Saturday, December 29, 2007

Applecore. Baltimore. Who's Your Friend?

One of my favorite Donald Duck Cartoons is Donald Applecore, released on January 18, 1952 which also features Chip 'n Dale.

In Donald Applecore, Donald the apple farmer notices his apples have been nibbled on and catches Chip n' Dale in the act. In the ensuing battle, Donald uses a helicopter to spray them (but they have tiny gas masks). Then he brings in the really heavy artillery.

You ask, "why are you blogging about this short?" Well, with New Year's right around the corner, this is one short I had always hoped the WDCC would release, so thought a perfect time to re-campaign :) Had always hoped for a scene that featured both Donald and Chip 'n Dale and always thought this was the perfect vehicle to do that.

Those familiar with this short are very familiar with the following exchange between Donald and Chip:

Chip: "Applecore"
Donald: "Baltimore"
Chip: "Who's your friend?"
Donald: "Me"

There has been some question on the origin of the Applecore .. Baltimore gag. Veteran Disney animator Bill Justice in an interview in the early 1990's claimed that this memorable bit of business was something that he and the other gagmen had invented specifically for Donald Applecore.

In fact, the gag was used in Melody Time (1948) during the Johnny Appleseed sequence. It is incorporated into the song the pioneers are singing during the Apple Jubilee. This at least proves that the whole thing didn't originate with the Donald short.

For those unfamiliar with Donald Applecore, I've included a short clip (courtesy of YouTube.com) below:



Donald Applecore is a Walt Disney Donald Duck Cartoon ©Disney

17 comments:

dugout said...

Greetings Duckman; Great cartoon! I was hoping this animated short was included in the newest "Walt Disney Treasures" DVD, "The Chronological Donald Volume 3" (1947-1950) With Donald Applecore released in 1952 can we expect a volume 4 on DVD?

I too would like to see a WDCC piece produced with Donald Duck and Chip and Dale. All their cartoons bring back great memories.

Happy New Year Everyone!

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hi Dugout! Thanks for pointing that out. I received Walt Disney Treasures DVD, The Chronological Donald Volume 3 (1947-1950) for Christmas and didn't pay attention to the dates on the DVD when making this blog entry.

Hopefully we'll see a Volume 4 to include this short and any other shorts released after 1950.

WDCC just has to do a scene release with Donald and Chip 'n Dale together. They were a great nemesis for Donald!

Happy New Year to you too!

Darcy said...

Hi Don,
Can you tell me a little bit about what is meant behind the dialog between Donald & Dale?? (Applecore, Baltimore, Who's your friend?...) It's a funny story. It was a shock to hear Dale & Chip's voices not sounding what they are today!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hi Darcy,

I too was shocked to hear Chip 'n Dale's voices and actually understand them .. LOL! It's one of my favorite Donald Cartoons.

Not sure what is exactly meant by the Applecore, Baltimore dialogue exchange. It appears Applecore, Baltimore was a popular playground game in the early 1900's that I found referenced in a letter I read on Jim Hill Media when I was doing my research on the short.

Timon said...

I sometimes forget about some of the subtle comic sequences that went into the shorts as well as the features.

One of my favorite scenes in this one is where Chip and Dale find the needle in the haystack. Too funny!

Cristi said...

Ah Don, you had to go and pick my all-time absolutely favorite cartoon short - EVER. I have this on an old VHS Chip and Dale cartoon volume.

This goes back to college days. We all thought it was a hoot and used to go around greeting each other with the Baltimore - Applecore phrase. Got some strange looks - but it was college, heh! We still refer to it in emails and phone calls. Ah, what fun.

Anyway, I have campaigned for this over the years and would absolutely LOVE to get this set. I tried as a Chip and Dale set, as a Donald set, and even as part of the transportation set. I would love to see farmer Donald in his helicopter, Chip and Dale, and of course the applecore! It would be a hoot to see them in their gas masks but I doubt they would make the set that way - wouldn't appeal to people who had never seen the short.

Anyway, thanks for the fun memories. Going to be a good day.

Cristi

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hey Cristi,

SO great to hear from you again! I remember our many conversations about Donald Applecore and as you can see, haven't given up on campaigning for this short! :)

Donald in the Helicopter definitely and really like your idea of the Applecore itself.

Glad you enjoyed watching the short. Can't tell you how many times throughout the day when waiting for a report to finish running or just needing a break, I watch these YouTube clips on the blog. Great Memories!!

Cristi said...

Hi Don,

Thought you might find this interesting. After reading the comments about Chip and Dale's voices, I watched the YouTube clip you have here in your blog again. I didn't remember their voices being different so I went home and pulled out the old VHS cartoon classics tape. On the VHS tape, they have their normal Chipmunk voices! So, I wasn't remembering it wrong - my version has them in their Chip n Dale voices.

