Disney’s Trick or Treat hit theaters Oct. 10, 1952, with Donald Duck, his nephews and a witch named Hazel. Here’s how it was made, its Looney Tunes connection and where to watch it.
Every Halloween, Donald Duck learns the hard way not to mess with trick-or-treaters.
Trick or Treat is the classic 1952 cartoon where Donald plays mean tricks on Huey, Dewey and Louie, until a witch named Hazel decides to teach him a lesson. It has a catchy theme song, a magic potion and a broom with its own name.
It’s still a Halloween favorite. A fan upload of the full cartoon has more than 9 million views on YouTube, and the short is streaming on Disney+. Here’s the story behind it, including how a second Witch Hazel ended up over at Warner Bros.
What is Trick or Treat about?
Huey, Dewey and Louie show up at Donald’s house in their Halloween costumes, according to D23, Disney’s official fan club. Instead of handing out candy, Donald plays tricks on them.
That’s when Witch Hazel joins the kids and uses her magic to teach Donald a lesson, D23 says.
She sprays a potion on Donald’s feet so they do whatever she wants. Then she uses him as a battering ram against the closet where he’s hiding the treats, Disney historian Jim Korkis wrote for Cartoon Research. Her broom even has a name: Beelzebub.
In the end, Hazel flies off, and the nephews get their candy.
When did Trick or Treat come out?
It hit theaters on Oct. 10, 1952, according to D23. Jack Hannah directed it.
Ralph Wright wrote the story, and the animators included Bill Justice, Volus Jones, Don Lusk and George Kreisl, Korkis wrote. Yale Gracey handled layouts and backgrounds.
The short went over well inside the studio. Hannah said it got a “very high” rating at an early screening, according to Korkis, though Walt Disney reportedly thought some of the dialogue went by too fast.
Who voiced Witch Hazel in Trick or Treat?
June Foray, according to D23.
Foray became one of the most famous voices in animation. She’s best known as Rocky the Flying Squirrel on “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.”
She also starred on the records. In 1952, RCA Victor released a “Trick or Treat” record with Foray narrating as Witch Hazel and Clarence Nash as Donald Duck, Greg Ehrbar wrote for Cartoon Research.
Is Disney’s Witch Hazel the same as the Looney Tunes one?
Not exactly, but they’re related.
Two years after Disney’s short, Warner Bros. released “Bewitched Bunny” (1954), a Chuck Jones cartoon with its own witch named Witch Hazel, Korkis wrote. June Foray took over that role in “Broom-Stick Bunny” (1956).
Foray said in a 1995 interview that Jones had loved her Disney witch. “Chuck Jones loved it so much that he called me over to Warner Brothers to do her again,” she said, as Korkis reported.
Jones reportedly argued that Disney didn’t own the name, since witch hazel is also a common plant-based product, according to Korkis.
Who wrote the Trick or Treat song?
The cartoon’s title song, “Trick or Treat for Halloween,” was written by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, Korkis wrote.
That’s the same songwriting team behind “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” and “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Disney’s “Cinderella” (1950).
Where else did Trick or Treat show up?
All over the place.
In comics. Carl Barks adapted the cartoon for Dell’s Donald Duck No. 26 in late 1952, Korkis wrote. Barks added an ogre sequence that the editor cut, so he wrote a new nine-page story, “Hobblin’ Goblins,” to fill the space.
In a Little Golden Book. “Donald and the Witch” came out in 1953, illustrated by Dick Kelsey, according to Korkis.
On records again. Disneyland Records put the story on its 1975 album “Stories and Songs of Halloween,” Ehrbar wrote. The other side was “The Haunted Mansion.”
On TV. The short was part of Disney’s Halloween Treat, the 1982 TV special that fans still hunt down today.
Where can you watch Trick or Treat?
It’s streaming on Disney+, according to JustWatch. It runs about eight minutes.
Disney hasn’t posted the short on YouTube, but here’s a fan upload of the whole cartoon:
What are some fun facts about Trick or Treat?
The background artist went on to haunt the Haunted Mansion. Yale Gracey, who did layouts and backgrounds on the short, later moved to WED Enterprises. There, he created special effects and lighting for The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, according to D23.
It was an RKO release. In 1952, Disney still distributed its cartoons through RKO Radio Pictures, and the original prints carried RKO’s titles.
It came out right on schedule. The short opened three weeks before Halloween in 1952, and it’s been a Disney Halloween staple ever since.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
D23 Disney A to Z: Trick or Treat (film), Witch Hazel and Yale Gracey entries
Jim Korkis, Cartoon Research, Oct. 30, 2015: Disney’s Trick or Treat (1952)
Greg Ehrbar, Cartoon Research, Oct. 31, 2017: Walt Disney’s Trick or Treat with June Foray on records
JustWatch: Trick or Treat (1952) U.S. streaming listing, checked Oct. 10, 2026
Kalle Anka & C:o on YouTube: Trick or Treat full cartoon
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