The Dognapper
| The Dognapper | |
|---|---|
| Mickey Mouse series | |
 Mickey and Donald | |
| Directed by | David Hand[1] |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Voices by |
Clarence Nash Billy Bletcher |
| Music by | Frank Churchill |
| Animation by |
Johnny Cannon Clyde Geronimi Hardie Gramatky Dick Lundy Bill Roberts Bob Wickersham Marvin Woodward |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) |
(USA)[1] |
| Color process | Black-and-white |
| Running time | 8 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Mickey Plays Papa |
| Followed by | Two-Gun Mickey |
The Dognapper is a 1934 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon stars Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as police officers who chase Pegleg Pete after he dognaps Fifi, Minnie Mouse's pet Pekingese. The film was directed by David Hand and features the voices of Clarence Nash as Mickey and Donald and Billy Bletcher as Pete.[2] This was the first and only time that Mickey was voiced by Clarence Nash, Walt was in Europe at the time and was unavailable to record his lines for Mickey.[3]
The Dognapper was Donald's third film and was the first adventure story to feature both Mickey and Donald. This was the second of only three B&W cartoons to feature Donald Duck (the other two being Orphan's Benefit and Mickey's Service Station). Because the color of Donald's feet doesn't show in black and white, his feet were black in these cartoons.
Plot
The plot is introduced in newspaper headlines that Fifi, Minnie Mouse's "prize pooch," has been dognapped, along with a description of the suspect, Peg Leg Pete. A radio transmission detailing the suspect's get-away car is heard by police officer Mickey Mouse and his sidekick Donald Duck. The pair soon see Peg Leg Pete speed by in the car and they chase after him, Mickey driving a motorcycle and Donald riding in a sidecar. Despite Pete's evasive maneuvers he is unable to escape from Mickey and Donald, and they eventually follow him to his hideout in an abandoned sawmill.
Inside, Pete chains Fifi to the wall and grabs a submachine gun. Mickey and Donald follow Pete into the sawmill and hold him at gunpoint. The film is filled with various gags showing the two law men as bumbling and incompetent, yet at every turn they are able to stay ahead of Pete, but not capture him.
Finally, while Mickey and Donald are standing on a log, Pete turns on a circular saw positioned to cut the log. Mickey and Donald run to stay ahead of the blade, but eventually the end of the log comes and the saw blade shakes loose and spins out of control. The blade proves a threat for all three of the characters, but eventually Pete gets his peg leg caught in the center hole and brings it to a stop. Mickey and Donald restrain him with a corset, and in the final scene Mickey and Donald march Pete off to jail with the now-free Fifi angrily barking at him.
Release history
- 1934 – Original theatrical release
- c. 1992 – Mickey's Mouse Tracks, episode #28 (TV)
- c. 1992 – Donald's Quack Attack, episode #54 (TV)
- 1998 – The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.32: "Goin' to the Dogs" (TV)
- 2002 – Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White (DVD)
Notes
- 1 2 Smith, Dave (1996). "Dognapper, The". Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Hyperion. p. 143. ISBN 0-7868-8149-6.
- ↑ The Dognapper at The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney Shorts
- ↑ http://www.intanibase.com/shorts.aspx?shortID=214&studioID=1
- The Dognapper at the Disney Film Project
- The Dognapper at the Internet Movie Database
- The Dognapper at The Big Cartoon DataBase