Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
View MoreThe film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.
View MoreExcellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
View MoreThe tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
View MoreMADE AT WHAT was possibly the zenith of the Disney "Team-Up" cartoon shorts. The sub-genre is exemplified with such titles as THE CLOCK CLEANERS, ALPINE CLIMBERS, LONESOME GHOSTS and HAWAIIAN HOLIDAY. Although these short subjects featured ample on-screen time by all of the trio (and sometimes Minnie, herself), they were officially MICKEY MOUSE Cartoons and belonged to that series.AS WAS THE case with others like it, THE WHALERS zeroed in on a particular occupation, activity or other area of human endeavor and went from there. Usually the early sequences of the cartoon would feature Mickey, Donald or Goofy isolated in solo activity against any one of a topically specific adversary. After each character does his time in she spotlight, the action switches to their joint efforts and how they ultimately wrap it all up.KNOWING THAT THE sensitivities of our people were far different in the pre-war year of 1938 than today in the 21st Century. Therefore, the subject of Whaling as a livelihood or even an Industry would generate little or no opposition as to its being a fit topic for "family viewing." The notions of Animal Rights, potentially Endangered Species and ecological co-dependence were a long way off.IN THE PARTICULAR case of this short the trio is challenged by their equipment, some frisky sea-birds, the weather and ultimately a semi-anthropomorphic Sperm Whale. And this is indeed the only whale to make an on-screen appearance.OTHER THAN THESE truly minor criticisms, we must say that THE WHALERS is enjoyable and quite lively. The color work is rich and a fine example of how the animation art had advanced in the past decade. Likewise, the musical scored had made similar strides in keeping up with the visual aspects.ALTHOUGH WE MUST put this to the rear of the class of the team-ups, it isn't so far back as to render it unfit. After all, Schultz, whenever there is any sort of classification or grouping, there will be some who are fetter than the others and some who aren't quite as funny, action-filed or "classy" even! ONE INTERESTING FACT that we must make note of concerns the cast of Voice Actors. While Clarence Nash did his best Donald Duck and Pinto Colvig did likewise for Goofy, Mickey's lot in this film was to remain silent throughout. It must have been that the Mouse had a special guy to create his dialog, a highly exclusive man indeed. And his name was........drum roll.............WALT Disney!WE CAN ONLY surmised that Uncle Walt was unavailable, due to some important business to take care of (Schultz says maybe Mr. Disney was playing hookie that day!)
View MoreIt amazes me when I start to read the reviews of some of these Walt Disney shorts where the comments obviously took longer to write than watching the actual cartoon. I guess that's a tribute to the wonderful work the studio put out during it's early years. This one features Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, with Mickey taking a bit of a back seat allowing his co-stars to do the heavy lifting. Donald fends off hungry seagulls as a pelican grabs his lunch, while Goofy finds himself on the wrong end of a harpoon cannon. Upended on a rope suspended over a sleepy whale, he eventually finds himself looking for a way out as the whale gives chase to Donald and wrecks their ship! Through it all, Mickey remains silent with his own problems fending off a boomerang-ing pail of water. Funny how these cartoons manage to maintain a sense of timelessness about them. With perhaps minor updates, the picture looks as fresh as if it were made quite recently.
View MoreLike all the Mickey Mouse films of the late 1930s, this one featured absolutely stunning animation—the sort that set Disney apart from all its competition. Mickey, Donald and Goofy are wonderfully animated but the backgrounds are what really stood out for me—with its exquisite details and colors.This particular short features the trio involved in an especially politically incorrect job—whale hunting! I guess things were a lot different back then, as such behavior today would be seriously frowned on in a kids movie! Regardless, it's a lot of fun to see the three in action—in particular, Goofy. The Goof is up to his usual stupid hijinks and I found myself laughing out loud several times when he was trying to fire the harpoon gun. Overall, a lot of fun and well worth seeing.
View MoreNot a classic by all means, but great fun regardless. Mickey doesn't feature that much here, but Goofy and Donald have plenty to do and as pretty much always are peerless. The animation is done in a very nice fluid and colourful visual style, and the music is rousing and clever. Also prevalent are some interesting sight gags, and the whale is a great point of interest. When it comes to cartoon whales I prefer Willie from Willie the Operatic Whale and Spot from the Little Mermaid series, but this whale is memorable. The story is simple and a tad predictable but only occasionally, but it is effective mostly. The voice acting is well done, with Clarence Nash coming off best.Overall, nicely done and entertaining. 9/10 Bethany Cox
View More