Spare the Rod (1954 film)
Spare the Rod (1954 film)
Spare the Rod is a 1954 American animated short featuring Donald Duck. It was directed by Jack Hannah and produced by Walt Disney.
Plot
Donald Duck is doing yard work while his nephews are playing instead of doing their chores. He’s about to punish them, but a voice representing a “child psychologist” convinces him to go along with their game. The nephews pretend to be Indians on the warpath, and Donald uses force to push them to do their chores. Meanwhile, three pygmy-like cannibals escape from a circus train and plan to cook Donald. Donald mistakes the cannibals for his nephews and plays along until his real nephews join in and realize the strangers are real cannibals. The nephews run away as the cannibals try to capture Donald. Donald is saved only after he loses his temper and sends the cannibals to the woodshed. The cannibals escape, and Donald taunts his nephews to chop wood again. The “child psychologist” is brought to the woodshed as well.
Censorship and restoration
The cannibal characters are depicted in a way that reflects racial stereotypes of native Africans, so all scenes with them were removed from television broadcasts. The TV version is much shorter, about 2.5 minutes, while the original runs about 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
Availability
The full, restored version is included in Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Four (released in 2008). Spare the Rod originally released on January 15, 1954, with Technicolor animation and a running time of 6:30.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:01 (CET).