Duck Pimples

Duck Pimples
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Kinney
Story byVirgil Partch
Dick Shaw
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringClarence Nash
Billy Bletcher
Mary Lenihan
Harry E. Lang
Jack Mather
Doodles Weaver[1]
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byAndy Engman
Hal King
John Sibley
Milt Kahl
Fred Moore (uncredited)
Al Bertino (uncredited)
Marc Davis (uncredited)[1]
Layouts byDon DaGradi
Backgrounds byNino Carbe
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • August 10, 1945 (1945-08-10)
Running time
7:44
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Duck Pimples is a 1945 animated whodunit short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures.[2] The cartoon parodies radio crime stories and film noir dramas.

Plot

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On a dark and stormy night, Donald Duck attempts to relax by listening to serials on the radio, but the shows playing on each station are dark and disturbing. Turning off the radio, Donald is met at the door by an intimidating looking man who turns out to be a traveling book salesman. The salesman disappears, but leaves behind numerous books. Donald begins to read a crime novel.

As Donald reads, he finds the book manifesting into his living room. The world of the novel surrounds Donald, and he finds himself the prime suspect in the story's thievery and kidnapping plot, having to navigate numerous colorful characters. Donald ultimately finds himself back in his living room, where a voice tells him it was all just his imagination.

Censorship

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Scenes where Donald is threatened with a knife and the detective is threatened with an axe were at one time cut,[3] but have been restored for the VHS release and DVD release.

Voice cast

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Home media

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The short was released on December 6, 2005, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Two: 1942-1946.[4]

Reception

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Cartoon Brew called Duck Pimples "the creepiest Disney short ever made" and its animation a "top-drawer work".[5]

Notes

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  • Several of the characters' names are spoofs on the names of Disney staff members. H.U. Hennesy is a spoof on Disney artist Hugh Hennesy, J. Harold King probably refers to director Jack King, and Leslie J. Clark is a play on the name of another Disney artist, Les Clark.
  • The main title has the word "Goose" crossed out and "Duck" written in.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Disney's "Duck Pimples" |".
  2. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Duck Pimples". The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 5 Dec 2014.
  4. ^ "The Chronological Donald Volume 2 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  5. ^ Amid Amidi (October 31, 2014). "HAPPY HALLOWEEN: "Duck Pimples"". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 5 Dec 2014.