| The Vanishing Private | |
|---|---|
| Donald Duck series | |
| Distributed by | RKO |
| Release date(s) | September 25, 1942 |
| Running time | 7 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Vanishing Private is a 1942 animated cartoon by the Walt Disney Studios, starring Donald Duck in the World War II years.
Donald Duck is doing some camouflage painting on a cannon. He paints the cannon with yellow, green, and red stripes with black dots. Sergeant Pete sees it, scolds Donald and makes Donald re-paint it to make "That gun hard to see!". Obliging to the sergeant's orders, Donald walks off to the "Experimental Laboratory: Camouflage Corps" with the smaller sign, "Keep out!" Donald disregards the sign and walks in. He finds some "invisible paint", which he tests with his finger and uses to paint the cannon.
The cannon is invisible, much to the sergeant's shock when he thinks it was stolen. But it isn't stolen as the sergeant finds out the hard way. He bonks his head in the underside of the cannon, and becomes confused until he discovers Donald inside. Angered that he painted the cannon too invisible to look, Pete blows hard into one end of the barrel, sending Donald into the bucket of invisible paint. When Donald runs away from Pete in time before Pete could can him without seeing him, Pete finds out Donald has become invisible seeing Donald's footprints on the ground. Donald swims across a lake and the invisible paint doesn't come off.
Pete continues to chase Donald through a field of flowers, searching through the flowers, until he accidentally throws the flowers on Donald revealing his outline. Pete spots Donald and tries to catch him but Donald gets away again. The flowers give Pete an idea to find Donald. When the General drives up, Pete's antics, including jumping around a tree while singing "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" and throwing flowers, convinces the General that he is acting crazy, especially after Pete asks the General "did you see a little guy that you can't see?" and the invisible Donald puts a cactus down Pete's pants, making Pete jump around like a madman and the General wonders what is up with Pete.
Donald is running around a kitchen and then sees some pies in the window and Donald takes a pie and eats it. Pete then notices this and asks "Hmm, what's this?" and Donald throws the pie in Pete's face. Donald is skipping a rope, angering Pete, so he chases Donald around a tank. Donald then literally sends Pete on the warpath when he trips Pete under the grass, through some soldiers, and out again into the arsenal facility, where he gets hold of several grenades and begins blowing things up to stop Donald, starting with a pine tree that literally flies into the air and floats down. The General sees that Pete's at Wit's end and that scares The General out of his wits when Pete runs towards him and the frightened General hides behind a nearby power pole. The General tries to reassure Pete and stop his continuous blowing up, but when Donald pokes Pete in the rear with the General's sword, the startled sergeant jumps into the air and onto the General releasing all of the grenades that land on Pete and the General, injuring them in the explosion.
Later, Pete is locked up in a padded cell, wearing a straitjacket and chains, as he is declared insane for his actions. He pleads to Donald (who is on guard duty and no longer invisible anymore) to tell the General he is not crazy, but Donald refuses, asking Pete "Do you think I'M crazy?" and whistles "The Army's Not the Army Anymore".