It was kinda neat to hear the "before" on the YouTube version and the "after" on the VHS tape version.

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hi Cristi,

That is very interesting. When I first viewed the YouTube clip I thought it strange, how clear Chip 'n Dale's voices were. I could actually understand them .. LOL!

Unfortunately, I don't have that short either on VHS or DVD :( Appreciate you making the comparison and letting me know. Now I need to hear the 'before' version .. LOL!

Stone said...

This is how I remember the voices being. Great cartoon. I couldn't stop laughing at dale getting smacked with that applecore. That was classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woxP8Ak-nbc

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hi Stone,

Welcome to the Blog! Thanks for bringing this entry back to the forefront. Was great rewatching this short again this morning, couldn't quit laughing. Classic Donald, Chip 'n Dale!

Since this entry originally posted, Walt Disney Treasures DVD, The Chronological Donald Volume 4 (1951-1961) has been announced with a November 11th release and features Donald Applecore along with many great shorts including Donald's Nephews (Trick or Treat being my absolute favorite!) and Humphrey and the Ranger!

Here is a complete listing of what will be included in the final volume:

1951
DUDE DUCK (new to DVD)
CORN CHIPS w/ Chip & Dale
TEST PILOT DONALD w/ Chip & Dale (new to DVD)
LUCKY NUMBER w/ Huey, Dewy & Louie
OUT OF SCALE w/ Chip & Dale
BEE ON GUARD (new to DVD)

1952
DONALD APPLE-CORE w/ Chip & Dale
LET'S STICK TOGETHER (new to DVD)
UNCLE DONALD'S ANTS (new to DVD)
TRICK OR TREAT w/ Huey, Dewy & Louie

1953
DONALD'S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH w/ Huey, Dewy & Louie
NEW NEIGHBOR (new to DVD)
RUGGED BEAR (new to DVD)
WORKING FOR PEANUTS w/ Chip & Dale
CANVAS BACK DUCK w/ Huey, Dewy & Louie

1954
SPARE THE ROD w/ Huey, Dewy & Louie (new to home video)
DONALD'S DIARY w/ Daisy
DRAGON AROUND w/ Chip & Dale
GRIN & BEAR IT w/ Humphrey Bear (new to DVD)
GRAND CANYONSCOPE (in CINEMASCOPE)
FLYING SQUIRREL (new to DVD)

1955
NO HUNTING w/ Humphrey Bear (in CINEMASCOPE) (new to home video!)
BEARLY ASLEEP w/ Humphrey Bear (in CINEMASCOPE) (new to DVD)
BEEZY BEAR w/ Humphrey Bear (in CINEMASCOPE) (new to DVD)
UP A TREE w/ Chip & Dale

1956
CHIPS AHOY w/ Chip & Dale (in CINEMASCOPE) (new to DVD)
HOW TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT AT HOME (new to DVD)

1959
DONALD IN MATHMAGIC LAND (new to U.S. home video)
HOW TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT AT WORK (new to DVD)

1961
DONALD AND THE WHEEL (new to DVD)
THE LITTERBUG (new to DVD)

Christopher Darren Horn said...

Hello. Loved this post. Never been to your blog before, but I loved that cartoon. I even recently heard this gag being used on an episode of the cartoon "Johnny Bravo". It was the episode of a cross-over with "Scooby-Doo", LOL. Thanks for the post.

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hi Christopher,

Welcome! It's such a great short and the Baltimore line, no matter how many times you hear it, still very funny!

Victor R. said...

I came across your blog post because of my sister's love for this particular cartoon. I am fascinated with the alternate voices on the clip you have, but alas it's been deleted. Do you know if that video exists elsewhere, or can you repost it? I would be really grateful!

DC Pop Fanatic said...

Hi Victor!

Welcome to the Blog!

Apparently the original source I used has deleted the short but was able to locate another.

Just finished updating the original blog entry. Enjoy and let me know if you have any problems with it!

CeenyB said...

We played this when I was young (just turned 58). Someone would finish eating an apple and say, apple core, the other would say, Baltimore, who's your friend, someone would be named, then who's, your enemy, and then when someone was named, the core was thrown at that person. That's all I can remember. I'll have to ask my brother and sisters the next time we get together.

CaddoWoman said...

My grandmother (born 1903) used to play this game with many older brothers and sisters. As soon as the “friend” was identified, the Apple core was thrown at that person. As a child, this was hilarious! Grandma had a mean fastball and dead-eye accuracy in family baseball games, but “somehow” always missed us when lobbing the apple core in our direction.