#PiDay: A Look Back at Donald in Mathmagic Land

With today being March 14th, many of us may be reminded of our grade school math days. Why? You may recall that Pi, which is used in calculating the circumference of a circle among other things, rounds off to 3.14. In honor of this mathematically-inspired day, we thought it would be a good time to look back at a classic piece of Disney edu-tainment: Donald in Mathmagic Land.

This 27-minute film produced in 1959 is one that you may have seen at some point in your school career (I remember screening it on LaserDisc in fourth grade to give you an idea of how old I am). It follows our favorite duck as he learns about all kinds of mathematics through a number of situations and examples. You might also recognize the narrator, Disney Legend Paul Frees, for his work as the Ghost Host in The Haunted Mansion and several other Disney projects.

Here’s the film in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJgkaU08VvY

So does this bring back fond memories or elementary school nightmares? Do you feel like you could ace a quiz or are you more confused about math than ever? Regardless, Happy Pi Day!

Kyle Burbank
Kyle is a writer living in Springfield, MO. His deep love of Disney and other pop culture finds its way into his stories, scripts, and tweets. His first book "The E-Ticket Life: Stories, Essays, and Lessons Learned from My Decidedly Disney Travels" is available in paperback and for Kindle. http://amzn.to/1CStAhV