Donald's Nephews

Donald's Nephews (1938) is a Donald Duck animated cartoon which features Donald being visited by his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. This cartoon is Huey, Dewey, and Louie's very first appearance in animation.^[1] The short, and the three nephews, was the idea of Al Taliaferro, the artist for the Silly Symphonies comic strip, which featured Donald Duck. The Walt Disney Productions Story Dept. on February 5, 1937, sent Taliaferro a memo recognizing him as the source of the idea for the planned short. Taliaferro subsequently introduced the nephews in his comic strip, which by this time had been renamed Donald Duck, on Sunday, October 17, 1937, beating the theatrical release of Donald's Nephews by almost six months.^[2]

Plot

Donald receives a postcard from his sister, Dumbella, which says that her three boys, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, are coming to visit him. At first Donald is excited to see his nephews, but soon the boys start causing problems, being a constant annoyance to their uncle.

Donald consults a book entitled Modern Child Training, and tries to use the suggestions to gain control over his nephews, but things only get worse. In the end, after the boys leave and with his house left almost destroyed, Donald spots a page which reads "After all, little children are only angels without wings". This so enrages Donald that he rips the book to pieces and explodes.

Nephews Antics

Throughout the cartoon, Huey, Dewey, and Louie play tricks on their Uncle Donald in order to annoy him. They cause extensive damage throughout his house, and have fun at Donald's expense. Some of their activities include:

• Playing croquet on tricycles in Donald's living room, breaking vases, lamps, and windows
• As Donald plays the piano to try to calm his nephews, the boys pick up instruments to play along with him, however Dewey uses his trombone to launch an apple at Donald, and Huey uses his cello to project his bow at Donald
• While Donald plays the piano, Huey fills a bag with water, and Louie bursts it with his slingshot
• Giving Donald a pie full of scorching hot mustard, then, to cool him down, they throw water on him and spray him in the face with a fire extinguisher, then throw his book at him and ride away on their tricycles

Availability

• Walt Disney's Funny Factory With Huey Dewey & Louie Vol. 4^[3]

References

External links

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