For each big holiday season, I like to look back at a classic cartoon that centers around that specific holiday. Part of me always feels like it’s not officially the holiday season unless I watch my list of favorite movies, shows, and cartoons from yesteryear. Nothing makes me feel like I’ve gone back to my childhood more than a great animated holiday special.
I have no childhood memory of one animated short from Disney. Admittedly, 1952 is what I consider "well" before my time, but it’s become my all-time favorite Halloween cartoon in recent years.
I discovered the 1952 Disney short Trick or Treat, starring Donald Duck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as sort of an accident. We were looking for family-friendly Halloween-themed cartoons for our daughter, namely ones that wouldn't scare the pants off her, and we came across this animated short. I’ve long talked about my family's love of a Disney World vacation, and we’re always open to watching classic Disney stuff.
We saw this cartoon and thought it was adorable. We let her watch it, and she absolutely loved it! For the past few Halloweens, it's become a tradition in our home, and we often watch it a few times a week leading up to her own trick-or-treat-filled night.
The theme song is catchy, and we all love singing along. We'll even sing it when we aren't watching.
We enjoy this cartoon so much that when we make our annual pilgrimage to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom, we always go out of our way to get the special photo with Donald's nephews in their Trick or Treat attire. This year, we were running short on time and thought we may have to forgo the experience, but after a last-minute meet-and-greet with Elvis Stitch, we half-accidentally stumbled into the photo op on our way out of the park well after midnight!
On October 10, 1952, Disney released "Trick or Treat," a Halloween-themed animated short starring the short-tempered yet loveable (and my favorite) Donald Duck. On Halloween night, his nephews Huey, Dewey, Louie, and their newfound friend Witch Hazel appear at Donald's house.
Clarence "Ducky" Nash reprises his role as the unique voice of Donald Duck and his nephews. Nash would voice Donald in over 200 shorts and films and be considered the voice of Donald for over 50 years! He used what Google calls "buccal speech" to form the trademark voice, which in plain English means he used his cheeks and tongue to vocalize words rather than the larynx (voice box).
June Foray voiced the character of Witch Hazel. I always knew her voice was familiar, but after researching, I realized that June deserves her own article in the future. You may have heard her voice as Rocky and Natasha Fatale from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Cindy Lou Who (the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Mumbles (the 1961 Dick Tracy Show), and countless other programs. Where I remember her most, however, was as Tweety Bird's Granny from countless Looney Tunes/Warner Bros. animations.
Interestingly enough, she also voiced a very similar witch character for Warner Bros. in several cartoons under the same name, "Hazel the Witch." This can be seen in one of the shorts featured in Quackbusters.
Directed by Jack Hannah (not Jungle Jack) and based on a story by Ralph Wright, Trick or Treat was initially considered a poor choice by studio critics due to the limited window of opportunity to replay the cartoon each holiday season.
To many, Trick or Treat's title song is a vital part of the show. Written by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston, the catchy little diddy was performed to perfection by The Mellomen.
The Mellomen was a popular vocal quartet frequently used by Disney from the late 1940s through the end of the 1960s. Founded by Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith, they recorded under various names, such as Big John and the Buzzards or the Crackerjacks, but are best known as The Mellomen. They frequently sang backup to some of the best-known artists of their day, including Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, and Elvis Presley.
The singing group's solo work is recognizable in numerous Disney films, such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and The Jungle Book. They also performed the original version of "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" for Disneyland in California.
As the animation opens, we hear the voices of The Mellomen singing the title theme. The theme is just as vital to the success of this short as the story, and you'll likely find yourself singing along for the rest of the day.
"Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat for Halloween
Better give a treat that's good to eat
If you wanna keep life serene
Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)
Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)
Trick or Treat the whole night through
Little scalawags with fiendish gags
Can make it tough on you
So when ghosts and goblins by the score
Ring the bell on your front door
Better not be stingy or your nightmares will come true!"
As the credits finish, a quiet, small town in rural America is before us. It's nighttime, and we see the rickety old fence in front of the empty branches of an autumn tree. We zoom past the steeple of a church as the bright yellow moon fills the sky.
A dark figure on a broomstick slides across the moon past the steeple, cackling as she goes. We see a closeup of the witch's wart-covered red nose before she flies away on her broomstick toward the steeple. Dozens of eyeballs pop open inside the belfry, and the witch yells "Boo!" loud enough to make the bats all fly into the night air.
