Donald in Mathmagic Land

Donald in Mathmagic Land is a 27minute Donald Duck educational featurette released on June 26, 1959. It was directed by Hamilton Luske. Contributors included Disney artists John Hench and Art Riley, voice talent Paul Frees, and scientific expert Heinz Haber, who had worked on the Disney space shows. It was released on a bill with Darby OGill and the Little People. In 1959, it was nominated for an Academy Award Best Documentary Short Subjects. In 1961, two years after its release, it was shown as the first program of Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Color with an introduction by Ludwig Von Drake. The film was made available to schools and became one of the most popular educational films ever made by Disney. As Walt Disney explained, The cartoon is a good medium to stimulate interest. We have recently explained mathematics in a film and in that way excited public interest in this very important subject.

Donald learns how the golden rectangle appears in many ancient buildings, such as the Parthenon and the Notre Dame cathedral. Paintings such as the Mona Lisa and various sculptures such as the Venus de Milo contain several golden rectangles. The use of the golden rectangle is found in modern architecture, such as the United Nations building in New York City. Modern painters have also rediscovered the magic of the golden rectangles.The Spirit shows Donald how the golden rectangle and pentagram are related to the human body and nature, respectively. The human body contains the ideal proportions of the golden section Donald, overinterpreting the Spirits advice, tries to make his own body fit such a proportion, but his efforts are to no avail he ends up all pent up in a pentagon. The pentagram and pentagon are then shown to be found in many flowers and animals, such as the petunia, the star jasmine, the starfish, the waxflower, and with the help of the inside of a nautilus shell, the Spirit explains that the magic proportions of the golden section are often found in the spirals of natures designs, quoting Pythagoras Everything is arranged according to number and mathematical shape. ........

Source: Wikipedia