“Soup’s On”

Cartoons from the ‘40s don’t tend to go in for microaggressions. It’s more likely to get full-blown macroaggressions. (The Popeye World War II cartoons are particularly egregious examples of this.) In this context, that the nephews are playing at being what they definitely wouldn’t call Native Americans is almost quaint, as is the recurring musical theme that’s intended to symbolize Native rhythms. Still bad, and I still understand why this short has not yet made the leap to Disney+, but we’ve definitely covered worse in this column. Certainly the short beats the Castaway Cowboy test, being a fairly cute short with far less blatant racism.

Anyway, the nephews are out playing, with actual bows because why not, and Donald is inside cooking up a wholesome meal. He calls them in, and as he goes to serve them, he discovers that they’re filthy. He sends them upstairs to wash. They make him believe they are but instead rub most of the dirt off on towels. He finds this out and sends them to bed without supper. They make a plan to get the food anyway, which results eventually in convincing Donald he’s dead and a literal angel.

I mean. My feelings about Donald Duck, Aquatic Sociopath, are well established by this point. But here, he is not, in fact, in the wrong. They are covered in dirt; they should wash before eating. That’s basic hygiene. He is angry when they even run water to convince him that they’ve washed when they have not, and he enacts a punishment that, while not great, was pretty typical in that day and age and certainly better than just outright whipping the kids. Rather than just washing themselves, the nephews decide to steal the entire meal.

Does Donald overreact once or twice over the course of this short? Well, yes, but speaking as a parent I find it hard to blame him. (He is at minimum acting in loco parentis from the minute the nephews show up on his doorstep.) My kids have never gone through a stage where apparently they believe they will melt if they get wet, but it’s not an unusual stage of development in kids. Certainly they’ve done other annoying things. And when Donald feels sorry for them and goes up to check on them, they set it up so his hand gets caught in a mousetrap. Donald’s no angel, but about ninety percent of what he does in this short is perfectly reasonable.

Including, let us mention once again, serving a turkey for dinner. We’ve encountered this before, as Donald has also served chicken. Turkeys and chickens are both in the order Galliformes. Ducks are in the order Anseriformes. This is not unlike humans, order Primates, serving beef or pork from order Artiodactyla. The two animals are just as closely related. Yes, it’s unsettling because they have more similar body structures and also that’s just a whole skeleton on the table that looks not unlike a duck, but I do wish everyone would stop calling it cannibalism.