Memorable, crazy movie

Just what I expected

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Duck Pimples (1945) *** (out of 4)Donald is listening to scary radio broadcasts, which soon has his mind working in overdrive as he finds himself terrified of everything that moves.DUCK PIMPLES isn't your typical Disney short because it seems like something that would have been made twenty years later by someone on an acid trip. If you watch enough movies then I'm sure you've came across that shorts from the 60s where people trip and before long they're seeing all sorts of bizarre images. That's basically what we've got here because Donald's imagination starts going nuts and he sees a rather weird subplot dealing with stolen jewels. The entire short just has a bizarre feel to it so it really stands out in regards to Disney and the type of shorts they were making during this period.

In this Disney cartoon, Donald reads a mystery book sold to him by an oddball salesman and becomes so involved in that his imagination makes it appear the characters are coming to life, making Donald the center of the mystery caper. What results is this detective-like but unexciting whodunit mystery that features these random characters, including one that resembles Jessica Rabbit.This is not the conventional humorous, action-flicked and bad luck-plaque Donald Duck cartoon. I didn't get a whole lot of laughs from this one. The attempt at the mystery setting is clever and the animation is great, but the overall story itself is pretty boring, unfortunately.Grade D-

As a child I found Duck Pimples fascinating, as a young adult I still do as well as lots of fun. Donald is different somewhat to the persona we usually see him with, usually he is easily frustrated and temperamental, here he is more passive and more of a punch-bag I suppose for the detective. This is an example of Disney doing something atypical, breaking the mold as you will, and doing it extremely well. Besides I do like this side to Donald, even I am more used to the temperamental side. The other characters formulating Duck Pimples right from the slinky woman to the Irish cop are stereotypical, but used to great value comedically, so what could've been an issue wasn't. Duck Pimples also has an interesting story, rapid pacing and a lot of goofy details that has a feel to the very best of Looney Tunes, but used to very imaginative effect here. The gags come by thick and fast, and often hilarious even if silly in tone in how Donald is accused of all these crimes. The animation is colourful and crisp, the music is energetic and the voice work is great from Clarence Nash and Billy Bletcher. In a nutshell, an awesome cartoon and one of Donald's best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of the weirdest and most surreal shorts I have ever seen and it's really a surprise that it came from Disney. Unlike a typical Donal Duck film, this one has a bizarre stream of consciousness that defies my ability to explain it in mere words. Believe me...it's really weird--like the Disney staff decided to try making a short after taking some LSD or something! Donald is at home reading and listening to the radio. The stuff he's being bombarded with is pretty scary and suddenly the radio show and book start coming to life! Characters from a murder mystery come jumping out of his book and the radio provides lots of appropriate creepy music. It's crazy--and well worth seeing just because it is so atypical. About the only Donald film I've ever seen that comes close to this one in weirdness is "Der Fuehrer's Face". Yes, it's that weird--with very elastic characters, a pre-Jessica Rabbit sort of hot dame and a style that just seems so un-Disney. Well worth seeing.