Toy Tinkers
Toy Tinkers is a 1949 American animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on December 16, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures.[1] Set during Christmas time, the film shows Chip 'n' Dale trying to steal nuts from Donald Duck's home using toy weapons. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1950,[2] but ultimately lost to Warner Bros'. For Scent-imental Reasons, a Pepe Le Pew Looney Tunes film directed by Chuck Jones.
| Toy Tinkers | |
|---|---|
Title card | |
| Directed by | Jack Hannah |
| Story by | Harry Reeves Milt Banta |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Starring | Clarence Nash Dessie Flynn Jimmy MacDonald |
| Music by | Paul J. Smith |
| Animation by | Bob Carlson Volus Jones Bill Justice Jack Boyd (effects) |
| Layouts by | Yale Gracey |
| Backgrounds by | Thelma Witmer |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Toy Tinkers was directed by Jack Hannah and features original and adapted music by Paul J. Smith which includes the song "Jingle Bells" and Schubert's Marche Militaire. The voice cast includes Clarence Nash as Donald and Jimmy MacDonald and Dessie Flynn as Chip and Dale respectively.[3][4][5]
It was later reissued as Christmas Capers, and 16mm prints of this version still exist.
Plot
Chip and Dale's curiosity leads them into Donald's house after they see him chop down a tree near their log home to use as a Christmas tree. They follow Donald and their tree and they see nuts and candy through a window and decide to try to take them. They slip in through the mail slot and load the nuts into a toy truck. During the theft, Dale pretends to be in a make-believe neighborhood, but when he come across Chip, he beats Dale up for playing around. But Donald sees them stealing the nuts and uses the toys to foil them. When Chip and Dale catch on, Donald next dresses as Santa Claus and gives Chip a much larger present than Dale making him jealous and start fighting with Chip. The plan initially works and Donald traps them with a handgun inside the big nut and then crashes them in a toy police car. Donald then loads a pop gun with nuts and the chipmunks retaliate. At last, the confrontation escalates into full-out combat. Donald sets up a fort of presents on one side of the living room while Chip and Dale bombard him from across the room with a toy cannon. Dale covertly sneaks a Ca telephone into Donald's fort which Chip uses to distract Donald to transmit direct cannon fire. Angered, Donald loads the phone with dynamite, but it doesn't explode. When the chipmunks call him again, he answers & the TNT explodes. After the chipmunks have neutralized Donald's means to resist, they march back home, and in a scene reminiscent of The Spirit of '76, employ the help of the mechanical toys to transport the hoard of nuts.
Voice cast
- Donald Duck: Clarence Nash
- Chip: Jimmy McDonald
- Dale: Dessie Flynn
Adaptations
A comic book adaptation of the short was published in Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #2, printed by Dell Comics in 1950. This adaptation was titled "Christmas Fray" and "Such a Clatter" in reprints.[6]
Releases
- 1949 – Theatrical release
- 1958 – Walt Disney Presents, episode #5.12: "From All of Us to All of You" (TV)
- 2010 – Mickey's Christmas Special
Home media
The short was released on December 11, 2007 on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950.[7]
Additional releases include:
- c. 1960 (Super8)[8]
- 1985 – Cartoon Classics: The Continuing Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale Featuring Donald Duck (VHS)
- 1986 – Jiminy Cricket's Christmas (VHS)
- 2005 – Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals (DVD)
See also
References
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 320. ISBN 9781476672939.
- ^ Toy Tinkers at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Toy Tinkers at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- ^ Toy Tinkers 2010-09-01 at the Wayback Machine at The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney Shorts
- ^ Such a Clatter at Inducks
- ^ "The Chronological Donald Volume 3 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ 8mm Forum