Donald in Mathmagic Land

I first saw this wonderful film in school in the early 60's. For several years it was an "annual event". Considering I was never in the same school district twice in a row, it was fascinating to see what grade level each district thought it was for.

It gives a clear and understandable approach to the question of "What is math (arithmatic) good for anyway?" Fun, musically diverse, and perhaps a bit silly, it stands the test of time. Paul Frees' outstanding narration allows the youngers to enjoy the fun of the movie, and the olders to understand the concepts.

It also explained how to calculate a bank shot on a billiard (or pool) table using the spots. heh.

Donald in Mathmagicland is the Alice in Wonderland of educational cartoons. It makes very little sense, and to explain the nonsensical happenings, is the simple fact that this is mathMAGICland. If you're into some strong story telling, this is not for you, but if you want an entertaining and educational Disney flick, than this one is for you.

Donald Duck is transported to Mathmagicland. In this land, various happenings in normal life are explained through math, and an ominous voice talks to Donald, voiced by Paul Frees. Donald learns how instrument strings are mathematically designed, and how the game of chess in a math process, how the game of pool can be mathematically calculated, and much more.

This is not much of a story. It makes no sense, and has no real ending, but it's still a great short. The animation is fantastic. The animation features constant morphing of shapes and it's hard to imagine that these animators could use these techniques 50 years ago. The live action is thrown in well, also. The scene where they teach how to calculate pool is the most interesting in the movie, and the mixture of live action pool and Donald Duck looks excellent, and is a nice throwback to techniques used in Donald's earlier picture "The Three Caballeros".

Paul Frees is an excellent narrator, and Donald Duck is the perfect character to send to this inexplicable math land. The animation is great, and this educational Disney film is brilliantly animated and very informative.

My rating: *** 1/2 out of ****. 30 mins.

I know I saw this at least four times in public school. Disney did some instructional films during his tenure. In this one, Donald Duck with his whiny squawk and lack of discipline, bemoans the "fact" that he finds mathematics boring. But in steps the disembodied voice of Paul Frees (Boris Badenov) who leads Donald to Mathmagicland where he can see all the benefits of learning about numbers and geometric concepts. After one viewing in about fourth grade, this film was indelibly stuck in my head. We learn about why there are diamonds outside the rails of pool an billiard tables. We see how formulas are constructed. Mostly, it's a history lesson, showing how mathematics has aided people moving into modern time. And Donald is his usually squawky presence.

"Donald in Mathmagic Land" is the sort of cartoon that math teachers have been showing their students for years. It's a case of bait and switch, as important scientific and mathematics concepts of contained here...and it looks like fun since it stars Donald Duck. While this does make the material more palatable, it still is a well made but rather dry film.

When it all begins, Donald wanders into an odd land where there are lots of numbers and symbols. Suddenly, the narrator (Paul Frees*) begins talking about Pythagoras and geometry. Donald, inexplicably, finds this all very fascinating and this isn't completely surprising as the concepts are explained in ways that normal folks could understand--such as the use of geometry in games such as football and billiards. By the end of the film, Donald has been thoroughly convinced how swell math is and the viewer, hopefully, is still awake.

I am a bit cynical about this one. Considering what the film is trying to get across, it does it in about as entertaining a fashion as possible. And, the artwork is very nice. But it's STILL a relatively dry topic and kids hoping to see Donald up to his usual antics will no doubt feel a bit let down by it all. Not a bad film at all...and one that was nominated for an Oscar, by the way.

*Frees is also the voice of the narrator in Disney's Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Disneyworld. He also is the voice of Boris in old Bullwinkle cartoon.

This animated documentary was an excellent combination of entertainment and education and is a real feather in Disney's cap. Most people have varying degrees of either disinterest or dislike of mathematics. This renders math comprehensible as well as making it fun and interesting-a combination most of my math instuctors were either unwilling or unable to accomplish. After 41 years plus, this doesn't feel the least bit dated. I'm glad to see it's available. Three cheers for the mouse (and the duck too, though I must confess that, for the most part, Donald leaves me cold. Not here, though.). Most recommended.