Trick or Treat
Encyclopedia
Trick or Treat is a 1952
American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures
. The cartoon, which takes place on Halloween
night, follows a series of pranks between Donald Duck
and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are aided by Witch Hazel. The film was directed by Jack Hannah
and features the voices of Clarence Nash
as Donald and his nephews, and June Foray
as Hazel. The film introduced the song "Trick or Treat for Halloween" which was written by Paul J. Smith
and performed by The Mellowmen.
or face trouble.
One Halloween night, Witch Hazel observes Huey, Duey, and Louie going trick-or-treating
. The trio, dressed as a ghost, a devil, and a wizard, go up to the door of their uncle Donald Duck's
house under a covered porch and ring the bell. But instead of giving them the traditional candy, Donald explodes firecrackers
in their bags, then pulls a string leading to a rigged bucket of water hanging under the porch roof and tips it on the boys. Donald laughs, and the discouraged nephews go and sit on the curb.
But Hazel, who was secretly watching the drama unfold, tries to comfort the boys. When she discovers that they believe in "real witches," she decides to help them get their treats from Donald after all. At first Hazel tries to convince Donald herself, but he dumps another bucket of water on her. Realizing that the job may be harder than she thought, she turns to her magic.
At another location, the nephews watch Hazel concoct a magic potion in a large cauldron. In a scene paying homage to Shakespeare's MacBeth
(see Three Witches
), Hazel adds ingredients somewhat toned down from the play. ("Eye of needle, tongue of shoe, hand of clock that points at two!" etc.) Hazel fills a spray bottle of the potion and returns to Donald's house with the nephews.
Hazel sprays a Jack-o'-lantern
and three fence posts with the potion and they become an animated chorus of ghosts
singing the theme song. A terrified Donald instantly agrees to treat the boys, but when Hazel refers to him as a pushover, he changes his mind. Donald locks his pantry and swallows the key. Hazel then uses the potion on Donald's feet, and commands them to "kick out that key." But when the key is kicked out, Donald throws it under the pantry door. Hazel then orders Donald's feet to "smash that door down" with Donald. After several attempts, Donald finally breaks down the pantry door and is left unconscious on the floor.
In the end, Huey, Duey, and Louie collect their treats and Hazel departs. A final shot shows the enchanted Jack-o'lantern suddenly pop onto the screen saying "Boo!"
was published simultaneously in the Donald Duck comic book. Barks was given a storyboard of the film by Ralph Wright while production of the film was still in progress. Barks was asked to create a 32-page comic adaptation, yet Barks didn't believe he had enough material. In the end he wound up making a lot of his own material, even creating new characters such as Smorgie the Bad.
When the final product was sent to the publisher, Barks' segment with Smorgie was rejected, and the story was cut to 27 pages. To fill out the rest of the comic book, Barks created an additional story called "Hobblin' Gobblins." The original story was later restored with the publication of the Carl Barks Library
.
Disneyland Records
also produced an audio adaptation that was narrated by Ginny Tyler
who also voices Witch Hazel. This version was 12 minutes long and also included a song and story from the Haunted Mansion
Disneyland attraction.
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. The cartoon, which takes place on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night, follows a series of pranks between 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...
and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are aided by Witch Hazel. The film was directed by Jack Hannah
Jack Hannah
Jack Hannah was an animator, writer and director of animated shorts.Hannah was born January 15, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to study at the Art Guild Academy. One of his first jobs was designing movie posters for Hollywood theaters...
and features the voices of Clarence Nash
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
as Donald and his nephews, and June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
as Hazel. The film introduced the song "Trick or Treat for Halloween" which was written by Paul J. Smith
Paul Smith (composer)
Paul J. Smith was an Academy Award-winning American music composer. He was born in Calumet, Michigan. Smith spent much of his life working at Disney as composer for many of its films' scores, animated and live-action alike, movie and television alike...
and performed by The Mellowmen.
Plot
The film opens with the song "Trick or Treat for Halloween," the lyrics of which tell the story's lesson – one must be generous on HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
or face trouble.
One Halloween night, Witch Hazel observes Huey, Duey, and Louie going trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treating or "Guising", is a customary practice for children on Halloween in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy with the question "Trick or treat?"...
. The trio, dressed as a ghost, a devil, and a wizard, go up to the door of their uncle Donald Duck's
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...
house under a covered porch and ring the bell. But instead of giving them the traditional candy, Donald explodes firecrackers
Firecracker
A firecracker is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang; any visual effect is incidental to this goal. They have fuses, and are wrapped in a heavy paper casing to contain the explosive compound...
in their bags, then pulls a string leading to a rigged bucket of water hanging under the porch roof and tips it on the boys. Donald laughs, and the discouraged nephews go and sit on the curb.
