View source for Donald in Mathmagic Land

{{short description|1959 Donald Duck cartoon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Donald in Mathmagic Land
| image          = Donald in Mathmagic Land.jpg
| caption        = 1988 VHS cover
| director       = [[Hamilton Luske]]<br>(supervising)<br>[[Wolfgang Reitherman]]<br>[[Les Clark]]<br>[[Joshua Meador]]<br>(sequences)
| producer       = [[Walt Disney]]
| story          = Milt Banta<br>Bill Berg<br>[[Heinz Haber]]
| narrator       = [[Paul Frees]]
| starring       = [[Clarence Nash]]<br>[[Paul Frees]]
| music          = [[Buddy Baker (composer)|Buddy Baker]]
| cinematography = [[Edward Colman (cinematographer)|Edward Colman]]
| editing        = [[Lloyd L. Richardson]]
| studio         = [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]]
| distributor    = [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Film Distribution]]
| released       = {{Film date|1959|6|26}}
| runtime        = 27:35
| country        = United States
| language       = English
}}

'''''Donald in Mathmagic Land''''' is an American [[Live-action animated film|live-action animated]] [[featurette]] produced by [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]] and featuring [[Donald Duck]]. The short was directed by [[Hamilton Luske]] (with [[Wolfgang Reitherman]], [[Les Clark]], and [[Joshua Meador]] as sequence directors) and was released on June 26, 1959.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/74/mode/2up |pages=74–76}}</ref> It was nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)|Best Documentary (Short Subject)]] at the [[32nd Academy Awards]],<ref name="Oscars1960">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960 |title=The 32nd Academy Awards (1960) Nominees and Winners |access-date=May 20, 2019 |work=oscars.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706094204/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/32nd-winners.html |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and became a widely viewed [[educational film]] in American schools of the 1960s and beyond.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mathematical Treasure: Donald in Mathmagic Land {{!}} Mathematical Association of America|url=https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-donald-in-mathmagic-land|access-date=2022-02-23|website=www.maa.org}}</ref>
{{TOC limit|2}}

==Plot==
The film begins with [[Donald Duck]], holding a hunting rifle, as he passes through a doorway to find he has entered Mathmagic Land. This "mighty strange" fantasy land contains trees with [[square root]]s, a stream flowing with [[number]]s, and a walking pencil that plays [[tic-tac-toe]]. A geometric bird recites (almost perfectly) the first 15 digits of [[pi]]. Donald soon hears the voice of the unseen "True Spirit of Adventure" ([[Paul Frees]]), who will guide him on his journey through "the wonderland of mathematics".

Donald is initially not interested in exploring this foreign land, believing that mathematics is just for "[[egghead]]s" until "Mr. Spirit" suggests a fascinating connection between math and music.  Intrigued, Donald discovers the relationships between [[octave]]s and string length which form the [[musical scale]] of today. Next, Donald finds himself in [[ancient Greece]], where [[Pythagoras]] and his contemporaries are discovering these same relationships. Pythagoras (on the [[harp]]), a [[flute]] player, and a [[double bass]] player hold a "[[jam session]]" which Donald joins after a few moments using a [[vase]] as a [[bongo drum]]. Pythagoras' mathematical discoveries are, as the Spirit explains, the basis of today's music, and that no type of music could have ever existed without "eggheads." The segment ends with a sequence of [[live-action]] musicians playing both [[jazz]] and [[classical music]] and Pythagoras' acquaintances magically disappearing.

After shaking hands with Pythagoras, who then vanishes, Donald finds on his hand a [[pentagram]], the symbol of the secret [[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean society]]. The Spirit then shows Donald how the mysterious [[golden ratio|golden section]] appears in this ancient magic star. Next, the star itself is shown to contain the pattern for constructing golden rectangles many times over. According to the Spirit, the [[golden rectangle]] has influenced both ancient and modern cultures in many ways. Donald then learns how the golden rectangle appears in many ancient buildings, such as the [[Parthenon]] and the [[Notre-Dame de Paris|Notre Dame cathedral]]. Paintings such as the ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' and various sculptures such as the ''[[Venus de Milo]]'' contain several golden rectangles. The use of the golden rectangle is found in modern architecture, such as the [[United Nations Secretariat Building|United Nations building]] in [[New York City]]. Modern painters have also rediscovered the infinite mathematical magic of stars and golden rectangles.

