A funny featuring Donald Duck and his nephews, where he commands the three kids to steer a sailboat. What results are some classic slapstick comedy that is Donald Duck and some hilarious gags - from Donald getting dressed like a fortune teller after getting entangled in the sail to Huey, Dewey, and Louie getting thrown clear across the boat. Donald's bout with a hungry shark is the highlight of the cartoon short, and lets us see some of Donald's tough instincts! Grade A

ONCE AGAIN WE see a Disney short subject that is heavily involved with the Natural World. This seemed to be a popular topic and the company came by it in a matter of fact manner. The subject of maritime activities was one that any one of a number of artists, technicians or animators were probably into boating in their leisure time and so would the boss, Mr. Disney.THERE ALSO SEEMED to be a genuine respect sense of awe for Nature's own that ran through the Disney product and this was clearly evident even from the earliest of times. This element was probably the main reason that the company went to the live action TRUE LIFE ADVENTURE Series.REGARDING THIS SHORT, our current honored and "spotlighted" guest of the day, it is a very uncomplicated and basic construct of the interplay between "Unca Donald:" and his manic trio of duckling nephews. Set on a sailing ship, it manages to spoof military protocol as well as oceanographic esoteric activities.SPLITING TIME WITH his nephews is a snarling green shark of undetermined species. The shark appears to take it all very seriously and personally in his pursuit of the elder member of the Duck family. Following some very exhaustive and prolonged struggles with this unidentified species of Selachimorpha (Scientific name), the Uncle and three Youngsters retreat toward the shores and use a most appropriate sight gag titled "Rear Admiral." THIS SHORT WAS apparently made during the period when the temperamental hot headed Anatidea (Scientific name for duck) was proving his worth and striking out ahead as Disney's top animated Banana.MY GOOD BUDDY, Schultz, says that Donald Duck has become the Top Banana at Disney because he has appeal.*NOTE: * This is one of the few reviews we've done which didn't have any Foot Note. So Schultz, here it is!

Sea Scouts (1939)*** (out of 4)Cute Disney short has Donald Duck taking his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louis out to sea where he hopes to teach them a few things. Nothing goes as planned for the poor uncle and soon he has to deal with a large shark. Fans of the Donald Duck shorts will certainly enjoy this one as the typical high quality animation is on full display and there are several funny gags. Needless to say, the stuff dealing with the shark are the highlights including a scene where Donald is frantically trying to climb a rope to avoid being eaten.

When this cartoon isn't busy with those really old 'bum' jokes that were only funny in 1903 it's actually quite fun with an untypical ending. Donald, fancying himself as an old-fashioned Navy Captain, takes his nephews out on the sea in a pretty big sailboat. But, being Donald he has no idea how to hoist the anchor safely or even how to properly cast off the ropes.Pretty soon he's flying around in the sky attached to the mast which has broken off and turned into a kite. And then he battles a hungry shark and, you know what, he actually wins by punching it out. Strange to think that Donald actually succeeds at something.