This is a VERY unusual Disney cartoon because it's apparently accidentally slipped into the public domain and can be downloaded for free from archive.org. It's especially surprising because it's one of the better Donald Duck cartoons.
Huey, Dewey and Louie want to buy a gift for Uncle Donald for his birthday. They decide to buy him a box of cigars but need money. So, they go to Donald to collect payment for all the chores they've been doing. He pays them but then insists they put it in the piggy bank. Later, they sneak the money. Donald finds out...and finds out they bought a box of cigars. He stupidly thinks the boys are smoking and instead of asking about the cigars, he decides to punish them by making them smoke them. Later, he discovers why they bought them and he feels like a total jerk.
My guess is that the smoking theme is why Disney didn't renew the copyright on this one. Kids buying cigars and smoking them, while a great plot for 1949, became unacceptable in the more health-conscious 60s and 70s and especially today. Still, I think the film is well worth seeing as it's unusually sweet and poignant for a Donald Duck cartoon.
Huey, Dewey and Louie want to buy a gift for Uncle Donald for his birthday. They decide to buy him a box of cigars but need money. So, they go to Donald to collect payment for all the chores they've been doing. He pays them but then insists they put it in the piggy bank. Later, they sneak the money. Donald finds out...and finds out they bought a box of cigars. He stupidly thinks the boys are smoking and instead of asking about the cigars, he decides to punish them by making them smoke them. Later, he discovers why they bought them and he feels like a total jerk.
My guess is that the smoking theme is why Disney didn't renew the copyright on this one. Kids buying cigars and smoking them, while a great plot for 1949, became unacceptable in the more health-conscious 60s and 70s and especially today. Still, I think the film is well worth seeing as it's unusually sweet and poignant for a Donald Duck cartoon.