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. In the cartoon, Donald Duck 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
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 brass cyclops. The Robot 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 sailorhat over Donald’s protest, but the robot Butler pushes him away. Then Donald does a magic trick to produce a top hat. He walks around to see all the machines, then encounters a robot hitchhiker. Donald wants to have fun with this exhibit, he pretends to be a car then the robot puts his thumbs a ride when he imitates a passing car. Donald is laughing at this roleplay but the robot gets angry and pokes him in the eyes for tricking it into activating. Donald gets disoriented and tries to fight but the Robot Butler appears and takes his top hat, Donald screams at the robot. Butler and Donald do another magic trick to produce a bicorne.
Donald looks around, then he finds a bundle wrapping machine. There’s a warning which he ignores and kicks the sign away that says not to touch it and pulls a lever, Donald does not care and pulls it anyway. The bundle wrapping grabs Donald and puts him in the machine, Donald pushes out of the machine then wraps him with cellophane and a red ribbon. After the bundle wrapping is finished it puts Donald on a slide and lets him go. Donald breaks free for the cellophane himself, the Robot Butler appears and takes his bicorne. He removes the ribbon and does another magic trick to produce a kepi and taunts the Robot Butler, who chases him after seeing his new hat Donald run away.
He hides inside a robotic baby carriage and swaps his kepi with a bonnet, playing along and acting like a baby. The robot nurse holds the toy in its robot hand. It shakes the toy doll in Donalds face and Donald scares it off. Then the robot tickles Donalds stomach and grabs Donalds leg and wiggles his toes. Donald laughs then has an idea. Donald cries for the bottle then the carriage milk bottle and squirts milk at his face. Donald gets angry and he tries to leave, but locks the seatbelt around Donald’s body and pulls him back in the cradle clamp with the intent of keeping him safe. Then the machine pulls out the toy, Donald tries to punch the toy doll but misses, the toy doll hits his head and Donald throws a temper tantrum. The carriage then thrashes him with a puppet toy, pulled out bottle squirts more milk on his face again, then puts a diaper on him. When he finally gets free, he laughes at the diaper then the Robot Butler appears and takes his bonnet. Donald takes off his diaper and kicks it away. Donald does another magic pulls out a bowler hat and walks away.
Donald puts up his fists before realizing it is a barber chair. He climbs the barber chair to find out that it is coin operated, Donald scams the barber chair which activates to give him a free haircut. It takes Donald’s bowler hat off and asks for the works then the barber chair robot pulls the lever back. That tosses him upside-down. Then activates the restraints a seatbelt locks Donald in place with his butt sticking up and handcuffs his arms and collar his neck on the shoe shiner. Then the robot ties a bib around Donald’s butt before cutting his tail feathers with the scissors and comb. Donald throws a temper tantrum. Ignoring his commands to stop, Donald’s head is getting brushed, Donald is trying to move his hands that are locked. Then the robot hands puts black shoe polish in Donald’s mouth and Donald spits it out, but the robot hands grab Donald beak and put black shoe polish all over Donald’s head until his head is black. Then the two robot hands brush Donald head while the other two robot hands rubs Donald’s feathery butt. Donald still screams. Then the machine puts the hot towel on Donald’s butt. Donald screams for help. Donald’s head is being shoe-shined by a towel cloth. Donald’s butt has turned red and the robot hands take the towel off Donald’s butt and trying to cool him down but the robot hands continue to rub Donald’s head real hard and fast. Donald is trying to escape. Then the machine combs Donalds feathery butt. Then the robot hand twirls Donald’s tail into a pig tail curl and sprays perfume on Donald’s butt. Then the machine gets out the mirror and it shows Donald’s haircut on his butt. Then the machine takes the bib of Donald’s butt, the restraints comes off Donald, the machined puts the bowler hat on Donald’s butt. After he is released, he noticed the bowler hat on his butt then puts his bowler hat on his well-polished head. However, the Robot Butler appears and takes his bowler hat. Fed up with the Robot Butler taking his hats, he throws an explosive tantrum.
Production
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
Uncredited
- Clarence Nash as Donald Duck
- Billy Bletcher as Robot Butler
- Adriana Caselotti as Robot Baby Carriage
- Don Brodie as Robot Barber Chair[1]
Releases
Source:[2]
- May 29, 1937 – original release (theatrical)
- c. 1992 – Mickey’s Mouse Tracks, episode 7 (TV)
- c. 1992 – Donald’s Quack Attack, episode 30 (TV)
- December 24, 1997 – Ink & Paint Club, episode 26: “Classic Donald” (TV)[5]
Home media
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
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 does not remember 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
References
- ^ a b Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
- ^ a b Modern Inventions Archived March 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
- ^ Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2018). Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8365-5284-4.
- ^ Kaufman, J.B.; Gerstein, David (2024). Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: The Ultimate History. Taschen. p. 106. ISBN 978-3-8365-5280-6.
- ^ Movie connections for “Ink & Paint Club” at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ “The Chronological Donald Volume 1 DVD Review”. DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Groening, Matt (2003). Futurama season 1 DVD commentary for the episode “Space Pilot 3000“ (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
