Donald Duck: "Trick Or Treat"

 Premiered October 10, 1952

"When ghosts and goblins by the score ring the bell on your front door,  you'd better not be stingy or your nightmares will come true ..." -  The Mellomen singing the "Trick or Treat" song featured in the cartoon

Special  Halloween Donald opening

Soaped window title card

This Halloween short opens with Witch Hazel (June Foray) going for a Halloween joyride around a small American town.    She flies around on her broomstick  "Beelzeebub" ringing church bells and frightening bats and a black cat.

Anywhere (Duckburg?) U.S.A. 

Hazel is startled herself when a jack o'lantern appears over a fence.   She is delighted to see Huey, Dewy & Louie (Clarence "Ducky" Nash)  in full Halloween regalia dressed as a Witch, Ghost and Devil.   They are out trick-or-treating and Hazel watches them go up to their Uncle Donald's house in search of treats.

Huey, Dewy & Louie out trick or treating

Donald Duck (also voiced by Clarence "Ducky" Nash) is relaxing inside when he hears the doorbell ring.   He realizes that it must be his nephews and decides to play a trick  on them.

Donald Duck at home with Halloween treats

Rather than give them candy and goodies,  he puts firecrackers in the boys' trick-or-treat bags and douses them with water!

Donald is enjoying the "trick" aspect of Halloween rather too much

Witch Hazel feels sorry for Huey, Dewy & Louie and introduces herself to the boys, who are excited to meet a real witch.   "Oh joy! Thou do believeth in witches!"  says Hazel,  "Just for that, I'll help thee get thy candy!"   She tries to get Donald to get into the Halloween treat giving spirit.   Donald is unmoved and repeats his water dousing trick on Hazel.  

Hazel asks nicely 

Witch Hazel is mad now and she enlists the boys' aid in brewing a potion that will make Donald cough up the  goodies.

Witch Hazel brewing up trouble for Donald Duck

She recites an incantation that begins in a familiar vein "Double double toil and trouble ..."  but takes a turn for the unexpected, "eye of needle, tongue of shoe, hand of clock that points at two ..."

"This is the real thing, you know.  Right out of Shakespeare!" 

The result is a potion that is LOADED with Halloween magic.  The boys' jack o'lantern becomes animate and the fence posts become ghosts and march towards Donald's house.

"Every post is a ghost, if you've got a witch's brew ..."

Donald realizes it may have been unwise to annoy Witch Hazel

Donald realizes he may have made a miscalculation about things and rushes over to his goodie cupboard to make good with the Halloween treats. Witch Hazel brags to the boys that Donald has turned out to be "a pushover."

"A pushover?!?"

Donald is annoyed at Hazel's assessment of him.  He shuts the cupboard, locks the door and swallows the key to keep anyone from getting treats.

Halloween hijinks and hilarity ensue as Witch Hazel uses additional potion to try to make Donald give up the Halloween treats.   If you cannot remember what happens,  you should see if you can find a copy of this short to watch.  It is available on several DVD compilations.

RigbyMel says:

Full disclosure:  It's probably impossible for me to be objective about this short.  It's one of my all-time favorites.  I am a big Donald Duck fan - even if he is kind of mean in this short.

I have many fond memories of watching this on various Disney Halloween programs when I was growing up,  but I think my first acquaintance with it was via an LP record that had the soundtrack of the cartoon (with a little bit of narration) on one side and the story of The Haunted Mansion on the other side.   I'd listen to the Donald Duck side and giggle and then flip it over and scare myself silly with the Haunted Mansion side.    Here's a photo of the album jacket I found via the magic of the internet:

The front of the "Trick or Treat" LP 

And yes, it did come with cardboard Halloween masks!

In addition to the great voice acting by Clarence Nash and June Foray,  there is a vocal appearance by the inimitable Thurl Ravenscroft who sings the fun "Trick or Treat" song that pops up throughout the cartoon as part of the Mellomen.   Mr. Ravenscroft is perhaps best known as the voice of Tony The Tiger, spokescharacter for Frosted Flakes, but he was kind of omnipresent in the voice-over world in general because of his awesome bass voice.

"Boo!" 

This short is a delight and I don't feel like it is Halloween until I've seen this at least once.   I highly recommend checking this out (or revisiting it) if you get the chance.    It is available as a bonus feature of the DVD of The Black Cauldron and on The Chronological Donald Volume 4.  Hopefully, Disney will put this and other shorts out on Blu-Ray in the not too distant future.

My rating:
4 Jack O'Lanterns

Looney Tunes: "A-Haunting We Will Go"

Premiered April 16, 1966.

Daffy Duck's nephew (Mel Blanc) is out trick or treating.  He knocks on Witch Hazel's (June Foray) door.  Her appearance scares him and sends him running home to Uncle Daffy (Blanc).  Daffy says there's no such thing as a witch, telling his nephew "she's just a nice old lady trying to get along".