The Spirit shows Donald how the golden rectangle and pentagram are even related to the human body and nature themselves. The human body itself contains the "ideal proportions" of the golden section.  However, Donald, overinterpreting the Spirit's advice, tries to make his own body fit such a proportion, but his efforts are to no avail; he ends up "all pent up in a [[pentagon]]". The pentagram and pentagon are then shown to be found in many flowers and animals, such as the [[petunia]], the [[Trachelospermum jasminoides|star jasmine]], the [[starfish]], the [[Hoya carnosa|waxflower]].  Then, with the help of the inside of a [[nautilus]] shell, the Spirit explains that the magic proportions of the golden section are often found in the [[spiral]]s of nature's designs, quoting Pythagoras: "Everything is arranged according to number and mathematical shape."

Donald then learns that mathematics applies not only to nature, architecture, and music, but also to games that are played on geometrical surfaces, including [[chess]], [[baseball]], [[American football]], [[basketball]], [[hopscotch]], and [[three-cushion billiard]]. In [[chess]], Donald suggests the game [[checkers]], but the Spirit does not pursue this option. Donald even volunteers the game [[Tiddlywinks]], but the Spirit also rejects this option. Instead, the Spirit challenges Donald Duck to the ancient and challenging game of chess, as made famous by Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]''.  In this exciting and imaginative scene, Carroll is portrayed as both a writer and a [[mathematician]]. Then, the extended [[cue sports|billiards]] scene features a non-speaking live actor shows the calculations involved in the game's "diamond system", and Donald eventually learns how to do the right calculations to hit ten cushions all while needlessly making it tough for himself.

The Spirit then asks Donald to play a mental game, but he finds Donald's mind to be too cluttered with "Antiquated Ideas", "Bungling", "False Concepts", "Superstitions", and "Confusion".  After some mental housecleaning, Donald plays with a [[circle]] and a [[triangle]] in his mind.  He is then able to transform them into a [[sphere]] and a [[cone]], and he proceeds to rediscover some of man's most useful past inventions, such as the [[wheel]], [[train]], [[magnifying glass]], [[drill]], [[Spring (device)|spring]], [[propeller]], and [[telescope]]. Donald then discovers that pentagrams can be drawn inside each other indefinitely, almost as if by magic. In the end, he learns that numbers provide an avenue to consider the concept of [[infinity]] itself. The Spirit states that scientific knowledge and technological advances are unlimited, and the key to unlocking the doors of the future is mathematics. By the end of the film, Donald understands and appreciates the value of mathematics and the boundless powers of human imagination and invention. The film closes with a beautiful and inspiring quotation from [[Galileo Galilei]]: "Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe."

==Cast==
* [[Clarence Nash]] as [[Donald Duck]] (voice)
* [[Paul Frees]] as The True Spirit of Adventure / Narrator (voice), and the Pi creature (voice)
* [[June Foray]] as the [[Queen (chess)|Chess Queen]] (voice)
* [[Daws Butler]] as the [[King (chess)|Chess King]] (voice)
* Roman Yanez as The Billiards Player

==Production==
The film was directed by [[Hamilton Luske]]. Contributors included [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] artists John Hench and Art Riley, voice talent [[Paul Frees]], and scientific expert [[Heinz Haber]], who had worked on the Disney space shows. It was released on a bill with ''[[Darby O'Gill and the Little People]]''. In 1959, it was nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for ([[Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)|Best Documentary – Short Subjects]]).<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/67849/Donald-in-Mathmagic-Land/details |title=NY Times: Donald in Mathmagic Land |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120407120116/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/67849/Donald-in-Mathmagic-Land/details|archive-date=April 7, 2012|url-status=dead |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2012 |access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> In 1961, two years after its release, it was shown as part of the [[An Adventure in Color/Mathmagicland|first program]] of ''[[Walt Disney anthology television series|Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'' with an introduction by [[Ludwig Von Drake]].

