Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This movie is a must-watch by anyone from age 6+. It may be from Disney. It may have a cute, animated Donald Duck on the cover. It may be a classic "short" (27 mins). What is most impressive about this IMPORTANT piece of entertainment is the ability to converge entertainment with education to create something children, high school students, and professional mathematicians alike see the value of this excellent little film. This is not your standard short about Donald playing hockey with his triplet nephews. It isn't Mickey and Pluto chasing Chip and Dale up one tree and down another. It isn't Goofy "YA-HA-hooey"ing his way along another bumbling adventure. This is good old fashioned egghead mathematics in the most joyful, silly, absorbing way possible. It is a marvel.If you are a math teacher, PLEASE buy a DVD copy of this and show it annually to your classes, no matter what grade - 1st-12th -- even university-level would find it invigorating. If you are a student of any age, track this down and watch it. You'll never look at music, chess, pool tables, or algebraic equations (yes, they are all in there) the same again. The best review I can give is this: My sister-in-law teaches 4th grade math and had never heard of this show. I went home and pulled it out of our library to "loan" to her. When my college-age son saw what I had in my hand, his eyes lit up. "My Trig teacher put that on for us! It's AWESOME!!!" I'm 52 and flunked geometry in high school. My 19yo son was an honors math student through high school. If we can BOTH find this little short to be incredible, I could ask nothing more.Disney, I applaud you. Thank you for this tiny slice of edutainment that is worth every penny and every second spent watching. It's pure "mathematical joy" - two words I never thought would share the same sentence in my vocabulary.

"Donald in Mathmagic Land" is the sort of cartoon that math teachers have been showing their students for years. It's a case of bait and switch, as important scientific and mathematics concepts of contained here...and it looks like fun since it stars Donald Duck. While this does make the material more palatable, it still is a well made but rather dry film.When it all begins, Donald wanders into an odd land where there are lots of numbers and symbols. Suddenly, the narrator (Paul Frees*) begins talking about Pythagoras and geometry. Donald, inexplicably, finds this all very fascinating and this isn't completely surprising as the concepts are explained in ways that normal folks could understand--such as the use of geometry in games such as football and billiards. By the end of the film, Donald has been thoroughly convinced how swell math is and the viewer, hopefully, is still awake.I am a bit cynical about this one. Considering what the film is trying to get across, it does it in about as entertaining a fashion as possible. And, the artwork is very nice. But it's STILL a relatively dry topic and kids hoping to see Donald up to his usual antics will no doubt feel a bit let down by it all. Not a bad film at all...and one that was nominated for an Oscar, by the way.*Frees is also the voice of the narrator in Disney's Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Disneyworld. He also is the voice of Boris in old Bullwinkle cartoon.

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.While looking for true adventure, DONALD IN MATHMAGIC LAND learns a great deal about the vital importance of mathematics in the Universe.Loosely based on Lewis Carroll's ALICE books, this short film uses fun & fancy to teach some pertinent facts about the wonder of mathematics. Some of the ideas of Pythagoras are examined, the mysteries of the 'Golden Rectangle' are explored and the mathematical principles of the games of chess & billiards are exposed. The voice of Paul Frees as the Spirit of Adventure makes a fine counterpoint to Clarence Nash's vocalization of the Duck.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a storm of naysayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

This animated documentary was an excellent combination of entertainment and education and is a real feather in Disney's cap. Most people have varying degrees of either disinterest or dislike of mathematics. This renders math comprehensible as well as making it fun and interesting-a combination most of my math instuctors were either unwilling or unable to accomplish. After 41 years plus, this doesn't feel the least bit dated. I'm glad to see it's available. Three cheers for the mouse (and the duck too, though I must confess that, for the most part, Donald leaves me cold. Not here, though.). Most recommended.