Donald's Better Self

Donald's Better Self
Donald Duck series
Title frame
Directed by	Jack King
Produced by	Walt Disney
Story by	Carl Barks Harry Reeves
Voices by	Clarence Nash Thelma Boardman Don Brodie
Music by	Oliver Wallace
Animation by	Chuck Couch Jack Hannah Ed Love Don Towsley Paul Allen Bernard "Berny" Wolf[1]
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date(s)	March 11, 1938 (1938-03-11) (USA)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	8 minutes, 25 seconds
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Self Control
Followed by	Donald's Nephews

Donald's Better Self is a Disney cartoon featuring Donald Duck. This 8 minute short premiered in March 1938, and it was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures.

Plot

Donald is fast asleep in his bed. As he turns in his sleep, his Conscience takes a form of its own beside him. She looks exactly like Donald, but wears a white robe and a golden halo. She also has a kinder and gentler voice than Donald. The Conscience tries to get Donald up and out of bed so he won't be late for school, but Donald's Anti-Conscience appears to keep Donald in bed. He has a different voice than Donald's and has a devil form with horns. He easily convinces Donald to stay in bed, but the Conscience wins out and walks with Donald to school.

Along the way, Donald is tempted by the Anti-Conscience to skip out on school and go fishing instead. At the fishing hole, the Anti-Conscience pressures him to smoke a pipe, which causes him to get sick. Soon the Conscience arrives looking for Donald. She finds him sick, and she gets angry at the Anti-Conscience for Donald's misfortune. The Anti-Conscience soon realizes he's in trouble when he sees the Conscience behind him. "YOU! This is all your fault!" says the Conscience to the Anti-Conscience, who nervously convinces the Conscience not to hurt him. The Conscience refuses, but after the Anti-Conscience deliberately tricks her, proceeds to fight the Anti-Conscience to teach him a lesson. Donald finally learns to do the right thing and go to school rather than give in to temptation.

Availability

• Some elements from the short provided the basis for Donald's Decision.
• This short was one of the many featured in Donald Duck's 50th Birthday, however the short is shown in Japanese to illustrate Donald's global appeal.
• A clip of this cartoon can be seen on Flubber.
• This cartoon was shown in the 1960 Disney Special "This is Your Life, Donald Duck".

References

External links

• Donald's Better Self at The Big Cartoon DataBase
• Donald's Better Self at the Internet Movie Database