No one writes about these cartoons but me. There are no Wikipedia links for them, and even most of the Disney fan wikis barely say more than, “This is a cartoon that exists.” Which is certainly true. It’s also true that this was not a great era for whimsy from Disney. Donald was at war, and while it’s true that the year also gave us “The Plastics Inventor,” in my opinion one of the best Donald Duck shorts of all time, there was still an undercurrent of war to every short, every film, everything. At best, you were stealing a snippet of time for amusement while Our Boys were fighting in Europe or the Pacific.

Minnie’s active on the home front. Specifically, she’s learning first aid. However, for reasons, she’s learning it by herself, with no one around but Pluto and Figaro. Pluto is her guinea pig. Figaro finds this desperately amusing. Figaro is, well, feline about the whole thing, taking enormous pleasure in Pluto’s difficulties. The more ties up Pluto is, the more Figaro chooses to torment him, because Figaro has not learned that eventually, Pluto will not be tied up in bandages.

But really, why doesn’t Minnie have someone to practice on? Or with? She’s alone with a cat and a dog, and at the very least shouldn’t she have Daisy around to help her? Sure, this is long after Clarabelle Cow and assorted other characters had mostly faded from the Disney view. Still, there was Daisy, and it was possible for Minnie to practice with her. Or on Mickey’s nephews, if we choose to remember they exist. They could afford to be helpful, so we can all remember there are Disney children.

Also, you know, if Minnie had someone to practice on, she might do a better job. What is it about Disney cartoons that makes the female characters so blessed incompetent? On the show they gave Minnie for children, Clarabelle is both a mechanic and clumsy. There’s a short, in fact an ad for Nabisco, where Minnie is such a horrible cook that she breaks down weeping and only Mickey’s assurance that his favourites are actually Oreos and Lorna Doones saves the day. It’s exhausting.

Okay, so it’s a lead-up to shenaniganery with Pluto and Figaro, and it doesn’t really matter whether Minnie’s any good at the whole thing or not. Fair enough. I still find it frustrating to watch, because there could be a funnier cartoon that also involved shenaniganery. Heck, give the nephews their own cartoon for once and let actual children be the ones who are this incompetent. It’s a better choice that’s less eye-rollingly offensive. I wish I could say we’d outgrown this in Disney cartoons, but once again let me remind you of that stupid bow store cartoon. In short, this is a cartoon that exists.

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