp from Pluto. Additionally, one card has a list of games and rule books available for purchase, while the other encourages customers to check out www.USPlayingCard.com to learn about other card brands, how certain games came about and how to play hundreds of different games.

I find that playing cards is more fun when I have an interesting deck, and this deck certainly fits the bill. Colorful and featuring beloved characters that just about anyone is bound to recognize, it’s also practical and can be used for any game that calls for regular decks of cards. Golf, double solitaire and rummy are the favorites in my house, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, if you are of an artistic nature, you can use the cards to build houses and see how far you can get before the structure collapses. Whatever your pleasure, the Mickey Mouse card deck is a Disney delight.

This Show's Just Ducky!

Donald Duck has been a part of American culture for decades, and his nephews have been in the limelight for nearly as long. They run poor Donald to a frazzle, though he often deserves it. "Ducktales" affords Donald some long awaited R and R as his mischievous nephews go to live with their miserly uncle, the Scottish billionaire Scrooge McDuck. As the accumulator of such a vast amount of wealth, he is often the target of thieves and big-time operators looking to put him out of business.

Luckily, Huey, Dewey and Louie have the energy and ingenuity to get their aging uncle out of every mess he finds himself in. He is also assisted by his faithful butler, his doting housekeeper, his clumsy personal pilot Launchpad, and his niece Webby.

The ducks' adventures take them all around the world, from the pyramids to desert islands to the fountain of youth. Each episode is crammed with about as much adventure as a half-hour episode can take. And while the youngsters love getting into trouble, they also care about their uncle and focus most of their energy into making sure that nothing bad happens to him.

Right from the first notes of the catchy theme song, this show is just the way to get the day started. With great animation, fun music and high adventure, it's one of the best cartoons out there.