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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Dora's Dunking Doughnuts remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you are a completionist for early 20th-century shorts or just really, really love the sound of children shouting in unison. If you hate feeling like you're trapped in a classroom that’s about to go off the rails, skip it. It’s not exactly The Little Boss, but it has that same frantic energy that makes you wonder what was in the water back then. 🍩
The whole premise is just a loose excuse to get a bunch of kids on screen doing kid things. It’s barely a story, more of a loose collection of gags held together by pure chaos.
Watching this feels like someone handed a camera to a group of sugar-crazed children and said, "Go nuts." There’s a scene where the kids are trying to record the radio spot, and the audio levels are just… well, they’re definitely a choice. It’s loud. It’s shrill. It’s kind of funny if you don't think about it too hard.
The pacing is all over the place. One minute we’re in a classroom, the next we’re in a bakery, and none of it feels like it actually connects to the plot. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Chicken Parade, where things just happen because the director wanted them to.
I found myself staring at the background extras more than the actual actors. There’s a guy in the back of one shot who looks like he’s having a totally different experience than everyone else. He’s just standing there, holding a doughnut like it’s a precious artifact.
It’s not trying to change the world. It’s just trying to be a funny bit of fluff. Sometimes it hits, mostly it just kind of vibrates in place. It’s weirdly charming in how unpolished it feels, almost like a home movie that accidentally got a wide release. If you’re looking for the depth of The Melancholy Dame, keep walking. But if you just want to see some vintage madness, you could do worse on a Tuesday afternoon.