Grand Canyonscope is a Donald Duck animated short that was released on December 23, 1954, accompanying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Synopsis[]
Donald is taking a tour of the Grand Canyon. Although he just wants to enjoy the whole exhibition, this is made all but impossible by constant admonishment from the rulebook-wielding tour guide: none other than Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore. Donald and Woodlore continue to irritate each other — Donald by innocently tripping over various regulations ("Don't drop rocks into the canyon; Don't bother the native Americans; Don't yell at Echo Cliff"; You can't be on the tour without a burro to ride"; et al.), and Woodlore by chastising him for it — until Woodlore himself disturbs Louie the Mountain Lion... the last lion seen in these parts since the Civil War.
To Woodlore's shock, Louie is, in fact, the same lion! He precedes to don a Confederate soldier's hat and gives chase (after Woodlore's failure to gain his confidence by whistling the Confederate tune Dixie). Woodlore is caught in the middle as Louie chases Donald through the canyon, which results in most of it being destroyed (notably, a number of natural rock formations are smashed).
With all the other tourists having fled, Woodlore sternly — and rather insultingly — demands that both Donald and the lion must restore Grand Canyon to its original state that they ruined; accordingly, he passes them a couple of shovels and yells at them to start digging. Feeling extremely remorseful, Donald and Louie are actually crazy enough to go along with this; they mopingly begin the ponderous task of restoring the Grand Canyon to its former glory.
Characters[]
- Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash)
- J. Audubon Woodlore (voiced by Bill Thompson)
- Louie the Mountain Lion (voiced by Jimmy MacDonald)
Trivia[]
- The ranger breaks the fourth wall when he tells the crowd, "Spread out a little, folks; this is CinemaScope." Strangely, this line is also present in some prints of the Academy ratio version of the short, although in some versions, the Ranger says, "Spread out a little, folks; this is a big canyon."
- The CinemaScope version of this short was recorded and released in three-track stereophonic sound, and was the second short to feature this technique (the first being Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom). Thus, many sound effects and dialogue are panned from right to left (or vice versa) or interpreted as coming from different directions, particularly during an "echoing" scene, Donald's burro's footsteps after being blinded by the flash of Donald's camera, Louie's initial roar, and the destruction of the canyon.
- The reason Louie puts on a gray Confederate hat is because the Arizona territory was pro-Confederate during the American Civil War.
- Re-used animation from The Legend of Coyote Rock is used during the avalanche.
- This is the final theatrical appearance of Louie the Mountain Lion.
- This is one of two cartoons where Ranger Woodlore appears without Humphrey, the other one being The Ranger's Guide to Nature.
Releases[]
Films[]
- Let's Relax (1974)
Television[]
- Walt Disney Presents, episode #5.22: "Highway to Trouble"
- Walt Disney Presents, episode #7.4: "Donald's Silver Anniversary"
- Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, episode #14.22: "The Ranger of Brownstone"
- The Mouse Factory, episode #1: "Vacations"
- Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald, episode #20
- Walt Disney, episode #28.21: "A Disney Vacation"
- Good Morning, Mickey!, episode #34
- Vacationing with Mickey and Friends
- Donald Takes a Holiday
- Donald's Quack Attack, episode #61
DVD[]
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Four
Streaming[]
- Disney+, November 12, 2019
Gallery[]
