Cumulative rating:	(1 rating submitted)

Synopsis

Characters

Donald Duck (Voice: Clarence "Ducky" Nash) The Aracuan Bird (Voice: Van DeBar 'Pinto' Colvig)

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The Hunting Instinct

Mickey Mouse Tracks (Season 1, Episode 54)

Germany

Happy Birthday, Donald!

France

La Joyeuse Menagerie

Italy

Cartoons Disney 1

Cartoon Festival 1

Le Avventure di Caccia del Prof. de Paperis

Video Parade 6

Japan

All Star Cartoon Review

Donald and Goofy

Donald's Birthday Bash

The Hunting Instinct

United States

The Chronological Donald: Volume 3: 1947-1950

Whispers : An Elephant's Tale

Germany

Disney Treasures : Wave 7 : The Chronological Donald Volume 3

Running Time: 6:19

Animation Type: Standard (Hand-drawn-Cel) Animation

Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Color Type: Technicolor

Sound Type: Mono: RCA Sound Recording

Print Type: 35mm

Negative Type: 35mm

Cinematographic Format: Spherical

Original Language: English

Original Country: United States

Reviews and Comments

From Brad Bethel :

This Disney classic had to be one of Jack Hannah's best cartoons under his supervision. It even had a title opening song previously reserved for Mickey Mouse. I especially enjoyed the scenes where the Aracuan Bird sings this wacky tune, and pops up repeatedly in the background. Throughout the cartoon, he also does whatever you may have learned from the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes characters, preferably Daffy Duck. The Clown of the Jungle's insanity even winds up to the point where Donald Duck becomes a nutcase himself. A very interesting presentation for the Disney staff.

From Ryan :

This is one of my favorite Donald Duck shorts. Donald is a bird photographer in the jungle who spots the crazy Aracuan Bird. There were quite a few fun gags I enjoyed such as the scene where the bird kept handing Donald the stones, causing Donald to build a small house. One scene that is not typical of a Disney short is where the Aracuan Bird paints a tunnel into a rock and Donald runs into it. This is more common in a WB short. One thing I noticed was when Donald is getting angry at the bird, he runs after him and shouts "Come here, ya doggone pest!" His incoherent voice made it sound as though he were swearing like it did in the 1937 short Clock Cleaners. I enjoy the ending of this short where Donald practically turns into the Aracuan bird himself, going crazy and shouting the Aracuan Bird's phrase.

From Baruch Weiss :

Photographer Donald is continually annoyed and driven up a wall by a crazy Aracuan bird. This short was unusual for Disney; the gags of this cartoon make it look like it was directed by one of the directors from the WB studios like Chuck Jones or Friz Freling.

From Martin :

Does anybody out there know what the Mexican folk song is called, which the aracuan bird's song is 'sampled' from? I've read somewhere that it's called either 'lilongo', 'lolingo', or maybe 'gorilongo', but I can't find it anywhere. It would be interesting to hear the whole song! Yes, it's actually a 'real' song - try slowing the song/sound down to half the speed, and you'll hear a part of it. Yep, the "arapapa..."-sound.

From Mike :

This is a very funny cartoon. The Clown of the Jungle is a very funny character. His song is hilarious, and the gags work on every level.

From Ryan Kilpatrick at The Disney Film Project :

Walt’s South American trip was about more than just producing a couple of package features like Saludos Amigos or The Three Caballeros. The original goal was to establish a program of short subjects that would provide Disney with new characters. Some of these, like Pedro the airplane or the Flying Gauchito, never really took off. One, though, did manage to break through a little bit into the Disney canon.

The Aracuan is the crazy red headed bird that showed up first in The Three Caballeros. His crazy patter and wild nature was endearing there, so he was brought back for this short, Clown of the Jungle. The Aracuan appears on screen to break up the otherwise monotonous story of wild birds in South America. He shows up with a cigar, bounds around the screen and squeaks and coos to the viewer.

In many ways, his unbounded energy and chaotic attitude are the perfect foil for Donald Duck. Introducing Donald into the mix as a bird photographer gets things going, since he is looking for “serious” subjects while the Aracuan is there to only to interrupt and generally play. He sees Donald as an opportunity to enjoy himself and doesn’t take the duck too seriously.

Donald, though, is drop dead serious about his need to take great pictures, and the Aracuan isn’t having it. The antics are hysterical, because the Aracuan is unbound by the typical constraints that other Disney characters operate under. He can pop in and out of the screen with no logical progression, can defy the laws of physics and move any which way to make a gag work.

That makes him a wonderful character. All the other Disney characters are fairly conventional, and the ways the Aracuan acts drives Donald so insane that he ends up adopting these unconventional traits himself. It’s an amazing thing to behold, really. I know the Aracuan shows up again in other shorts and it’s no surprise why. He’s so much fun that I can just imagine animators eager to play with their medium using this fabulous little bird.