Donald Duckedit
From The Unofficial DisneyWiki
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Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character from The Walt Disney Company. Donald is a short-tempered, impatient, angry, white anthropomorphic duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt, cap, and a red or black bowtie, but no trousers (except when he goes swimming).
Donald's birthday is officially recognized as June 9, 1934, the day when his debut film, The Wise Little Hen, was released. However, in The Three Caballeros (1944), his birthday is given as simply "Friday the 13th", which is in reference to the bad luck, that he experiences in almost all of his cartoon appearances. Donald's Happy Birthday (short) gives his birthday as March 13. Donald is a well-known and very popular character.
Donald's voice, one of the most identifiable voices in all of animation, was performed by voice actor Clarence "Ducky" Nash up to his death in 1985. It was largely this semi-intelligible speech, that would cement Donald's image into audiences' minds and help fuel both Donald's and Nash's rise to stardom.In 1969, Disney On Parade which toured all over the United States and Canada, hired Ellard Davis as the live voice of Donald Duck. Mr. Davis did the voice for 3 years. Since 1985, Donald has been voiced by Tony Anselmo, who was trained by Nash for the role.
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[edit] Donald in animation
According to the cartoon Donald Gets Drafted (1942), Donald's full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck (his middle name appears to be a reference to his sailor hat, which was a common accessory for "Little Lord Fauntleroy" suits). Disney's website also states his name as Donald Fauntleroy Duck. Donald's birthday is officially recognized as June 9, 1934, the day his debut film was released, but in The Three Caballeros, his birthday is given as simply "Friday the 13th." In Donald's Happy Birthday (short) it has his birthday as the 13th of March.
Although usually easygoing, Donald's most famous trait is his short and often explosive temper. He is also sometimes portrayed as more crafty and cynical than other characters such as Goofy or Mickey.
Donald's famous voice, one of the most identifiable voices in all of animation, was until 1985 performed by voice actor Donald Duck's debut in the Wise Little Hen.. It was largely this semi-intelligible speech that would cement Donald's image into audiences' minds and help fuel both Donald's and Nash's rise to stardom.
[edit] Early appearances
Donald Duck in The Spirit of 43. According to Leonard Maltin in his introduction to The Chronological Donald - Volume 1, Donald was created by Walt Disney when he heard Clarence Nash doing his "duck" voice while reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Mickey Mouse had lost some of his edge since becoming a role model for children and Disney wanted a character that could portray some of the more negative character traits he could no longer bestow on Mickey.
Donald first appeared in the Silly Symphonies cartoon The Wise Little Hen on June 9, 1934, though he is mentioned in a 1931 Disney storybook. Donald's appearance in the cartoon, as created by animator Dick Lundy, is similar to his modern look — the feather and beak colors are the same, as is the blue sailor shirt and hat — but his features are more elongated, his body plumper, and his feet bigger. Donald's personality is not developed either; in the short, he only fills the role of the unhelpful friend from the original story.
Bert Gillett, director of The Wise Little Hen, brought Donald back in his Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Orphan's Benefit on August 11, 1934. Donald is one of a number of characters who are giving performances in a benefit for Mickey's Orphans. Donald's act is to recite the poems Mary Had a Little Lamb and Little Boy Blue, but every time he tries, the mischievous orphans eat his specially made pie, leading the duck to fly into a squawking fit of anger. This explosive personality would remain with Donald for decades to come.
Donald continued to be a hit with audiences. The character began appearing in most Mickey Mouse cartoons as a regular member of the ensemble with Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto. Cartoons from this period, such as the 1935 cartoon The Band Concert — in which Donald repeatedly disrupts the Mickey Mouse Orchestra's rendition of The William Tell Overture by playing Turkey in the Straw — are regularly hailed by critics as exemplary films and classics of animation. Animator Ben Sharpsteen also minted the classic Mickey, Donald, and Goofy comedy in 1935, with the cartoon Mickey's Service Station.
Donald was redesigned in 1936 to be a bit fuller, rounder, and cuter. He also began starring in solo cartoons, the first of which was the January 9, 1937 Ben Sharpsteen cartoon, Don Donald. This short also introduced Donald's long-time love interest, Daisy Duck (here called "Donna Duck"). Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, would make their first animated appearance a year later in the April 15, 1938 film, Donald's Nephews
, directed by Jack King (they had been earlier introduced in the Donald Duck comic strip by Frame from Der Fuehrer's Face., see below).