But Hazel, who was secretly watching the drama unfold, tries to comfort the boys. When she discovers that they believe in "real witches," she decides to help them get their treats from Donald after all. At first Hazel tries to convince Donald herself, but he dumps another bucket of water on her. Realizing that the job may be harder than she thought, she turns to her magic.
At another location, the nephews watch Hazel concoct a magic potion in a large cauldron. In a scene paying homage to Shakespeare's MacBeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(see Three Witches
Three Witches
The Three Witches or Weird Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth . Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of England, Scotland and Ireland...
), Hazel adds ingredients somewhat toned down from the play. ("Eye of needle, tongue of shoe, hand of clock that points at two!" etc.) Hazel fills a spray bottle of the potion and returns to Donald's house with the nephews.
Hazel sprays a Jack-o'-lantern
Jack-o'-lantern
A jack-o'-lantern is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o'-lantern...
and three fence posts with the potion and they become an animated chorus of ghosts
Ghost
In 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...
singing the theme song. A terrified Donald instantly agrees to treat the boys, but when Hazel refers to him as a pushover, he changes his mind. Donald locks his pantry and swallows the key. Hazel then uses the potion on Donald's feet, and commands them to "kick out that key." But when the key is kicked out, Donald throws it under the pantry door. Hazel then orders Donald's feet to "smash that door down" with Donald. After several attempts, Donald finally breaks down the pantry door and is left unconscious on the floor.
In the end, Huey, Duey, and Louie collect their treats and Hazel departs. A final shot shows the enchanted Jack-o'lantern suddenly pop onto the screen saying "Boo!"
Adaptations
A print adaptation by Carl BarksCarl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
was published simultaneously in the Donald Duck comic book. Barks was given a storyboard of the film by Ralph Wright while production of the film was still in progress. Barks was asked to create a 32-page comic adaptation, yet Barks didn't believe he had enough material. In the end he wound up making a lot of his own material, even creating new characters such as Smorgie the Bad.
When the final product was sent to the publisher, Barks' segment with Smorgie was rejected, and the story was cut to 27 pages. To fill out the rest of the comic book, Barks created an additional story called "Hobblin' Gobblins." The original story was later restored with the publication of the Carl Barks Library
Carl Barks Library
Carl Barks Library is a series of 30 books with all Disney comics and covers written and/or drawn by Carl Barks. A few stories were modified, sometimes for production reasons and sometimes in an attempt to remedy censorship in the original publication, restoring the published work to Barks'...
.
Disneyland Records
Disneyland Records
Disneyland Records is the original name of the Walt Disney Company's record company.After long associations with primarily RCA Victor Records, with a few select titles on Capitol, Disneyland Records was established by the Disney studio in 1956 with its first release entitled A Child's Garden of...
also produced an audio adaptation that was narrated by Ginny Tyler
Ginny Tyler
Ginny Tyler is a Native American voice actress who appeared in dozens of cartoons and animated films from 1957 to 1992. In 2006, she was inducted into the Disney Legends program.-Life and work:...
who also voices Witch Hazel. This version was 12 minutes long and also included a song and story from the Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...
Disneyland attraction.
Releases
- 1952 – Original theatrical release
- 1957 – Walt Diseny's Wonderful World of Color, episode #3.15 "All About Magic" (TV)
- c. 1965 – Super 8Super 8 mm filmSuper 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
release - 1972 – The Mouse FactoryThe Mouse FactoryThe Mouse Factory was a syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions, that ran from 1972 to 1974. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies and showed celebrity guests, including Johnny Brown, Charles Nelson Reilly, JoAnne Worley and many more, visiting the Disney...
, episode #1.4 "Spooks and Magic" (TV) - 1983 – A Disney HalloweenA Disney HalloweenA Disney Halloween was a 90-minute Halloween-themed television special that included portions from both Disney's Halloween Treat and Disney's Greatest Villains featuring classic short cartoons and excerpts of various villains from Disney feature films...
(TV special) - 1990 – "Halloween Haunts" (VHS)
- 1992 – Ink & Paint Club, episode #1.34 "Donald's Nephews" (TV)
- 2000 – The Legend of Sleepy HollowThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. ToadThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 animated feature produced by Walt Disney. The film was released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and is the eleventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Gold Classics CollectionWalt Disney Gold Classic CollectionThe Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection was a line of videos and DVDs released by The Walt Disney Company which ran from 2000 to 2001. It was preceded by Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, which ran from 1994 to 1999. All titles were released in VHS and DVD formats, except the DVD version of Toy...
(VHS and DVD) - 2000 – The Black CauldronThe Black Cauldron (film)The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985...
, Gold Classics Collection (VHS and DVD) - 2002 – Mickey's House of VillainsMickey's House of VillainsMickey's House of Villains is a direct-to-video film produced by The Walt Disney Company. It is a film adaptation of the Disney Channel animated television series Disney's House of Mouse, starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Daisy Duck and Disney Villains that have appeared in...
(DVD) - 2008 – "Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Four" (DVD)