Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959)

Too much of everything

not horrible nor great

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This cartoon is much too great, for one thing, it used the cantakerous Donald Duck and the seemingly "bored" math to mix together, so, it made more fun and great knowledge that everybody, even the adults, will approved it, too bad, why didn't I use this before?This film used lots of math knowledge, like golden ratio and golden rectangle, Pi, full of laughs and fun, I did like the episode when Donald try to fix himeslf in a golden rectangle shape, but to no avail, bad luck! It simply proved that Donald weren't perfect, too.Pythagoras in the film also great, gags and maths, together created a wonderful educational film for Disney and Donald Duck himself, for sure, it seens like Disney staff have different creative ideas, too! Especially put Donald Duck inside, and at last, with the help of The True Spirit of Adventure, Donald finally understood have math great are, and me too!I learned a lot from this film. Overall, it's one of the best Disney and educational film I ever seen.

This is a magically educational cartoon short starring Donald Duck where he delves into an adventure of numbers, points and charts in showing us how mathematics works in real life and how math can sometimes be magical.I have seen this short a number of times in elementary and middle schools, particularly during the time when math is taught. Though it is not the typical funny cartoon where we see Donald and his misadventures, this short is actually pretty neat and engaging, showing us how shapes, charts, numbers and math gadgets work in a clever way, utilizing that special Disney touch. The animation is vibrant and brilliantly done and it is fun seeing Donald take on a more unique role in getting kids to learn, while retaining his lovably frustrated personality. Overall, a pretty good cartoon that can both be fun and educational.Grade B

I have never really been a fan of Disney. Don't get me wrong, there are some Disney films that I like, but to be honest I didn't dig Mickey Mouse and Co. (Sorry, but I am a true Looney Tunes fan). However, there are always exceptions (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King and Beauty And The Beast among them). A good case in point is "Donald in Mathmagic Land." Growing up, I saw it every year and enjoyed it more and more.Donald isn't a math fan. A voice tells and shows him that math is an integral part of our life (Chess, Billards and Shapes). You have your typical Disney humor in it, but it teaches you a valuable lesson: no matter what someone tells you, math IS important in every aspect of our lives and that you can never escape it.It's a great way to get your kids to understand the magic of math.

This interesting failure shows us how Disney, never content with being an entertainer and businessman, had intellectual pretensions--sometimes magnificently realized (as in Fantasia), rather less well here.I say this as a great fan of this puzzling but lovable attempted documentary in cartoon form. The pool table sequence goes on for far too long, and contains very little actual math (the same could be said of the whole movie). Disney ultimately lacked the courage of his pretensions, and the movie positively drowns in these little pop culture references, possibly included to forestall charges of elitism. The closing sequence lurches into what we would nowadays call "Intelligent Design" territory, and a reference to God's guiding hand is squeezed in at the last minute, perhaps to placate red-state viewers.So what you are left with is a mishmash of elegant, graceful animation (some of the finest ever committed to screen) combined with a jarringly superficial treatment of the subject. And yet, and yet; the opening segment, with the waterfall of numbers and the jam session with the Ancient Greek mathematicians, has a sense of wonder and hallucinatory magic that has rarely been equaled. And there is always Donald, our favorite everyman, who learns that math isn't just for eggheads, after all.