The theme song continues as the witch lands on a nearby fence. She balances along the edge before scaring a cat with another "Boo!," this time much softer. The cat jumps straight into the air, his back arched and fur ruffled before scampering off into the night.
She comes upon a lit Jack O'Lantern, which startles her when it begins to move. "What manner of ghoul is this? she demands as the pumpkin moves along the top of the fence. When the pumpkin reaches the end of the fence, she sees it sits on top of a child's head. The child is covered in a white sheet, dressed as a ghost for Halloween. Behind the ghost is a second child, a duckling dressed as a devil. Another young duckling in a witch's hat and broom is bringing up the rear.
The three young ducks quack along to the tune of the Trick or Treat theme song as they march in lock-step to the front door of a house. The witch in the background watches them lovingly as she floats atop her broomstick.
When the boys ring the doorbell, we see Donald Duck, who immediately cries out, "Uh oh! It's the boys!" Jumping up, he moves aside a bowl full of candy to grab a set of firecrackers. When he opens the door, his nephews greet him with "Trick or treat!" and thrust out their candy bags. Donald pretends to play along and says, "One for you, and you, and you!" before stepping back into the house.
The boys look into their bags expectantly, but suddenly, their bags explode! The noise is enough for the witch's broomstick to rear up like a horse and cry out in fright. While the witch calms her broom back at the house, Donald laughs at the sad faces of his nephews as they see the remains of their destroyed candy bags. 
Always a jerk, Donald reaches up and grabs a rope before saying, "Now, here's your TRICK!" He pulls the rope, which dumps a large bucket of water on their head. He yells, "So long, boys!" and slams the door in their faces.
Watching the scene unfold, the witch feels terrible for the little boys. She hints at their typically mischievous behavior when she says, "Oh, bless their little black hearts!"
She flies down to them and tells them she saw the whole thing. The boys are delighted to see a real witch, which makes Hazel's day. She says because they believe (believeth) in witches, she'll help them (thee) get your (thy) candy. I guess witches speak in old English?
Witch Hazel runs up to Donald's doorstep and rings the bell. When Donald answers, he eagerly opens the door, expecting to create more mischief. The witch introduces herself, "My name, sir, is Hazel. Witch Hazel, that is!"
Donald reaches out and pulls her nose, sending Hazel falling backward. She is doused with water from the bucket above her head as Donald Duck slams the door, laughing.
Hazel and her broom, Beelzebub, run back to the boys, forming a football-style huddle. She quickly tells them that to get retribution, they'll need some "gruesome ingredients," including a cauldron of swamp water.
The shadow of Witch Hazel appears in an alleyway as she begins casting her spell over the bubbling cauldron.
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble!"
As she recites the following few lines, the nephews approach her with each requested item and help her toss them into the pot to create the potion.
"Eye of needle, tongue of shoe, hand of clock that points at two! Neck of bottle, tail of coat... Whiskers from the billy goat!"
When the goat whiskers hit the pot, a massive flash of light erupts into a nuclear explosion. Hazel taste-tests her brew and spins about in place while her hat (and hair) pops off to the sound of firecrackers. She kicks out her foot, and with a hiccup and modulated voice (to insinuate drunkenness), she shouts, "Kids! This stuff's loaded!"
Picking up a sprayer, she soaks up a massive dose of the potion while the broom sweeps up Hazel and the boys and whisks them off into the night sky.
Back at the house, Donald is picking some food out of his pantry when he hears the distant cackle of Witch Hazel. A humorous "What the heck is that?" escapes his duck lips, and he runs to the window. The title song starts up again as the cartoon switches gears.
"Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat for Halloween...
When the pumpkin shells cast evil spells..."
Witch Hazel squirts some of the potion on a regular, smiling Jack O' Lantern on Donald's fencepost, and it begins to whirl about in midair. Its smiling face stretches into sharp, long fangs, and its eyes transform into an evil stare. The pumpkin leaps into Donald's window and moans in Donald's face.
"...Your little white house turns green!
Your little white house turns green!
Your little white house turns green!"
Hazel then flies along the side of Donald's house, spraying a paintbrush in a bucket of open paint. The brush comes to life and paints a green stripe along the side of Donald's "little white house." Opening the window to protest, the brush flies right across his face, painting it green!
As the song continues, Hazel then sprays a fence post, and the fenceposts turn into ghosts.
