"The New Neighbor"

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Was the 1953 Donald Duck short, "The New Neighbor", inspired by Barks' Donald-vs.-Neighbor Jones stories? If so, it's a shame they replaced Jones with Pete, denying Jones his animated debut (something he has yet to enjoy). They could actually have created a series of Donald-vs.-Jones cartoons, since the physical humor format these stories employ lends itself well to the style of the Disney animated shorts.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jul 1, 2017 18:25:48 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Was the 1953 Donald Duck short, "The Good Neighbor", inspired by Barks' Donald-vs.-Neighbor Jones stories? If so, it's a shame they replaced Jones with Pete, denying Jones his animated debut (something he has yet to enjoy). They could actually have created a series of Donald-vs.-Jones cartoons, since the physical humor format these stories employ lends itself well to the style of the Disney animated shorts.

I always did suspect some inspiration.

[drakeborough]

Jul 1, 2017 18:25:48 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Was the 1953 Donald Duck short, "The New Neighbor", inspired by Barks' Donald-vs.-Neighbor Jones stories? If so, it's a shame they replaced Jones with Pete, denying Jones his animated debut (something he has yet to enjoy). They could actually have created a series of Donald-vs.-Jones cartoons, since the physical humor format these stories employ lends itself well to the style of the Disney animated shorts.

Actually, Pete had already been Donald's annoying neighbor in the short "Trombone Trouble" (February 18, 1944), which was written by Barks himself. I guess it took a long time for the cartoon to finish production and be distribuited, since Barks had left the studio on November 6, 1942, more than a year and three months prior to its release date. I don't know if some interviewer or critic has already dealt with this issue, but I think it may be argued that Pete's role in this short may be the inspiration, or one of the inspirations, for the character of Jones.

By the way, I think that the Pete seen in these kind of roles is not only an actor playing a role, but basically a character archetipe, much more than any other Disney character, and I have a long reasoning for that... but I'll leave it for the thread about the characters as actors to avoid what would be a long OT.

[mcquack]

'The New Neighbor' is one of my fave Donald shorts. So may great gags, one of my favorite gags was the one where the flower bush was revealed to be Pete in puffy flower shorts and the whole televised brawl.