Mickey Mouse Works: "Donald's Failed Fourth"

Premiered March 1, 1999.

July 4th has arrived and Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo) is excited about watching fireworks.  His girlfriend Daisy (Diane Michelle) tasks him with finding a spot for watching the fireworks and setting up their picnic.  As Daisy steps away, she tells Donald to make sure he sets up "a perfect view for the night sky."

Donald finds what appears to be the ideal spot for the picnic blanket and lays it on the ground.  However, the blanket comes to life and attacks Donald!  

He resorts to drastic measures in order to get the blanket to lay flat. 

The scenario seems to improve when Daisy returns to drop off some folding chairs, then she steps away.  Unfortunately, the chairs also prove to be uncooperative.  

The same can be said of the picnic basket, which spits out its contents and locks Donald inside it!  All of this causes Donald to throw one of his patented temper tantrums!

Can Donald Duck convince his picnic supplies to cooperate?  Or will his plans for a romantic 4th of July celebration with Daisy be ruined?

J.A. Morris says: 

This is a very short, slight cartoon, but it's a lot of fun.  And as we've said here before, there aren't a lot of specials, movies or episodes built around the 4th of July.  So we're always glad to discover programming that celebrates holidays other than Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving.  

"Donald's Failed Fourth" is very much in the tradition of classic Donald Duck theatrical cartoons that were released in the 1930s through the 50s.  Donald would frequently get angry in those shorts and launch into squawking fits.  That's exactly what happens here when his blanket, chairs and basket seem determined to ruin his Independence Day picnic with Daisy.  

"Donald's Failed Fourth" is a cute cartoon set at 4th of July that will be enjoyed by Disney fans of all ages, but it's brief running time prevents me from giving it a higher rating.  

J.A. Morris' rating:
.5

2 and a half American flags.

RigbyMel says: 

I have always been a Donald Duck fan and generally enjoy animated shorts featuring the irascible duck.   "Donald's Failed Fourth" is an enjoyable, if featherweight (pun intended) 4th of July short.  

That being said, I do feel like some of the gags in this short feel repetitive, especially in a very short animated short.  

"Donald's Failed Fourth" is worth taking a look at for fans of Disney in general and Donald Duck in particular, but maybe not a "classic".  

RigbyMel's rating:

.5

2 and a half American flags.

Popeye The Sailor: "Patriotic Popeye"

Premiered May 10, 1957.

"Fireworks is  too dangerous!  I'm gonna see that you haves a safe and sane 4th of July!"
-Popeye

On Independence Day, Popeye the sailor (Jack Mercer) is tending his garden.  His nephews (also voiced by Mercer) are excited about celebrating the occasion by setting off firecrackers.

Popeye forbids this says it's too dangerous and locks the fireworks up in a shed.  The nephews accuse their uncle of spoiling their 4th of July.

Popeye is determined that they have a "safe and sane" 4th of July and suggests some alternate ways for the boys to celebrate, like playing baseball, grilling hot dogs and going for a drive in the country.  However, every time Popeye turns his back, the nephews attempt to get the fireworks out of the shed.

The boys eventually get the fireworks and predictable pyrotechnic chaos ensues.   The nephews' actions place them and their surroundings in danger.  Can Popeye save his nephews?

J.A. Morris says:
As we've said here before, there isn't a lot of 4th of July-themed programming out there, so it's always nice to find stuff like "Patriotic Popeye."

Popeye says he wants the boys to have a "safe and sane 4th of July."  This is a reference to a movement that started in Cleveland in 1908 in the wake of several fireworks-related accidents that caused injuries and deaths.  Cleveland passed laws that made it a "safe and sane" city  which prohibited firework use and their ordinances served as a model for other cities.  So you might say "Patriotic Popeye" is PSA about fireworks safety.

Popeye certainly comes off as a killjoy here, but the nephews' antics ultimately prove him right.  This short contains some nice animation, such as this bit where a swarm of hornets forms an eye:

Like most Popeye cartoons, "Patriotic Popeye" does feature (SPOILER ALERT!) some spinach-enhanced heroics from the sailor man.

A note about the nephews:
Popeye's four nephews first appeared in a 1942 cartoon called "Pip-eye, Pup-eye, Poop-eye an' Peep-eye," which were the nephews names.  "Patriotic Popeye" only features two of these four and doesn't name them.  I'm not sure what happened to the other two.

"Patriotic Popeye" isn't the best Popeye short ever but it's fun and filled with fireworks, roman candles and hot dogs, it's full of 4th of July imagery.  It's worth watching, especially recommended for hardcore fans of Popeye the sailor.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5

2 and a half American Flag.

RigbyMel says: 

"Patriotic Popeye" is an amusing, if not a "classic" animated short.   I appreciated the safety message about fireworks,  even if the humorous action of the short kind of undercuts it a little bit.

I find it interesting that since this is a short made during the 1950s,  we see a large bottle rocket labeled the "Atomic Sky Rocket" -- a reference very much of the time and of the "space race" period of U.S. history.

Popeye's troublemaking nephews strike me as perhaps owing more than a little bit to some similar tropes employed by other animation studios and it's odd that neither Olive Oyl nor Bluto make an appearance in this cartoon.   However, there's plenty of holiday-themed action, so maybe they aren't needed? 

This is a short worth watching even if it's not precisely a classic.

RigbyMel's rating: 

2 American Flags.