Donald Duck had his own THEME SONG. ("Who's never wrong, but always right? / Who'd never dream of starting a fight?") That's pretty cool. Most cartoon characters don't get that.

But this collection of seven animated shorts from the 1930s and '40s (and one from 1953) is mostly a double-dip: Five of these cartoons are already available on the "Chronological Donald" DVD collections, and the other two are from years that those sets simply haven't gotten to yet.

This no-extras, no-frills disc, then, is for casual Donald Duck fans who want something amusing but don't want to shell out the big bucks for a fancy, thorough collection. I don't think it will please even them, though: These cartoons aren't unified by any kind of theme or time period; they're just seven cartoons that happen to star Donald Duck. It's a pretty unimaginative disc, really.

Unlike his boring friend Mickey, Donald was actually pretty funny in his heyday, and while these seven cartoons aren't his best moments -- they seem to have been chosen randomly, actually -- they do offer a few innocent chuckles.

Here are the cartoons:

"Canvas Back Duck" (1953) Donald and his illegitimate nephews go to the carnival, where Donald enters a boxing match with a brute. Interesting that while Donald normally walks around naked below the waist, for the boxing match he puts on trunks.

"Donald's Cousin Gus" (1939) Gus is a goose, and he speaks only in honks, and he eats constantly. Not the best cartoon in the set.

"Daddy Duck" (1948) Donald adopts a baby kangaroo, which proves to be a handful. Somehow this leads to Donald being eaten by his own bearskin rug. You know how it is.

"Window Cleaners" (1940) Donald is a window cleaner on a high-rise; Pluto is his assistant. (Why Pluto?) A bee causes trouble.

"Self Control" (1938) A radio philosopher inspires Donald to make an effort to control his temper. But all the bugs and animals in his yard keep disrupting his nap!

"Contrary Condor" (1944) Donald goes in search of a condor egg, and winds up with the mother condor thinking HE is her hatchling.

"Donald's Golf Game" (1938) The nephews accompany Donald on his golf game as unenthusiastic caddies. Sabotage becomes the watchword.

THE DVD

There are optional English subtitles, which are very useful for figuring out what Donald is saying through his thick speech impediment.

You'll also find an optional French language track. If you think Donald is funny in English, try him in French, where the voice actor they hired has done a remarkable job impersonating the American version.

VIDEO: Warner Bros. did a far better job cleaning up their old cartoons for the Looney Tunes Golden Collections. Most of these are passable, but in some -- like "Donald's Golf Game" and "Contrary Condor" -- the scratches, dirt and other blemishes are noticeable, even distracting.

AUDIO: The very lo-fi old mono recordings are fine for the purposes of the set.

EXTRAS: None.

IN SUMMARY

Donald is no Daffy, that's for sure, and adults aren't going to find more than a few chuckles in any of these. Kids will no doubt find them hilarious indeed -- but if you're going to shell out bucks on cartoons for the kids, why not spend a few more and get a quality set? And Disney, if you're going to do single-disc editions like this, why not pick a theme or something? There's little impetus to buy a one-disc set of purely RANDOM Donald Duck cartoons.