Don's Fountain of Youth (1953)

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I first saw this cartoon when it was part of the an episode on Disney's Wonderful World of Color named Kids is Kids. Here, Donald Duck takes his nephews on a Florida vacation, and their car breaks down next to a spring that was mistaken for the Fountain of Youth. Donald decides to teach his disinterested and comic-book absorbed nephews a lesson by pretending he has transformed back to a baby by the fountain.This cartoon was hilarious from start to finish, especially the part where Donald, pretending to be a baby, talks like a toddler to his three bewildered nephews. Another laugh-out-loud scene is when an alligator starts chasing the ducks away because Donald took one of its eggs, pretending that Donald has shrunk to an unhatched egg.The animation was great and the story is jam-packed with action and slapstick comedy. Lots of fun here - very entertaining and enjoyable!Grade A

I have always been a big fan of Donald Duck, and while not quite one of his best, Don's Fountain of Youth is one of my favourites regardless. The animation is very impressive, all the characters are beautifully drawn and the background art is very colourful. The music is jaunty and full of character also, and while the story is routine in a way it is crisply paced and with never a dull moment. Donald is as wonderful as you'd expect, charming and genuinely caring for his nephews while showing his trademark temperament. Huey, Duey and Louie are cute and rascally and have good rapport with Donald including when Donald rips up the comic book pages because he feels that they are enjoying that rather than enjoying the sights.(I also like the "Uncle Donald's a spoiled brat" line) And the gator is a great foil, interacting well with both the nephews and especially Donald. I especially love the parts where she whacks Donald anyway even when he tells her to be quiet and when she quacks in order to tell her babies who she is, the latter is very cute. The voice work from Clarence Nash is impeccable. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.Donald tricks his Nephews into believing he's been magically reverted into an infant after discovering DON'S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.The always enjoyable Duck gives a humorous performance in an otherwise routine film. Clarence "Ducky" Nash provides Donald's unique voice.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by 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 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 blizzard of doomsayers, 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 simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

While on vacation in Florida, Donald Duck fools his nephews into thinking he's turned into a baby due to having stepped in a fountain of youth. It's a great premise, but then this short makes a complete U-turn and spends most of it's time with Donald and the boys being chased by a crocodile. Eventually the film runs out of steam and ends very abruptly. Donald's done better.