The film was made available to schools and became one of the most popular [[educational film]]s ever made by Disney. As [[Walt Disney]] himself explained: "The cartoon is a good medium to stimulate interest. We have recently explained mathematics in a film and in that way excited public interest in this very important subject."<ref>{{cite book | author=Smith, Dave | title = Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia | edition = 3 | page =198 | publisher =Disney Editions | isbn=0-7868-4919-3 | year=2006}}</ref>

==Releases==
* 1959 - theatrical release
* 1961 - ''[[Walt Disney anthology television series|Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'', episode #8.1: "[[An Adventure in Color/Mathmagicland]]" (TV)

==Home media==
The short was released on November 11, 2008 on ''[[Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Eight#The Chronological Donald, Volume Four|Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Four: 1951-1961]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Chronological Donald Volume 4 DVD Review |url=https://www.dvdizzy.com/donaldvol4b.html |website=DVD Dizzy |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref>

Additional releases include:
* 1988 - ''Walt Disney Mini Classics: Donald in Mathmagic Land'' (VHS)
* 2007 - ''Donald in Mathmagic Land'' (DVD exclusive to the Disney Movie Club)
* 2009 - ''Donald in Mathmagic Land'' (DVD)

==In other media==
* A [[comic book]] adaptation was made, scripted by [[Don R. Christensen]], pencilled by [[Tony Strobl]], and inked by Steve Steere. This version differs in some ways from the original film version, providing a better context for Donald's excursion into Mathmagic Land.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1BDUjmppucC&pg=PA120|title=Learning from Mickey, Donald and Walt: Essays on Disney's Edutainment Films|first=A. Bowdoin Van|last=Riper|date=2011|publisher=McFarland|access-date=13 May 2018|via=Google Books|page=120|isbn=978-0-7864-8475-1}}</ref>
* The ''[[Figment (Disney)|Figment]]'' comic book miniseries from [[Marvel Comics]] has the outcast sound sprite Fye mention Mathmagic Land as one of the other countries in the Realm of Imagination.
* The ''[[House of Mouse]]'' episode "Gone Goofy" features an advertisement for Mathmagic Land at the end.
* In the 2023 ''[[Ted Lasso]]'' episode "[[Sunflowers (Ted Lasso)|Sunflowers]]", Lasso consumes what he believes to be psychedelic drugs and begins to hallucinate about the geometry of triangles. The style of animated hallucination sequence is visually similar to that of ''Donald in Mathmagic Land'', and Lasso also hears the voice of The True Spirit of Adventure (voiced by [[Corey Burton]]) explaining the significance of the triangle.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0052751|title=Donald in Mathmagic Land}}
* [https://movies.disney.com/donald-in-mathmagic-land ''Donald in Mathmagic Land''] at [[Disney.com]]
* {{DisneyAtoZ|donald-in-mathmagic-land-film}}

{{Mathematics and art}}
{{Donald Duck in animation}}
{{Alice}}
{{Hamilton Luske}}
{{Wolfgang Reitherman}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald in Mathmagic Land}}
[[Category:1950s educational films]]
[[Category:1959 animated short films]]
[[Category:1950s Disney animated short films]]
[[Category:Disney educational films]]
[[Category:Donald Duck short films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:Short films with live action and animation]]
[[Category:Films scored by Buddy Baker (composer)]]
[[Category:Animated films set in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Films set in Athens]]
[[Category:Animated films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Animated films set in Paris]]
[[Category:Films about mathematics]]
[[Category:Animated films about music and musicians]]
[[Category:Films adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Animated films based on Alice in Wonderland]]
[[Category:Films directed by Les Clark]]
[[Category:Films directed by Hamilton Luske]]
[[Category:Films directed by Joshua Meador]]
[[Category:Short films directed by Wolfgang Reitherman]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walt Disney]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Pythagoras]]
[[Category:American animated featurettes]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]
[[Category:Baseball animation]]
[[Category:Basketball animation]]
[[Category:Disney animated films based on fairy tales]]
[[Category:English-language short films]]