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Old Sequoia

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Old Sequoia
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack King
Story byHomer Brightman
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringClarence Nash
Billy Bletcher
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byPaul Allen
Bill Justice
Joshua Meador
Don Towsley
Layouts byErnie Nordli
Backgrounds byMerle Cox
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • December 21, 1945 (1945-12-21)
(USA)
Running time
6:30
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Old Sequoia is an American animated short film directed by Jack King featuring Donald Duck.[1] The cartoon was produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on December 21, 1945, by RKO Radio Pictures.

Plot

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An old sequoia tree labeled "Old Sequoia" sits in a National Park and is surrounded by a fence as two beavers chew down trees in the surrounding area. Donald Duck, a ranger at the park, is tasked by the park's chief ranger (possibly Pete) with protecting the massive tree, after taking the blame for a large loss of trees in his sector. The chief further warns Donald that he will lose his job if Old Sequoia falls.

Spotting the beavers dangerously close to Old Sequoia, Donald rushes down and attempts to fend them off with a shotgun. After Donald traps one of the beavers with his foot, the beaver uses its tail to launch Donald head-first into the tree they were gnawing on, knocking it over. The beavers then reach Old Sequoia and prepare to chew it down, but Donald holds them at gunpoint again. As Donald prepares to finish the beavers off, the telephone in the lookout post rings. Donald rushes away to answer it. On the other end, the chief ranger, who had called to ensure Donald was guarding Old Sequoia, scolds him for answering the phone late and orders him to return to his duties.

The beavers take advantage of Donald's distraction to begin chewing on Old Sequoia, entering the tree through its roots to avoid Donald seeing them. Reaching the main trunk, they begin chewing several holes in it. Donald frantically tries to plug the holes up and scoop the sawdust back into Old Sequoia, all to no avail. Pushed beyond his patience, Donald desperately tries to pump the sawdust back into Old Sequoia with a vacuum pipe. This move, however, only ends up over-stuffing the now hollowed out part of the trunk. The resulting explosion exposes the beavers, who have chewed the trunk so that now the whole tree is supported on a narrow spindle of wood.

Noticing the damage to Old Sequoia, Donald races over and tries to hold it up, but the beavers get the idea to "help" Donald make Old Sequoia fall over. One beaver slaps his tail on the ground, creating a shockwave that rattles Donald and Old Sequoia to the point where there is no stopping the tree from meeting its fate. The beavers shout "Timber!" and flee.

Knowing that Old Sequoia will surely fall over, Donald quickly races away, props up Old Sequoia with long poles of wood, and covers up the handiwork with bark from the trunk's base; however, the makeshift supports quickly show signs of giving out. As Donald desperately tries to stabilize Old Sequoia, the telephone in the lookout post rings, forcing Donald to abandon the tree and rush back to answer the phone. On the other end, the chief ranger asks for an update on Old Sequoia. As Donald nervously lies to the chief about the tree being fine, his hasty repairs to Old Sequoia finally give way, and the massive tree falls in the direction of the lookout post, knocking off its legs and over the nearby cliff into the lake below. Underwater, in the ruins of the lookout post, the chief ranger rings once more. Finally fed up with Donald's incompetence, the chief angrily fires him for failing to protect Old Sequoia, much to Donald's irritation.

Voice cast

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Home media

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The short was released on December 6, 2005, on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Two: 1942-1946.[2]

Additional releases include:

  • Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites Extreme Adventure Fun Volume 7

Other titles

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  • Denmark: Skovens beskytter
  • Sweden: Kalle Anka som skogvaktare

References

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  1. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Chronological Donald Volume 2 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
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