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Modern Inventions

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Modern Inventions
"Your hat, sir."
Directed byJack King
Story byCarl Barks
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringClarence Nash
Billy Bletcher
Adriana Caselotti
Don Brodie[1]
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byJack Hannah
Paul Allen
Johnny Cannon[2]
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • May 29, 1937 (1937-05-29)
[3]
Running time
8:30
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Modern Inventions is a 1937 American comic science fiction animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. It is also the final Disney short to be released by United Artists. The cartoon follows Donald Duck as he tours the fictional Museum of Modern Marvels. Jack King directed it in his first directing role at Disney, and Oliver Wallace composed the original music. The voice cast includes Clarence Nash as Donald, Billy Bletcher as the Robot Butler, Adriana Caselotti as the Robot Baby Carriage, and Don Brodie as the Robot Barber.

Plot

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Donald visits the Museum of Modern Marvels, which showcases futuristic electronic appliances and inventions. He drops a coin on a string in the admission box and yanks it out. Once inside, he meets the Robot Butler, a golden robot cyclops. The butler is programmed to greet guests and take their hats, but it has a flaw where it takes their hats whether they want to or not. It takes Donald's hat over Donald’s protest, but Donald does a magic trick to produce a top hat. He encounters a robot hitchhiker exhibit that thumbs a ride when he imitates a passing car, then pokes him in the eyes for not stopping. The butler appears and takes his top hat, but he does a magic trick to produce a bicorne.

He finds a bundle wrapping machine. He ignores a sign that says not to touch it and pulls a lever, causing the machine to wrap him with cellophane and a red ribbon. After he frees himself, the butler appears and takes his bicorne. He does a magic trick to produce a kepi and taunts the butler, who chases him. He hides in a robotic baby carriage and swaps his kepi with a bonnet. The carriage coddles him and offers a milk bottle, which squirts milk at his face. As he tries to escape, the carriage thrashes him with a puppet toy, squirts more milk, and puts a diaper on him. When he finally gets free, the butler appears and takes his bonnet.

After he does a magic trick to produce a bowler hat, he finds a robotic barber chair that he activates by using his coin. It tosses him upside-down and trims his tail while giving his head a shoe-polish. After he is released, he puts his bowler hat on his well-polished head. However, the butler appears and takes his bowler hat. Fed up with the butler taking his hats, he throws an explosive tantrum.

Production

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The story was originally conceived as Mickey's Inventions, a vehicle for Donald's co-star Mickey Mouse. As Donald's star began to rise in 1936, the short was reworked as a duck cartoon.[4]

Voice cast

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Uncredited

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Releases

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Source:[2]

Home media

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The short was released on May 18, 2004, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume One: 1934-1941.[6]

It was also released on VHS in 1985 on Cartoon Classics: The Continuing Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale Featuring Donald Duck.

Legacy

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The cartoon would later serve as inspiration for suicide booths, fictional contraptions appearing in the American adult animated sitcom Futurama.[7]

In an episode of the series House of Mouse, Minnie Mouse asks Goofy for the name of the cartoon. Goofy knows which Donald Duck cartoon she is talking about, but he does not know the name. Donald mistakenly tells them that the cartoon is called Donald's Haircut and made in 1945, only for Mickey Mouse to correct him.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
  2. ^ a b Modern Inventions Archived March 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
  3. ^ Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2018). Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8365-5284-4.
  4. ^ Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2024). Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Ultimate History. Taschen. p. 106. ISBN 978-3-8365-5280-6.
  5. ^ Movie connections for "Ink & Paint Club" at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ^ "The Chronological Donald Volume 1 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  7. ^ Groening, Matt (2003). Futurama season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Space Pilot 3000" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
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