[edit] Wartime Donald
During World War II, film audiences were looking for brasher, edgier cartoon characters. It is no coincidence that the same era that saw the birth and rise of Bugs Bunny also saw Donald Duck's popularity soar. By 1949, Donald had surpassed Mickey Mouse as Disney's most popular character. Before 1941, Donald Duck had appeared in about 50 cartoons. Between 1941 and 1965, Donald would star in over 100.
Several of Donald's shorts during the war were propaganda films, most notably Der Fuehrer's Face, released on January 1, 1943. In it, Donald plays a worker in an artillery factory in "Nutzi Land" (Nazi Germany). He struggles with long working hours, very small food rations, and having to salute every time he sees a picture of Der Führer (Adolf Hitler). These pictures appear in many places, such as on the assembly line in which he is screwing in the detonators of various sizes of shells. In the end he becomes little more than a small part in a faceless machine with no choice but to obey till he falls, suffering a nervous breakdown. Donald wakes up to find that his experience was in fact a nightmare. At the end of the short Donald looks to the Statue of Liberty and the American flag with renewed appreciation. Der Fuehrer's Face won the 1943 Academy Award for Animated Short Film.
Other notable shorts from this period include the so-called Army shorts, six films that follow Donald's life in the United States Army]] from his drafting to his life at boot camp under sergeant Pete to his first actual mission as a commando having to sabotage a Japanese air base. Titles in the series include:
- Donald Gets Drafted - (May 1, 1942)
- The Vanishing Private - (September 25, 1942)
- Sky Trooper - (November 6, 1942)
- Fall Out Fall In - (April 23, 1943)
- The Old Army Game - (November 5, 1943)
- Commando Duck - (June 2, 1944)
Donald Gets Drafted also featured Donald having a physical examination before joining the army. According to it Donald has flat feet and is unable to distinguish between the colors green and blue, which is a type of color blindness. Also, Sergeant Pete comments on Donald's lack of discipline.
It is also noteworthy that thanks to these films, Donald graced the nose artwork of virtually every type of World War II Allied combat aircraft, from the L-4 Grasshopper scout plane to the B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber.
Donald also appears as a mascot-such as in the Army Air Corps 309th Fighter Sq and the U.S Coast Guard Auxiliary"Corsair Fleet" {For Reference only}
During World War II, Disney cartoons were not allowed to be imported in Europe. Since this cost Disney a lot of money, he decided to create a new audience for his films in South-America. He decided to make a trip through a lot of Latin American countries with his assistants, and use their experiences and impressions to create two feature length animation films. The first was Saludos Amigos, which consisted of four short segments, one with Donald Duck. Here, he meets his pal Jose Carioca. The second film was The Three Caballeros, in which he meets Panchito.
[edit] Post-war animation
Many of Donald's films made after the war recast the character as the brunt of some other character's pestering. Donald is repeatedly attacked, harassed, and ridiculed by his nephews, by the chipmunks Chip 'n Dale, or by other one-shot characters such as Humphrey the Bear, Buzz the Bee, Bootle Beetle, the Aracuan Bird, Louie the Mountain Lion or a colony of ants. In effect, the Disney artists had reversed the classic "screwball" scenario perfected by Walter Lantz and others in which the main character is the instigator of these harassing behaviors rather than the butt of them. However, by turning the tables, Donald's aggressors come off to some as sadistic or cruel, and some critics have found the films unfunny as a result.
The post-war Donald also starred in educational films, such as Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959), and made cameos in various Disney projects, such as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and the Disneyland television show (1959). For this latter show, Donald's uncle Ludwig von Drake was created in 1961.
Since Clarence Nash's death in 1985, Donald's voice has been provided by Tony Anselmo, who was mentored by Nash.
Donald has since appeared in a lot of different television shows and (short) animated movies. He played roles in Mickey's Christmas Carol and The Prince and the Pauper and made a cameo appearance in A Goofy Movie. He also made an appearence at the Ink and Paint Club competing against Daffy Duck,his archfowl in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as the Hungarian Rhapsody No.3 is played in the film.
