The Vanishing Private
Encyclopedia
The Vanishing Private is a 1942
animated cartoon
by the Walt Disney Studios, starring Donald Duck
in the World War II
years.
is doing some camouflage
painting on a cannon. He paints the cannon with yellow, green, and red stripes with black dots. Sergeant Pete
sees it, scolds Donald and makes Donald re-paint it to make "That gun hard to see!". Obliging to the sergeant's orders, Donald walks off to the "Experimental Laboratory: Camouflage Corps" with the smaller sign, "Keep out!" Donald disregards the sign and walks in. He finds some "invisible paint", which he tests with his finger and uses to paint the cannon.
The cannon is invisible, much to the sergeant's shock when he thinks it was stolen. But it isn't stolen as the sergeant finds out the hard way. He bonks his head in the underside of the cannon, and becomes confused until he discovers Donald inside. Angered that he painted the cannon too invisible to look, Pete blows hard into one end of the barrel, sending Donald into the bucket of invisible paint. When Donald runs away from Pete in time before Pete could can him without seeing him, Pete finds out Donald has become invisible seeing Donald's footprints on the ground. Donald swims across a lake and the invisible paint doesn't come off.
Pete continues to chase Donald through a field of flowers, searching through the flowers, until he accidentally throws the flowers on Donald revealing his outline. Pete spots Donald and tries to catch him but Donald gets away again. The flowers give Pete an idea to find Donald. When the General
drives up, Pete's antics, including jumping around a tree while singing "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush
" and throwing flowers, convinces the General that he is acting crazy, especially after Pete asks the General "did you see a little guy that you can't see?" and the invisible Donald puts a cactus down Pete's pants, making Pete jump around like a madman and the General wonders what is up with Pete.
Donald is running around a kitchen and then sees some pies in the window and Donald takes a pie and eats it. Pete then notices this and asks "Hmm, what's this?" and Donald throws the pie in Pete's face. Donald is skipping a rope, angering Pete, so he chases Donald around a tank. Donald then sends Pete on the warpath
when he trips Pete under the grass, through some soldiers, and out again into the arsenal facility, where he gets hold of several grenades and begins blowing things up to stop Donald, starting with a pine tree that literally flies into the air and floats down. The General sees that Pete's at Wit's end and that scares The General out of his wits when Pete runs towards him and the frightened General hides behind a nearby power pole. The General tries to reassure Pete and stop his continuous blowing up, but when Donald pokes Pete in the rear with the General's sword, the startled sergeant jumps into the air and onto the General releasing all of the grenades that land on Pete and the General, injuring them in the explosion.
Later, Pete is locked up in a padded cell, wearing a straitjacket
and chains, as he is declared insane for his actions. He pleads to Donald (who is on guard duty and no longer invisible anymore) to tell the General he is not crazy, but Donald refuses, asking Pete "Do you think I'M crazy?" and whistles "The Army's Not the Army Anymore".
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
by the Walt Disney Studios, starring Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
in the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years.
Plot
Donald DuckDonald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
is doing some camouflage
Military camouflage
Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...
painting on a cannon. He paints the cannon with yellow, green, and red stripes with black dots. Sergeant Pete
Black Pete
Pete, also called Peg-Leg Pete, and Black Pete among other names, is a cartoon character created in 1925 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He is a licensed character of The Walt Disney Company and often appears as a villain in Mickey Mouse universe stories...
sees it, scolds Donald and makes Donald re-paint it to make "That gun hard to see!". Obliging to the sergeant's orders, Donald walks off to the "Experimental Laboratory: Camouflage Corps" with the smaller sign, "Keep out!" Donald disregards the sign and walks in. He finds some "invisible paint", which he tests with his finger and uses to paint the cannon.
The cannon is invisible, much to the sergeant's shock when he thinks it was stolen. But it isn't stolen as the sergeant finds out the hard way. He bonks his head in the underside of the cannon, and becomes confused until he discovers Donald inside. Angered that he painted the cannon too invisible to look, Pete blows hard into one end of the barrel, sending Donald into the bucket of invisible paint. When Donald runs away from Pete in time before Pete could can him without seeing him, Pete finds out Donald has become invisible seeing Donald's footprints on the ground. Donald swims across a lake and the invisible paint doesn't come off.
Pete continues to chase Donald through a field of flowers, searching through the flowers, until he accidentally throws the flowers on Donald revealing his outline. Pete spots Donald and tries to catch him but Donald gets away again. The flowers give Pete an idea to find Donald. When the General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
drives up, Pete's antics, including jumping around a tree while singing "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush is a 1967 British film made based on the novel of the same name by Hunter Davies. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France....
" and throwing flowers, convinces the General that he is acting crazy, especially after Pete asks the General "did you see a little guy that you can't see?" and the invisible Donald puts a cactus down Pete's pants, making Pete jump around like a madman and the General wonders what is up with Pete.
Donald is running around a kitchen and then sees some pies in the window and Donald takes a pie and eats it. Pete then notices this and asks "Hmm, what's this?" and Donald throws the pie in Pete's face. Donald is skipping a rope, angering Pete, so he chases Donald around a tank. Donald then sends Pete on the warpath
Warpath
Warpath may refer to:* Warpath, a hostile mood in which a person goes at War against one another.*Warpath , a mutant superhero in Marvel Comics*Warpath , a FPS video game by Digital Extremes for the PC and Xbox...
when he trips Pete under the grass, through some soldiers, and out again into the arsenal facility, where he gets hold of several grenades and begins blowing things up to stop Donald, starting with a pine tree that literally flies into the air and floats down. The General sees that Pete's at Wit's end and that scares The General out of his wits when Pete runs towards him and the frightened General hides behind a nearby power pole. The General tries to reassure Pete and stop his continuous blowing up, but when Donald pokes Pete in the rear with the General's sword, the startled sergeant jumps into the air and onto the General releasing all of the grenades that land on Pete and the General, injuring them in the explosion.
Later, Pete is locked up in a padded cell, wearing a straitjacket
Straitjacket
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to themselves or others. Once the arms are inserted into the straitjacket's sleeves, they are then crossed across the chest...
and chains, as he is declared insane for his actions. He pleads to Donald (who is on guard duty and no longer invisible anymore) to tell the General he is not crazy, but Donald refuses, asking Pete "Do you think I'M crazy?" and whistles "The Army's Not the Army Anymore".
See also
- List of World War II short films
- InvisibilityInvisibilityInvisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...
- GhostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
- InsanityInsanityInsanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
- Fear of ghostsFear of ghostsThe fear of ghosts in many human cultures is based on beliefs that some ghosts may be malignant towards people and dangerous ....