 Daffy's nephew gets a scare.

Witch Hazel is frustrated with being a witch, she needs a vacation.  When Speedy Gonzales (Blanc) show up in a hole in her wall, asking to "borrow a cup of cheese", she gets an idea.

 Witch Hazel feeds Speedy some poisoned cheese that turns him into a Witch Hazel lookalike!

 Speedy in mid-transformation

Despite his change in appearance, Speedy still acts like himself, running around, bouncing off walls.  She says Speedy can fill in for her, while she goes on a Hawaiian vacation.

 Witch Hazel turns Speedy into...Witch Hazel?

Daffy shows up looking for a witch and gets Speedy instead.  Speedy decides to have fun as a witch and makes up a potion for Daffy.  This turns Daffy into a bizarre looking flower-headed creature.

Witch Hazel returns from Hawaii, realizing it was a mistake to entrust Speedy to take over her role.  She turns him back into a mouse and Daffy back into a duck.

 Witch Hazel suddenly gets an appetite for duck and  a mad chase ensues.

J.A. Morris says:

This short was produced near the end of the Looney Tunes series,  and it shows.  It's basically an inferior remake of Broom-Stick Bunny (which we reviewed here).  Much of the plot and gags are borrowed from that short.  Speedy even sings "A cup of tea, a cookie, and you-oooo", while preparing a potion for Daffy.  That's taken directly from Broom-Stick Bunny.  Daffy's transformation is lifted from the classic Duck Amuck short.

 Daffy's house, decorated for Halloween.

The plot is pretty weak here, and has one big hole.  Why does Witch Hazel need a replacement to fill in for her when she wants a vacation?  Why can't she just go to Hawaii when she feels like it?  She is a witch, after all.    

A-Haunting We Will Go was directed by Robert McKimson.  His work in animation dates back to 1920s (working for Walt Disney), and he helped shape the appearance of Bugs Bunny.  McKimson also created Foghorn Leghorn and Speedy Gonzales.  He directed dozens of classic Looney Tunes (including one of my favorites, the offbeat Rebel Rabbit),  but this isn't one of them.

It does contain some nice visuals, plus, any cartoon that features Mel Blanc and June Foray together is worth watching at least once.  A-Haunting We Will Go can be found on dvd and Amazon streaming video.  But you're better off re-watching Broom-Stick Bunny.

My rating:
2 and a half Jack O'Lanterns.

Broom-Stick Bunny

Premiered February 25, 1956

On Halloween,Witch Hazel (June Foray) asks her talking magic mirror (Mel Blanc) "who's the ugliest of them all?"

The mirror says it's her.

"By my troth, I will avow, there's none that's uglier than thou!"

Bugs Bunny (Blanc again) is trick or treating, wearing a "witch" mask.  When he knocks on Witch Hazel's door, she is surprised to see another witch and comments that she hasn't "seen her at any of the union meetings."

"Evening Granny,  do you have any goodies for a Halloween witch?"

She is concerned at Bugs' apparent witchy hideousness, and the mirror says this witch is definitely uglier than Witch Hazel.  Hazel invites Bugs in for tea and whips up a potion that will make her rival pretty.  Hazel serves it in a tea kettle.

"A cup of tea, a cookie and you ...!" 

Bugs has to take off his mask to sample the brew, thereby informing Witch Hazel that he's a rabbit dressed as a witch for Halloween.  This gives her a new idea.  Hazel checks her potion book and notices the recipe calls for a rabbit's clavicle to complete the potion she's been working on all evening.

Just one more ingredient needed!

She chases Bugs all around her house.

Bugs' delicate inner sense of danger warns him that there is something faintly unhealthy in the atmosphere of this cottage!

Bugs cannot resist a carrot!

Witch Hazel manages to catch Bugs due to his weakness for carrots.   She ties him up in the kitchen while she sharpens up her meat cleaver. 

Uh-oh! 

If you cannot remember what happens next, this cartoon is readily available on DVD and various other sources!

RigbyMel says: 

This is a wonderful Chuck Jones-directed short.   Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel are an amusing duo.   I love the bits where Hazel attempts to figure out Bugs' ugliness regimen and the fact that she is so concerned that a masked bunny might be worse looking than she is.   There are some great sight gags and puns as well - something that always appealed to me.  For example,  check out Witch Hazel's union membership card: 

This is a cartoon that  I enjoy watching every year.  It's well worth re-visiting or visiting for the first time.  

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 Jack O'Lanterns

J.A. Morris says:

We're in total agreement here, this is not only a classic Halloween short, it's one of the best Warner Brothers cartoons ever produced.  Mel Blanc And June Foray are gods of cartoon voices and they're great in this short.  Ted Pierce also deserves credit here for writing a great story, same goes for musical director Milt Franklyn. 

"Boy, this trick or treatin' is a pretty nice racket, pity it only comes once a year."