He featured in a rather small part in the television animated series DuckTales. There, Donald joins the Navy, and leaves his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie with their Uncle Scrooge, who then has to take care of them. Some of the stories in the series were loosely based on the comics by Carl Barks. However, critics have complained that the new, original characters in 'Duck Tales' were poor substitutes for Donald, like Launchpad McQuack and Fenton Crackshell.
Donald made some cameo appearances in Bonkers, before getting his own television show Quack Pack. This series featured a modernized Duck family. Donald was no longer wearing his sailor suit and hat, but a Hawaiian shirt. Huey, Dewey and Louie are teenagers, with distinct clothing, voices and personalities. Daisy Duck has lost her pink dress and bow and has a new hairdo. Oddly enough, no other family members - besides Ludwig von Drake - appear in Quack Pack and all other Duckburg citizens are humans, not ducks.
In an alternate opening for the 2005 Disney film Chicken Little (film), Donald would have made a cameo appearance as "Ducky Lucky." This scene can be found on the Chicken Little DVD.
Donald also played an important role in Mickey Mouse Works and Disney House of Mouse.
[edit] Rivalry with Mickey Mouse
Through out his career, Donald has shown that he's jealous of Mickey and wants his job as Disney's greatest star. In the early Disney shorts, Mickey and Donald were partners, but by the time The Mickey Mouse Club aired on television, it was shown that Donald always wanted the spotlight. One animated short that rivaled the famous Mickey Mouse song was showing Huey, Dewey, and Louie as Boy Scouts and Donald as their Scoutmaster at a cliff near a remote forest and Donald leads them in a song mirroring the Mouseketeers theme "D-O-N-A-L-D D-U-C-K-! Donald Duck!" The rivalry would cause Donald some problems, in a 1988 TV special, where Mickey is cursed by a sorcerer to become unnoticed, the world believes Mickey to be kidnapped. Donald Duck is then arrested for the kidnapping of Mickey, as he is considered to be the chief suspect, due to their rivalry. However, Donald did later get the charges dismissed, due to lack of evidence. Walt Disney, in his Wonderful World of Color, would sometimes make reference to the rivalry. Walt, one time, had presented Donald with a gigantic birthday[1]cake and commented how it was "even bigger than Mickey's", which pleased Donald. The clip was rebroadcast in November 1984 during a TV special honoring Donald's 50th birthday.
The rivalry between Mickey and Donald has also been shown in Disney's House of Mouse. It was shown that Donald wanted to be the Club's founder and wanted to change the name from House of Mouse to House of Duck. However, in later episodes, Donald accepted that Mickey was the founder and worked with Mickey as a partner to make the club profitable.
Mickey Mouse has failed to realize how much Donald does not like him at times, and always counts him as one of his best friends. Despite the rivalry, Donald seems to be an honest friend of Mickey's, and will be faithful to him in tough situations, such as working with Mickey and Goofy as a team akin to the Three Musketeers. In the Kingdom Hearts games, Donald is quite loyal to Mickey, even briefly leaving Sora to follow King Mickey's orders.
[edit] Donald in comics
While Donald's cartoons enjoy vast popularity in the United States and around the world, his weekly and monthly comic books enjoy their greatest popularity in many European countries, most in Norway and Finland, but many other countries are right behind - most notably Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Most of them are produced and published by the Italian branch of the Walt Disney Company in Italy and by Egmont in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.
According to the Inducks, which is a database about Disney comics worldwide, American, Italian and Danish stories have been reprinted in the following countries. In most of them, publications continue: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark (Faroe Islands), Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Yugoslavia.
[edit] Developments under Barks
In 1942, Western Publishing began creating original comic-book stories about Donald and other Disney characters. Bob Karp worked on the earliest of these, a story called Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. The new publisher meant new illustrators, in this case, Carl Barks and Jack Hannah. Barks would later repeat the treasure-hunting theme in many more stories.
Barks soon took over the major development of the comic-book version of the duck as both writer and illustrator. Under his pen, the comic version of Donald diverged even further from his animated counterpart, becoming more adventurous, less temperamental, and more eloquent. Pete was the only other major character from the Mickey Mouse comic strip to feature in Barks' new Donald Duck universe.
