Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

"Mr. Duck Steps Out" is another Disney cartoon as the name makes obvious very quickly and this one is from 1940, the days of World War II. Director is the pretty prolific Jack King here and his work fot this one will soon have its 80th anniversary. Donald is out to meet Daisy at her place, but the nephews want some fun too. Sadly, they are the only ones getting it, the audience not so much. I must say I found the comedy here really mediocre compared to other Donald cartoons from this era. Physically, with the color and looks in general, it is fine, but nothing stands out compared to most other Disney (and some WB) cartoons from back then. There is major focus on sound and music in here, especially in the second half, but also from that perspective, it was really very generic in my opinion. Stuff like having frogs take the part of music instruments are simply not good, smart or funny enough. Donald was a weaker version of himself with the material he had, but still more interesting than the nephews who very genuinely unspectacular this time, almost annoying, and also than Daisy who was basically a female version of Donald channeling his looks and basically plays almost no important part here at all in terms of the story. Also this is one of the rare occasions where I am not too fond of Clarence Nash's effort as honestly Daisy sounds just like Donald the entire time. The ending with these kisses is kinda cute, but it cannot make me forget about all the mediocrity from before that. Gotta give this one a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

The cast: "Donald Duck", "Daisy Duck", "Huey Duck", "Louie Duck", "Dewey Duck".Director: JACK KING. Screenplay: Carl Barks. Voices: Clarence Nash. Color by Technicolor. RCA Sound System. Producer: Walt Disney.Copyright 4 April 1940 by Walt Disney Productions. A Walt Disney "Donald Duck" cartoon, released through RKO Radio Pictures. 1 reel. 8 minutes. COMMENT: The title is a nice pun. Donald steps out to see Daisy, but he gets no further than Daisy's house where they do a lot of stepping to dance music - some of it ingeniously provided by the Don's not over-welcome nephews. If you like the bland and somewhat mild early 1940s style of swing and jitterbugging, this is definitely a cartoon not to be missed. The music never stops. Laughs take a definite second place to the score. But as usual with Disney, the colors are bright and technical credits ultra smooth.

Mr Duck Steps Out has to be one of my favourite Donald Duck cartoons ever. As an avid Disney and Donald fan, I thought choosing absolute favourite would be difficult, but Mr Duck Steps Out I've always loved and sure is one of them. The animation is as colourful and smooth as some of the best animation of the best cartoons of the 30s and 40s, the music is some of the catchiest ever I've heard for any cartoon and the dancing is full of energy, reminding one fondly of the dancing of that particular era. The gags are fun and very imaginative, the gag where Donald's nephews Huey Duey and Louie put an ear of corn on the stove and knock it into Donald which causes him to shake uncontrollably and throw popcorn everywhere is hilarious especially and has endless and timeless replay value. The story is a very light-hearted one in tone, yet delicately balances also Donald's frustration, and the characters from the temperamental but likable Donald, lovely Daisy to the cheeky yet cute rascals that are Huey, Duey and Louie. Clarence Nash's vocals for all five characters are bravura in every sense of the word. In conclusion, fantastic, a must-watch. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.When MR. DUCK STEPS OUT for a romantic afternoon with Daisy he finds his Nephews have beat him there.Some furious jitterbugging and a terrific jazz soundtrack enliven this well-animated little film. This was Daisy's second appearance in a cartoon and the first time her name was used. Clarence "Ducky" Nash provided the voices for all five fowls.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.