Year: 1936
Runtime: 9 mins
Language: English
Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Donald and Mickey are behind on rent, so the sheriff prepares to evict them and sell their belongings. Their neighbor Goofy the ice‑man arrives to help move everything, but the piano refuses to stay on his truck. Meanwhile, Donald wrestles with a rogue plunger and a fishbowl after removing a heater from the gas line.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Moving Day (1936), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Mickey Mouse Walt Disney and Donald Duck Clarence Nash are six months behind on their rent, living in a house that threatens to swallow them up in debt. Sheriff Pete Billy Bletcher arrives with a harsh “Notice to Dispossess,” a document that not only orders their eviction but also empowers him to auction off their belongings as collateral. In a brisk display of authority, he strikes a match on Donald’s beak to light his cigar, then storms off to post signs advertising cheap furniture, leaving the trio to confront the looming threat on their own.
With the clock ticking, the trio decides to move before Pete can sell what little they still own. Goofy Pinto Colvig, who works as an iceman and just happens to be delivering, offers to help with the relocation and asks to use his truck. The plan seems simple enough at first, but the day quickly spirals into a series of comic mishaps that test their teamwork and patience.
Mickey struggles with an overloaded suitcase while Goofy struggles to load an upright piano onto the truck. The piano, seemingly with a mind of its own, keeps rolling out of reach whenever left unattended, triggering a cascade of slapstick confrontations around the house. The chaos compounds as the friends attempt to keep their possessions intact amid the clutter and the clock’s relentless ticking.
Meanwhile, Donald, eager to pack everything in sight, grabs a gas heater connected to a wall line. He notices a leak and, in a panic, stuffs the line with a toilet plunger. The pressure throws the plunger into his tail, and after wiggling free, he ends up stuck inside a fish tank, adding splashy chaos to the retreat. The situation intensifies when Donald’s own carelessness leads to a dangerous chain of events, including a beak wedged in the leaking gas line and a balloon-like inflation of his body.
Just as Donald frees himself, his beak becomes lodged again in the leaking gas line. His body fills with gas, turning him into a flying, rocket-like figure who shoots around the room in a comic frenzy. The escalating commotion draws Sheriff Pete back into the scene, who, unaware of the gas hazard, storms forward ready to scold the trio.
In a reckless gamble, Pete strikes another match on Donald’s beak, and a sudden explosion erupts, tearing the house apart. The blast catapults all the furniture, including the stubborn piano, into Goofy’s truck, scattering belongings in a chaotic windfall as they escape toward a new home. Pete, stranded amid the wreckage, yells after them from a second-story bathtub, only to accidentally turn on the hot water and suffer another humiliating defeat. As the trio bounces along in their unintended getaway, Donald can’t help but laugh at Pete’s misfortune, while the stubborn plunger finds its way back to his tail, sealing the day with one final, goofy sting of slapstick fate.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:44
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