Barks placed Donald in the city of Duckburg, which Barks populated with a host of supporting players, including Gladstone Gander (1948), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Uncle Scrooge McDuck (1947), Magica de Spell (1961), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), The Beagle Boys (1951), April, May and June (1953), Neighbour Jones (1944) and John D. Rockerduck (1961). Many of Taliaferro's characters made the move to Barks' world as well, including Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Barks placed Donald in both domestic and adventure scenarios, and Uncle Scrooge became one of his favorite characters to pair up with Donald. Scrooge's popularity grew, and by 1952, the character had a comic book of his own. At this point, Barks concentrated his major efforts on the Scrooge stories, and Donald's appearances became more focused on comedy or he was recast as Scrooge's reluctant helper, following his rich uncle around the globe.
[edit] Beyond Disney
Donald Duck is the only popular film and television cartoon character to appear as a mascot for the sports tea
m of a major American university, namely, the Oregon Ducks at the University of Oregon.
Donald's name and image are also used on numerous commercial products, one example being Donald Duck Orange Juice, introduced by Citrus World in 1940.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts Series
Donald's fame has also led Disney to license the character for a number of video games. He plays a major role in the video game series Kingdom Hearts, for example, where he is depicted as a short-tempered, powerful magician on a quest to find King Mickey Mouse. This version of Donald, like the protagonist Sora, undergoes several transformations, including an octopus style merman, a mummy, an African bird with his coloring and head, and an armored virtual rendition.
In 2004, Donald received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joining other characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, The Simpsons, Winnie the Pooh, Kermit the Frog, Godzilla and Snow White.
[edit] Disney Parks
Donald is a extremely common character in the Disney Parks and is in almost every Disney show and in every Disney parade. He is the most common character second only to Mickey Mouse.
[edit] Mickey Philharmagic
In Mickey's Philharmagic Donald is the main character and go through some of Disney biggest musical scenes in order to find Mickey's sorcerer hat.
[edit] Different appearances
[edit] Donald and Goofy Episode List
- Polar Trappers (1938)
- The Fox Hunt (1938, remake of Silly Symphony in 1931)
- Billposters (1940)
- No Sail (1945)
- Frank Duck Brings 'Em Back Alive (1946)
- Crazy with the Heat (1947)
- Donald's Goofy World (2001)
[edit] Movies
- Saludos Amigos (1942)
- The Three Caballeros (1944)
- Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, cameo)
- Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
- A Goofy Movie (1995, cameo)
- Fantasia 2000 (2000)
- Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
- Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001)
- Mickey's House of Villains (2002)
- Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)
[edit] Television series
- DuckTales (1987-1990)
- Donald's Quackattack
- Bonkers (1993-1995) (cameo)
- Quack Pack (1996-1997)
- Mickey Mouse Works (1999-2000)
- House of Mouse (2001-2003)
- Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006-present)
[edit] Computer and video games
- Donald's Alphabet Chase (1988)
- Donald Duck's Playground (1988)
- DuckTales (1989) in which Donald is only an non-player character
- Quackshot (1991)
- The Lucky Dime Caper starring Donald Duck (1991)
- World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (1992)
- DuckTales 2 (1993), again as a non-player character
- Deep Duck Trouble Starring Donald Duck (1993)
- Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow (1996)
- Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers (2000)
- Mickey's Speedway USA (2000)
- Kingdom Hearts (2002)
- Disney Golf (2002)
- Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows (2002)
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (2004)
- Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009)
- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010)
- It is also worth noting a robotic version of Donald, and a not very well put together one at that, will be appearing in Epic Mickey, to be released for the Wii in Fall of 2010. The player, if he/she so chooses, may pick up Donald's pieces and either keep them to rebuild the duck, or sell them for whatever is offered.
[edit] Further reading
- Ariel Dorfman, Armand Mattelart, David Kunzle (trans.), How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic ISBN 0884770230 (Anti-Donald Duck Marxist Critique)
- Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney's Donald Duck: 50 Years of Happy Frustration, Courage Books, May 1990 ASIN: 0894715305
[edit] External links
- Donald Duck comics
- Donald Duck's family tree
- Donald's profile in the Inducks
- Toonopedia: Donald Duck
- Donald Duck shorts film
