The next short alphabetically on Disney Plus is "All in a Nutshell" a Donald Duck short produced in 1949 and distributed by RKO. I, like most people my age, were exposed to these sorts of cartoons as small parts of the schedule, on either BBC or ITV.
Donald Duck has a "nut butter" shop in the middle of a wood. His production is automated and all he has to do is feed in the Walnuts and put the jars on shelves. When he runs out of nuts, he locates a collection in a tree, unfortunately the collection belongs to Chip and Dale and the pair are not happy about having their winter haul stolen. When they see his shop, and taste his produce though, they soon decide that the butter is a far better option and begin stealing the jars.
We'll gloss over "Donald's Nut Butter" as that would have been innocent back then and only takes on a childish amusement nowadays.
I was surprised about just how much slapstick violence there was in this, as I more closely associate that with "Tom and Jerry" rather than and of the Disney characters. It was fun though and the animation was really well done.
All in a Nutshell
1949
Action / Animation / Comedy / Family
All in a Nutshell
1949
Action / Animation / Comedy / Family
Plot summary
Donald steals Chip and Dale's nuts for his nut-butter shop, which is shaped like a giant walnut, Chip and Dale, roll and "shoot" Donald into a nearby lake.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
May 10, 2021 at 12:34 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Husk of a man.
Strangely enough, it turns out that oak trees can . . .
. . . produce EITHER acorns, or walnuts, depending on how they feel. As someone with at least half of dozen of each species at my primary residence, this is news to me. ALL IN A NUTSHELL depicts Don Duck as setting up shop as a "Nut Butter" seller, though his so-called spread is more liquid than honey. A pair of squirrels, quite lacking in thumbs which can be opposed, proceed to roll boulders down mountains, lift jars out of attics and stampede columns of canned goods along forest paths into tree hollows, despite having no means to open said containers. This sort of implausible nonsense is a hallmark which distinguishes low-budget Dizzy fare from the far more factual Warner Bros. Animated output.
He Always Starts It
While Chip and Dale are cruel and insensitive, Donald always seems to be the one to get the ball rolling. He was developing a nice business, but he couldn't resist invading the chipmunk's territory and stealing from them. The problem is that once these guys are wronged, they take no prisoners. They are downright nasty in taking their revenge. They also really intent on stealing anything they can. Let's face it, however. Donald is not going to win.