Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959-06-26)
Animation | Fantasy | Family | Comedy |
Overview
Directed By: Les Clark Wolfgang Reitherman Hamilton Luske Joshua Meador
Star Cast: Clarence Nash , Paul Frees ,
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I usually found most of the Disney attempts at educational films a bit simplistic and reliant on dry narration, but the selection of "Donald" to take us all on a journey into some of the practical applications of mathematics has to be one of their more inspired. Using a cleverly crafted sequence of animations to illustrate the animation, our curious duck explores just how square roots, angles, percentages and graphs all play a crucial part in just about everything from building an house to flying a plane to playing a lute. We even have a go at explaining the concept of infinity! It doesn't stop at exclusively talking numbers and shapes, but also manages to include some history - any excuse to dress up - and some mischief along the way as it presents us with something that is both engaging and intriguing. Just how did mankind ever make some of the discoveries that underpin so much of our social, musical and scientific developments in days of antiquity when there was no electricity? Accident? Design? Both? Well the inquisitive "Donald" garners a few of the answers to those questions and this flies along entertainingly for an half an hour that perhaps still ought to be shown in schools to demystify a subject that is usually the source of so many groans from it's students - including me!