The Clock Watcher

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

As the unappreciated gift wrapper for a large department store, Donald can hardly wait for five o'clock to roll around so he can go home.

While the animation is routine, THE CLOCK WATCHER is still an enjoyable little film, with the focus on Donald's growing frustration. His interaction with his peppy manager's speaking tube is very humorous. Clarence "Ducky" Nash supplies Donald's voice.

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.

This is a rather funny cartoon starring Donald Duck as a gift wrapper in a department store. But, he's not the most prudent worker as he takes breaks to eat his lunch and alter gifts so he could fit them in the gift boxes - quite hilarious! The animation is another nicely done piece of work and Clarence Nash does a great voice over work for Donald as always.

Donald's little tangle with the Jack-in-the-Box was the highlight of the cartoon, along with him grappling with the speaker horn where his boss yells out instructions in a rather annoyingly polite way.

Quite funny all around and Donald does his best when he's frustrated.

Grade B+

This is a not a quite good Donald's film, it was unreliastic, what's more, was that Donald acted not quite well, not funny gags, and it only treated Donald more roughly, a clock watcher, Um.

Donald surely looked like a clock watcher, not did well in the job, threw into tantrum, and more, but I did like the end when the boss was beaten by Donald, which what happened next is ambiguous. That only comforted me a bit, I'm afraid.

I cringed as I watched Donald destroy merchandise he was supposed to wrap. He is only concerned about one thing, having the time pass while he sabotages the people he works for. That said, what do we expect. He is saddled with too much to do and too much laziness to accomplish even that. It is really quite funny as a Jack-in-the-box gets the better of him. Of course, we have the usual squawking tantrums one would expect from our duck friend. Quite a good cartoon.

This classic Donald Duck cartoon featured on a video I had that also had Once Upon a Wintertime and Pluto's Christmas Tree, as well as excerpts from films such as Bambi, Peter Pan and Cinderella that I watched every single Christmas. I loved it then, and at 17 I still love it now. The Clock Watcher hasn't got the best story in the world, but it is a fun one, with some good gags such as the speaker that won't shut up and the jack-in-the-box that won't stay closed. Donald is funny here, and even loses his temper once or twice. Also assisting him are some excellent animation and some very good music. The title of the cartoon may be a little misleading to those not familiar with it, but regardless this is really something. 10/10 Bethany Cox