Toy Tinkers

Like quite a lot of Looney Tunes episodes and even some Disney Mickey Mouse and Friends episodes, this has quite a lot of slapstick, but luckily a lot of witty humour to top it off.

Basically, Chip and Dale are woken up at night-time when Donald Duck chops down a tree for his Christmas tree in their forest. When Chip and Dale see his house (to where he is going) they decide to follow him and come up to his house chock full of toys and sweets. Chip and Dale become very excited and start triggering their "stealing mood"...

A cute, well-done cartoon, also very funny, this is a lovely Christmas short that many will like. This is recommended for fans of the cute little chipmunks, people who are excited to find out what happens next (if they have read the eye-catching blurb above) and people who also like Donald Duck having his revenge on Chip and Dale and how he does it/tries.

Enjoy "Toy Tinkers"! :-)

With "Donald Duck" safely ensconced at home with his freshly chopped tree preparing for Christmas, the mischievous "Chip" and "Dale" peer through his window at the alluring selection of treats on his carpet and thanks to their powerful incisors, are swiftly helping themselves to his seasonal nuts. Once their host cottons on to their thievery, though, there seems little likelihood of a truce between what rapidly become two warring parties making full use of an array of toys and confectionary - even an Howitzer - but will there be a victor or perhaps some pipes of peace? This is an enjoyably colourful and lively cartoon with the chipmunks always an affably good foe for a "Donald" whose squeaky and increasingly frustrated dulcets always made me smile. There's plenty of tit-for-tat and a jolly score to help it along, too. The Christmas spirit is definitely alive and well with this!

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

Chip 'n' Dale become TOY TINKERS after discovering the treasures spread out under Donald's Christmas tree.

Although enjoyable, this little Oscar nominated Duck versus Chipmunks Holiday film is unremarkable as far as animation & storyline are concerned. Clarence "Ducky" Nash supplies Donald's unique voice; the Chipmunks are largely unintelligible.

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.

Toy Tinkers (1949)

*** (out of 4)

Donald goes into the forest and cuts down a Christmas tree, which is witnessed by Chip and Dale who in return sneak into Donald's house to steal some walnuts. After they're caught the two sides battle with various ornaments and toys. This film has a lot in common with DONALD'S SNOW FIGHT, which featured Donald doing battle with his two nephews and I think you can also see that this film had an influence on PLUTO'S Christmas TREE, which had Pluto doing battle with Chip and Dale after they got into his home. This middle film isn't nearly as great as the other two but I think there's enough here to keep people entertained. I think the highlight of the movie is a sequence where the chipmunks are on a train and have to try and steal the walnuts from Donald who has a few tricks of his own. Throughout the film the animation is top-notch and there's no question that there's enough action for two movies.

I will admit that I much prefer Pluto's Christmas Tree, but this is a very amusing cartoon. My only complaint is that it is noticeably more violent than other Christmas vignettes. The animation and the music are lovely, and a lot of the episode is laugh-out-loud funny. I loved the part when Chip an' Dale put a candle in the telephone, and when Donald answered it, it exploded, it was hilarious. Chip an' Dale are as sweet as ever, especially when they argue over the Christmas present. It was also nice to see Donald having fun, though he isn't as temperamental as he appears in other episodes. Overall, a very amusing and well done cartoon, not the best, but well worth looking out for! 9/10 Bethany Cox.