Wide Open Spaces (1947 film)

Last updated
Wide Open Spaces
Wide Open Spaces (1947 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jack King
Story byMacDonald MacPherson
Jack Huber
Produced by Walt Disney
Starring Clarence Nash
Billy Bletcher
Music by Oliver Wallace
Animation by Don Towsley
Paul Allen
Emery Hawkins
Sandy Strother
Layouts byDon Griffith
Backgrounds byHoward Dunn
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • September 12, 1947 (1947-09-12)
Running time
6:30
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wide Open Spaces is a 1947 Donald Duck short cartoon, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Jack King for Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio Pictures. [1]

Contents

Plot

The short opens late at night in front of the "Hold-Up Motel" where Donald, exhausted and looking for a place to sleep, pulls his car over to spend the night. The motel owner informs him that all the beds are occupied and the only option he has is sleeping outside on the cot on the porch. Donald accepts, but before he can hop on the cot, the motel owner adds that it costs 16 dollars (equivalent to $218in 2023 [2] ), causing Donald to angrily refuse and tie the man's arm into a knot. In response, the motel owner kicks Donald, sending him flying into his car.

Donald drives deeper into the woodland and finds a spot to sleep on an air mattress. After struggling to get the mattress inflated (failing twice with a floor pump before blowing it up himself), Donald gets ready to rest but is bothered by a rock underneath the mattress. He throws the rock away sending it up to a hill, where it causes a chain reaction that sends a huge boulder towards Donald, who is woken up and panics trying to escape in his car. The boulder catches up and crushes him against a tree, causing Donald's vehicle to crunch into the shape of a 1910s Ford Model T.

Donald returns to bed and falls asleep. As he snores, however, the mattress balloons, putting Donald in a vertical position sustained by his opening and closing beak, which leads Donald over a cliff and into the river below. Donald continues to slumber underwater next to a large sleeping fish that draws Donald's head near its jaws each time it inhales. Donald realizes where he is only after he and the fish struggle for the blanket and swims back to shore.

The springy branch of a nearby pine tree bothers Donald in his sleep and he is smacked back by it when he tries to shove it away. Angered, Donald fixes a fallen tree branch under the pine's branch to keep it away. However, as Donald sleeps, his exhalations cause the tree branch to lose hold of the pine's branch, causing it to hit the air mattress pump (with the hose still attached to the mattress valve) and wobble up and down with the handle, pumping fast and strong. This causes Donald's mattress to get excessively inflated until it pops off and takes flight, deflating rapidly in mid-air while Donald continues to sleep.

As the mattress deflates, it propels Donald all the way back to the Hold-Up Motel, landing right on the porch cot. The owner comes out, believing that Donald has spent the entire night on the cot, and asks him the 16 dollars, which Donald hands over in his sleep. Immediately after paying, the motel owner notifies Donald that his time is up and shoves Donald off of the porch and into the arms of a cactus. Despite his uncomfortable new sleeping arrangement, Donald continues to slumber as the cartoon ends.

Voice cast

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950 . [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Fall Out Fall In</i> 1943 Donald Duck cartoon

Fall Out Fall In is a Walt Disney cartoon starring Donald Duck. It was released on April 23, 1943, by RKO Radio Pictures. The film's title incorporates two military commands: "fall in", meaning to create an organized formation of soldiers, and "fall out", to dissolve that formation.

<i>Goofy and Wilbur</i> 1939 film

Goofy and Wilbur is an animated cartoon short produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures on March 17, 1939. Although the cartoon is billed as a Mickey Mouse cartoon, it was the first cartoon which featured Goofy in a solo role without Mickey Mouse and/or Donald Duck.

<i>The Skeleton Dance</i> 1929 film

The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 Silly Symphony animated short subject with a comedy horror theme. It was produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. In the film, four human skeletons dance and make music around a spooky graveyard—a modern film example of medieval European "danse macabre" imagery. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphony series. In 1993, to coincide with the opening of Mickey's Toontown in Disneyland, a shortened cover of the cartoon's music was arranged to be featured in the land's background ambiance. The short's copyright was renewed in 1957, and as a published work from 1929 it will enter the US public domain on January 1, 2025.

<i>Moose Hunters</i> 1937 Mickey Mouse cartoon

Moose Hunters is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. It was the 93rd short in the Mickey Mouse film series, and the fourth for that year. The cartoon stars Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy on a moose hunting expedition. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and features music by Paul J. Smith. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey, Clarence Nash as Donald, and Pinto Colvig as Goofy.