Some "trivia" notes about this short:

While Witch Hazel prepares her poison, she sings "A cup of tea, a cookie and you-oooo!"  This is a take-off on an old song called "A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich And You".  This was something I was curious about for years.

 Near the end, Witch Hazel is transformed into a "prettier" woman, a fate worse than death for a witch.  According to Foray, it's based on the way she looked at the time. 

Broom-Stick Bunny has been a favorite of mine for years and is highly recommended.  My Halloween "season" isn't complete without at least one viewing of this classic cartoon.

J.A. Morris' rating:
4 Jack O'Lanterns.

Hotel Transylvania

Premiered September 28, 2012

In this family film offering from Sony Pictures,  Dracula (Adam Sandler) capably runs a five-star resort for monsters.  It is secluded and surrounded by booby traps to prevent it from being discovered by humans.  (Drac and his fellow monsters have had some problems with humans in the past.)   One of Dracula's primary motivations for creating the hotel is, Mavis (Selena Gomez), his only daughter and the apple of his eye. 

Dracula sings to li'l Mavis - "Hush little baby, don't say a word, papa's going to bite the head off a bird"

As tends to happen with children, they grow up, and as Mavis' 118th birthday approaches, she begins to express a desire to go out and explore the world on her own.

Mavis has wanderlust

This worries Dracula, but he allows her to venture out of the castle  ...

 

Mavis on her first trip out of the castle - it must be fun to be able to turn into a bat

But his fatherly over-protectiveness of his daughter causes him to enact an elaborate scheme involving a fake village and zombies disguised as torch-weilding humans to convince Mavis that the outside world is a scary place so that she will not want to leave home.

Mavis is disappointed but Dracula tries to comfort her with the party he's got planned for her.  He has invited Frankenstein's monster (Kevin James) and the Bride of Frankenstein (Fran Drescher) as well as Wayne & Wanda Wolfman (Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon) (and their large unruly brood of little wolf pups), Murray the Mummy (CeeLo Green),  Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade) and a host of other monsters to help celebrate.  

Drac and friends are ready to celebrate

Much to Dracula's dismay, an unexpected guest in the form of Jonathan (Andy Samberg) - a surfer-dude human who has somehow penetrated the castle's elaborate defenses -- arrives on the scene.  Rather than have the human terrorize his guests, Dracula disguises him as a monster (Johnny-Stein!) and attempts to spirit him out of the castle without success.   In desperation,  Dracula tries to pass him off as a party planner.
Johnny meets Mavis and (gasp!) seems to be developing an interest in her.  Worse still (from Drac's point of view), Mavis seems to reciprocate Jonathan's interest!  As far as Dracula is concerned, this situation is truly monstrous.    A comedy of hidden identities and silly misunderstandings results.

Mavis and Jonathan (in a monster disguise) meet-cute

RigbyMel says:

Hotel Transylvania is the feature-length directorial debut of Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls, among other shows).   While it is a fun little family film, it's  not a great one, due to a rather pedestrian storyline - overprotective father needs to learn to let his child grow up, blah blah,  romantic comedy style meet cute, boy meets-loses-regains girl - "zing" blah blah. Granted,  I am not the target audience and the children at whom the movie is aimed haven't seen this sort of plot a million times before, but I found myself wishing for just a bit more cleverness from the screenplay overall.  After all, the best family films have something to keep the adults just as engaged as the kiddos.

What do you mean, it's not as interesting for adults? 

This is especially unfortunate because the visuals are rather amazing.
There are all kinds of delightful details to dig up if you're paying attention -- which you might not be as the story is so ... well ... boring.

What visit to a luxury hotel is complete without a dip in the pool? 

For example, the bellhops are zombies,  the housekeeping staff is comprised mostly of witches, security is headed up by a seemingly empty but animate suit of armor and Quasimodo Jones (Jon Lovitz)  is the chef/villain who is suspicious that Jonathan in Monster-Drag might not be the monster he says he is.  There is even a Day of the Dead style skeletal mariachi band, which made me very happy.

"Day of the Dead" mariachi band

Also Mavis (especially in bat form) is adorable.  Witness:

Mavis rocking the "Bat Eyes"

Plus,  there is some well-deployed voice talent at play here - I am not generally a fan of Adam Sandler or Andy Samberg, but they work well in this.   Also, the supporting cast is great,  especially Steve Buscemi as the beleaguered family/wolf-man.   It's just too bad they aren't given more to do that evokes more than the odd weak chuckle every now and again.

Although this film is not explicitly set on or around Halloween,  the monsters and the spooky details (plus the autumnal release date) certainly seem intended for the spooky season. There is even a "Monster Festival" that comes into play.

All in all, this is an okay family flick that could have been great had they taken a little more time and trouble with the story.   There are worse ways to spend an afternoon and it will certainly get children in the Halloween spirit.

My rating:
2 Jack O'Lanterns