Mules/donkeys are great animals but they are so stubborn. I never saw the film. I will have to look around.
There were a series of Francis films made with Donald O’Connor in the ‘50’s. There’s a DVD on Amazon with several of the original movies. The last film “Francis in the Haunted House” featured Mickey Rooney, and a different voice actor who impersonated Chill Wills’ voice. I noticed that “Francis in the Navy” has been released on DVD. The copy I have is on VHS. I believe the one with Rooney has so far only been released on VHS.