<i>Old MacDonald Duck</i> 1941 Donald Duck cartoon

Old MacDonald Duck is an animated cartoon by Walt Disney Productions from 1941, featuring Donald Duck.

<i>Timber</i> (1941 film) 1941 Donald Duck cartoon

Timber is a 1941 animated short film by Walt Disney Productions featuring Donald Duck and Pete.

<i>Clock Cleaners</i> 1937 Mickey Mouse cartoon

Clock Cleaners is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon follows Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy working as janitors in a tall clock tower. The film was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and features original music by Paul Smith and Oliver Wallace. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey, Clarence Nash as Donald, and Pinto Colvig as Goofy. It was the 97th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the eighth for that year.

<i>Dons Fountain of Youth</i> 1953 Donald Duck cartoon

Don's Fountain of Youth is a 1953 American animated short film by Walt Disney Productions featuring Donald Duck.

<i>Truant Officer Donald</i> 1941 Donald Duck cartoon

Truant Officer Donald is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on August 1, 1941 by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1942 but lost to another Disney cartoon Lend a Paw. The story features Donald Duck working as a truant officer and making sure that Huey, Dewey, and Louie go to school. The film was directed by Jack King while Clarence Nash provided the voices of Donald and the nephews.

<i>Up a Tree</i> (1955 film) 1955 Donald Duck cartoon

Up a Tree is a 1955 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film stars Donald Duck and Chip 'n' Dale, with Donald trying to top a tree in which Chip and Dale are living. It was directed by Jack Hannah and features original music by Oliver Wallace.

<i>Drip Dippy Donald</i> 1948 Donald Duck cartoon

Drip Dippy Donald is a seven-minute Donald Duck cartoon made by the Walt Disney Company in 1948. The Technicolor cartoon was released by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon was directed by the Disney animator Jack King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travel cot</span> Foldable bed for use by a baby or young child

A travel cot is a bed for use by a baby or young child that collapses or folds into a bag for easy carriage. Travel cots are typically much lighter than a standard cot, with soft sides to provide comfort to the baby when sleeping.

<i>Plutos Christmas Tree</i> 1952 Mickey Mouse cartoon

Pluto's Christmas Tree is a 1952 Mickey Mouse cartoon in which Pluto and Mickey cut down a Christmas tree that Chip n' Dale live in. It was the 125th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the second for that year. While the chipmunks are usually antagonists of Donald Duck, they have pestered Pluto before, in Private Pluto (1943), Squatter's Rights (1946) and Food for Feudin' (1950).

<i>Chips Ahoy</i> (film) 1956 Donald Duck cartoon

Chips Ahoy is a Walt Disney-produced animated CinemaScope theatrical short. It was released to theaters on February 24, 1956, and was the second to last Disney cartoon to be distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. It is also the second to last regular Disney theatrical cartoon to feature Donald Duck in a starring role and the final appearance of Chip 'n' Dale in The Golden Age of Animation and their final appearance overall, until the 1959 Walt Disney Presents television special "The Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale". It was reissued in 1985 to accompany The Black Cauldron.

<i>Donalds Vacation</i> 1940 Donald Duck cartoon

Donald's Vacation is a Donald Duck cartoon made by The Walt Disney Company and released by RKO Pictures on August 9, 1940. The film, which was directed by Jack King, shows Donald Duck having many troubles with the outdoors when he goes on vacation.

<i>The Clock Watcher</i> 1945 Donald Duck cartoon

The Clock Watcher is a 1945 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon follows Donald Duck as he works at the Royal Bros. department store, where he goofs off by breaking gifts and wrapping them poorly.

Out on a Limb is a 1950 Walt Disney Animation Studios short featuring Donald Duck and Chip 'n' Dale.

<i>Window Cleaners</i> 1940 Donald Duck cartoon

Window Cleaners is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on September 20, 1940 by RKO Radio Pictures.

<i>Contrary Condor</i> 1944 Donald Duck cartoon

Contrary Condor is a 1944 Donald Duck short film by Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio Pictures.

Trailer Horn is a 1950 animated short film featuring Donald Duck and Chip 'n' Dale. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

References

  1. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ "The Chronological Donald Volume 3 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.