Donald's Vacation (1940) User Reviews

Getting away from it all

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 4 September 2005]

Donald is on vacation in what appears to the a forest in the Pacific Northwest. His boat doubles as a tent (why does Donald need a boat? He's a duck!) and is stuffed with supplies of every kind. One of which is a cryptic folding deck chair.

As Donald naps on this difficult contraption a bunch of very cute chipmunk come along and steal his picnic (a really clichéd cartoon gag, but at least it's not thieving ants this time). Donald, obvious infuriated by such theft chases them but only ends up enraging a local bear and fleeing his camp for good. It's funny but I have no idea why Donald complains that the chipmunks have no respect for humans when Donald isn't one. And besides, he's invading THEIR space.

As anyone who's been treed by a bear well knows . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 8/10 · 11 February 2022]

. . . such protection only goes so far. Bears can climb trees. People who have tried to outrun bears on level ground or going uphill--as Don Duck does during DONALD'S VACATION--seldom live to tell their story. Legend has it that some well-balanced runners have survived by running downhill, where primates supposedly enjoy an advantage over ursine apex predators, so it's probably best to pitch your tent on a small patch of level land surrounded by drop-offs on all sides. Just be very careful about answering Nature's calls in the middle of the night! Viewers hoping that Don will be in for a REVENANT-type mauling by the end of this film are in for a disappointment, however.

Donald's misadventures continue.

[OllieSuave-007 · 7/10 · 5 May 2018]

Donald gets his hands full from struggling to put together a folding chair, dealing with chipmunks stealing his food, and grappling with a fierce bear. Donald's facial expressions of frustration was hilarious and his never-ending misadventures makes you sympathetic to him. Would have like to see him give those animals a taste of their own medicine more, though.

Grade B-

Fun sight gags and colourful animation galore in this great Donald Duck cartoon

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 7 June 2012]

I have always been a fan of Disney and especially of Donald Duck. Donald for me is at his best when he is in and reacting to real life situations gone badly wrong. Donald's Vacation is one such cartoon, and also one of his best most exciting examples. The animation is full of vibrant colour and looks very clear and crisp, and the music has its usual energy, adding so much to every gag. Donald is still likable, even when he's temperamental and frustrated and the animals remind me a little of the cute woodland critters in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Speaking of the gags they are hilarious and very well spaced-out, moving the simple but fun storyline. The beginning is perhaps the least effective part of the cartoon mainly because it is not as buoyantly-paced as the other scenes, but still works due to the pastoral colours and the gags with Donald's legs sticking out of the kayak and the fish managing somehow to get in his guitar. I love even more Donald's fight trying to unfold his chair as it shows his classic frustration, and the scene with the Chip and Dale-like chipmunks trying to steal his food, and wearing a cupcake as a dress or eating their way into a pumpkin to make a face in it, is a lot of fun. But it is the ending with the bear that makes Donald's Vacation especially so compulsively watchable, even for a Disney cartoon, with the silhouettes in the waterfall and riding on top of the bear, it is the very definition of classic. All in all, a truly great Donald cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Fine Duck Tale

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 4 October 2002]

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

DONALD'S VACATION alongside a mountain river is immediately upset by a voracious swarm of chipmunks & a ferocious bear.

This is a very enjoyable little film, with first-rate animation. The opening sequence, with Donald canoeing along the river, dodging waterfalls & making music with his guitar, is especially fine. Clarence "Ducky" Nash shows what an integral component he was in Donald's cinematic success - his vocalizations here are excellent.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan and Mr. Toad. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Donald Duck in vacations

[Atreyu_II · 9/10 · 30 July 2009]

In this cartoon, Donald Duck is in vacations and all he wants to do is just relax and enjoy the pure nature, its peace, its beauty, its environment...

He hoped his wish would come true. But it doesn't take long until he continually chases a chipmunk that is bothering him and soon he gets in trouble with a large bear. Donald is an expert when it comes to get in trouble with big wild animals. Donald should work in a zoo and take care of the wild animals. They'd surely get used to him :D

Generally speaking, this is a nice cartoon, with amusement, classic humor, adventure and the hilarious Donald Duck. Artwork is good either. Plus, the opening credits of the Donald Duck's cartoons always crack me up because the lyrics refer to him and we always hear him getting mad.

Vacation Time

[Michael_Elliott · 25 May 2016]

Donald's Vacation (1940)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Classic Disney short has Donald going on vacation in the woods where he plans to get some rest and relaxation. Of course, that's not going to happen.

This is certainly one of the better Donald shorts to come from the studio because he's a helpless victim. The story has him just wanting rest and you know this is going to give the creative writers plenty of opportunity to mess with him. There are certainly funny moments in the film including one highlight where a group of squirrels decide to have some fun with him. There's also a large bear on display and you just know this is going to lead to some violent action. The animation is the typical high quality you'd expect and overall this is a lot of fun.