Window Cleaners

Window Cleaners is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on September 20, 1940 by RKO Radio Pictures.[1]

This article is about the cartoon. For the occupation, see Window cleaner. For other uses, see Window Cleaner.
Window Cleaners
Directed byJack King
Produced byWalt Disney
Story byCarl Barks
Jack Hannah
StarringClarence Nash
Music byPaul J. Smith
Oliver Wallace
Animation byJudge Whitaker
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • September 20, 1940 (1940-09-20) (United States)
Running time
8 minutes
CountryUnited States

Summary

Donald Duck is working at a job washing windows on the skyscraper buildings, while Pluto the dog sleeps on the job. Donald's job goes from bad to worse when he teases a bee by almost drowning it with water and the bee attacks Donald Duck.

Synopsis

Donald Duck is hoisted up on a roped platform while Pluto the dog is pulling Donald up. Donald Ducks hat and tail feathers gets trimmed exposing his bare tail. Pluto easily gets distracted by a flea and lets go of the rope and Donald Duck falls but the rope gets entangled by the stop sign and stops the platform, Donald lands on a statue horse. Later on Donald Duck throws a bucket of water to wash the window and quickly runs out of water, Donald Duck orders Pluto to wake up but he refuses and Donald Duck gets angry at Pluto, yelling at him and finally throws a brush down the drainpipe and Pluto wakes up and blows the pulley to the wrong bucket full of nuts and bolts and Donald Duck smashes a window and pulls down the window curtain in embarrassment.

Donald is working while Spike the Bee flies over to the tulip and Donald Duck plays a practical joke on the bee by almost drowning him in water. This proves to be a mistake as the bee gets revenge and attacks Donald Duck who defends himself with a bucket. Donald Duck tries to attack the bee on the building pole and loses balance and falls on the roped platform. Then the bee dives down at Donald Duck who swings at the bee with his mop and misses, Donald Duck spins, gets tangled in the rope and tied up. Spike the Bee sees this as an opportunity to sting Donald Ducks exposed rear end. Donald Duck warns the bee not to touch him but the bee ignores Donald and dives for him, Donald Duck blows at the bee really hard until both Donald Duck and the bee gets tired out. The bee lands on the platform. The bee slowly gets up and aims his stinger into Donald's rear end which causes Donald Duck to yell and gets untied from the roped platform and dives headfirst into the drainpipe until his head comes out of the bottom of the drainpipe. Donald yells at Pluto for help but Pluto ignores Donald and shoves his head back into the drainpipe where Donald Duck continues to scream and goes back to sleep.

Production

Window Cleaners is the first cartoon to feature Spike the Bee as Donald's main rival. It's also the first Donald Duck cartoon with an opening theme that was used in more than one cartoon.

Reception

The Film Daily called the short a "hilarious cartoon", saying, "Donald Duck, window cleaner, and his assistant, Pluto, will draw plenty of laughs from audiences in this cartoon."[2]

In The Disney Films, Leonard Maltin quotes film historian William K. Everson, who said, "Disney used height -- skyscrapers, mountains, etc. -- far more than other cartoon-makers, and with more concern for perspective and the convincing illusion of dizzy depths. Height gags in Warner Brothers cartoons and MGM cartoons were always just that -- rapid gags that paid off quickly in a laugh, and without a buildup. Disney, on the other hand, used height much as Harold Lloyd did, to counterpoint comedy with a genuine thrill."[3]

Voice cast

Releases
  • Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Edition II: Donald's Bee Pictures
  • Walt Disney Treasures: Wave three, The Chronological Donald,
  • Walt Disney's Funny Factory with Donald Volume 2

References
  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74-76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. "Reviews of Short Subjects". The Film Daily. 78 (83): 7. October 25, 1940. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. Maltin, Leonard (1984). The Disney Films (2nd ed.). Crown Publishers. p. 299. ISBN 0-517-55407-0. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  4. Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company. p. 264. ISBN 978-0786462711. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
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