"Every post is a ghost
If you've got a witch's brew..."
Hazel then sprays the gate on his fence.
"And if you want your gate
To circulate – Ho! Ho! – We can do that too!"
Inside, Donald is terrified at the sight of items from around his house coming to life and marching up to his doorstep.
"Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)
Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)
Trick or Treat for Halloween
When ghosts and goblins by the score
Ring the bell on your front door
You'd better not be stingy or,
Your nightmares will come true! Oooh-oooh!"
Hazel and the boys fly right through the front door and push Donald all the way to the back of the house, pinning him against his pantry. Hazel leans into Donald and says, "Now, are you going to treat or not?"
Donald agrees to their demands and begins gathering goodies from his pantry. Hazel can't help but tell the boys, "This pigeon's a pushover!" Donald is one to never let someone get the better of him, hears the word "pushover," tosses the treats into the pantry, locks the door, and swallows the key for good measure.
Hazel, almost happily, says, "I've just been itching to cast a spell on you!" The broomstick flies around excitedly and grabs Doanld by the shirt collar, exposing his feet to Hazel. She sprays his feet with her concoction as she recites:
"Hocus pocus!
Magic shower!
Put his feet
Within my power!"
The potion kicks in, and Donald's feet turn blue. Hazel orders the feet to "Kick out that key!" and Donald's feet begin to flutter before he kicks himself in the stomach. Both feet join together several times in a rhythm as Hazel enjoys watching him "dance."
Eventually, the key shoots up through his mouth, but he grabs it and swallows it again. His blue magical feet keep kicking himself in the rear, sending him crashing around the house. Hazel applies even more potion to his feet, and Donald rears up like a mule kicking wildly. Eventually, the key drops to the floor and the witch and ducklings celebrate.
When Donald hears her say, "Nothin' to it," he responds with his trademark Donald, "Ohhhh yeah?" and flings the key underneath the locked pantry door.
Infuriated, she hops into the air so hard we see she is bald under her wig.
"Now you've made ol' Hazel mad!" she shouts before running up to Donald and respraying his feet. She casts a spell, commanding the feet to smash down the door. His feet ram his head into the door several times, but the door does not give way. She sprays his feet some more and tells him,
"This hurts me more than it does you!
Now, take a longer start... ABOUT A MILE OR TWO!"
Donald's feet carry him out the front door and all the way up the hill down the road. Suddenly, he charges through the house and right through the pantry door. After the crash, Donald is surrounded by piles of candy and goodies, and the broomstick starts sweeping toward the nephews.
Hazel says, "I thought he'd listen to reason!" as the boys begin collecting their candy. Donald sits up and moans dizzily. Beelzebub whacks him hard on the head and knocks him out for the night. Just then, Hazel realizes it's almost dawn and waves goodbye to the boys as the soothing dulcet tones of the Mellomen return to close out the cartoon.
"So when ghosts and goblins by the score
Ring the bell or pound your door
Better not be stingy, or your nightmares will come true--ooooooh!"
It's such a great cartoon, but this one critique on IMDB cracks me up: "Apart from the fact that three youngsters talk to a complete stranger on a dark night, are coerced into performing black magic, and then willingly take part in a robbery of their abusive uncle's house, this is a pretty great family cartoon, right?"
I'd have to say yes; this is good, clean family entertainment. As the shorts began fading from importance at Disney (they were full-steam ahead on the feature-length animations by 1952), Trick or Treat was dripping with Disney's trademark special touches and quality animation, making it a near-instant classic.
In 2023, Disney released a new cartoon, "Mickey and Friends: Trick or Treats," starring our old pal Witch Hazel. This stop-motion musical animation follows Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy as they trick or treat on Halloween night. When Donald demands more candy, they find themselves at Hazel's house. Hazel, who does not want to be disturbed, turns them into the costumes they were wearing, and they have until midnight to un-do the curse.
It's not as good as the original, but my daughter likes it, and the songs are very catchy. And, of course, Witch Hazel is just as funny and sarcastic as the 1952 short.
Since finding this great little cartoon, whenever I hear the words "Trick or Treat," I don't specifically think of kids coming to my door looking for a Snickers bar. I instantly think of a certain little melody, one angry duck, and a mischievous old witch named Hazel.
You can watch this short in several places, some more legal than others. It's available year-round on Disney Plus.
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