''Window Cleaners'' is an
animated
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
produced in
Technicolor
Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
by
Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
and released to theaters on September 20, 1940 by
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...
.
Plot
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
is on a roped platform with
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...
pulling him up. Donald's hat and tail feathers get trimmed by a building occupant using garden shears, exposing his bare tail. Pluto easily gets distracted by a flea and lets go of the rope, causing Donald to fall. The rope gets entangled with a stop sign and stops the platform, causing Donald to land on a statue of horse in a pose resembling
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. Later on, Donald throws a bucket of water to wash the window but quickly runs out of water. Donald orders Pluto to wake up and attach a new bucket of water, but he refuses. Donald gets angry at Pluto, yelling at him and finally throwing a brush down the drainpipe. Pluto wakes up and blows the pulley to the wrong bucket full of nuts and bolts. Donald hoists up the bucket and throws the contents at the window, smashing it to pieces. He pulls down the window shade in embarrassment.
Donald is still working when
Spike the Bee flies over to the tulip and Donald plays a practical joke on the bee by almost drowning him in water. This proves to be a mistake as Spike gets revenge and attacks Donald who defends himself with a bucket. Donald tries to attack Spike on the building flagpole, but he loses his balance and falls onto the roped platform. Spike then dives down at Donald who swings at the bee with his mop and misses. Donald spins, gets tangled in the rope, and is tied up. Spike sees this as an opportunity to sting Donald's exposed rear end. Donald warns the bee not to touch him, but Spike ignores Donald and dives for him. Donald blows at Spike really hard until both Donald and Spike are winded. Spike lands on the platform. He slowly gets up and aims his stinger into Donald's rear end which causes Donald to yell and become untangled from the roped platform. Donald dives headfirst into the drainpipe until his head comes out at the bottom. Donald yells at Pluto for help, but Pluto ignores him and shoves Donald's head back into the drainpipe where Donald continues to scream. Pluto then goes back to sleep.
Voice cast
* Donald Duck:
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor and impressionist. He is best remembered as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of W ...
* Pluto: Lee Millar
Production
''Window Cleaners'' is the first cartoon to feature
Spike the Bee as Donald's main rival. It is also the first Donald Duck cartoon with an opening theme that was used in more than one cartoon.
Reception
''
The Film Daily
''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...
'' called the short a "hilarious cartoon", saying: "Donald Duck, window cleaner, and his assistant, Pluto, will draw plenty of laughs from audiences in this cartoon."
In ''The Disney Films'',
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
quotes film historian
William K. Everson, who said: "Disney used height -- skyscrapers, mountains, etc. -- far more than other cartoon-makers, and with more concern for perspective and the convincing illusion of dizzy depths. Height gags in
Warner Brothers cartoons and
MGM cartoons were always just that -- rapid gags that paid off quickly in a laugh, and without a buildup. Disney, on the other hand, used height much as
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influent ...
did, to counterpoint comedy with a genuine thrill."
Home media
The short was released on May 18, 2004 on ''
Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume One: 1934-1941''.
Additional releases include:
* ''Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Edition II: Donald's Bee Pictures''
* ''Walt Disney's Funny Factory with Donald Volume 2''
References
External links
*
{{Jack King
Donald Duck short films
1940s Disney animated short films
Films scored by Paul Smith (composer)
Films scored by Oliver Wallace
1940 films
Films with screenplays by Carl Barks
Films directed by Jack King
1940 animated short films