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The Wise Little Hen is a Silly Symphony short released on June 9, 1934. It marks the theatrical debut of Donald Duck and is based on the fairy tale The Little Red Hen.

Plot[]

The Wise Little Hen lived with her chicks. They were running low on food and she was worried, so she decided to plant some corn. So they set off to Peter Pig's house. She asked him if he would help her plant corn, ("Help Me Plant My Corn") but sadly Peter complained of having a belly ache and snorted off. The Hen realized that he would not help her, so she skipped off to Donald Duck's house. Donald did not help her either, as he also faked a belly ache and quacked off. The Hen decided to plant the corn herself. As soon as the corn had grown, the Hen asked Peter and Donald again if they would help her. They faked belly aches again and went into the club house they owned. Peter banged the door so hard the wall broke, but the Pig and the Duck were shaking hands without noticing the wall at all. The Hen saw through their trick and agreed with her chicks to not let them eat any corn when it's done. So they harvested and cooked the corn themselves for their dinner. When they were done, the Hen decided to ask Peter and Donald if they wanted corn. They agreed and came rushing over to grab the basket full of corn. They fought over it but then decided to dig in. To their surprise, it was castor oil for belly aches! The Hen and the chicks enjoyed their meal, while Peter and Donald kicked each other in the rear for the rest of the day.

Characters[]

Creation of Donald Duck[]

Clarence Nash had been a performer in Chautauqua and vaudeville during the 1920s and later met Wilfred Jackson who wanted Nash to provide bird sounds for a cartoon. During the call, Nash performed a rendition of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as a duck, and Jackson sent the music into Walt Disney's office. Disney himself proclaimed "[t]hat's our talking duck. The short was animated by Art Babbitt, Dick Huemer, Clyde Geronimi, Louie Schmitt, and Frenchy de Tremaudan (with assistance from a group of junior animators headed by Ben Sharpsteen) and directed by Wilfred Jackson. Animation on the hen was done by Wolfgang Reitherman and supervised by Ben Sharpsteen. Art Babbitt worked on Peter Pig and Donald Duck. Ward Kimball worked as an inbetweener on this short. The song featured in the short, "Help Me Plant My Corn" was written by Leigh Harline.

Trivia[]

  • This was Donald Duck's only color appearance until the release of The Band Concert in 1935, as Mickey Mouse cartoons from 1928 to 1935 were in black-and-white.
  • All of the characters' speeches are hard to interpret due to mixing in animal sounds.
    • This was what led to Donald to have his trademark quack-like speech.
  • Despite the character theatrically debuting in 1934, Donald Duck earlier appeared in the Disney book The Adventures of Mickey Mouse in 1931.

Goofs[]

  • Peter's leg outline was pink in one scene.

Releases[]

Television[]

Home video[]

VHS

DVD

Streaming[]

Gallery[]


v - e - d
Donald Duck Logo 2
1930s
The Wise Little HenDonald and PlutoDon DonaldModern InventionsDonald's OstrichSelf ControlDonald's Better SelfDonald's NephewsGood ScoutsDonald's Golf GameMother Goose Goes HollywoodDonald's Lucky DayThe Hockey ChampDonald's Cousin GusBeach PicnicSea ScoutsDonald's PenguinThe Autograph HoundOfficer DuckThe Fox Hunt (co-starring Goofy) • Polar Trappers (co-starring Goofy)
1940s
The RiveterDonald's Dog LaundryMr. Duck Steps OutPut-Put TroublesDonald's VacationThe Volunteer WorkerWindow CleanersThe Fire ChiefTimberThe Golden EggsA Good Time for a DimeEarly to BedTruant Officer DonaldOld MacDonald DuckDonald's CameraChef DonaldDonald's DecisionThe Village SmithyThe New SpiritDonald's Snow FightDonald Gets DraftedDonald's GardenDonald's Gold MineSky TrooperBellboy DonaldDer Fuehrer's FaceThe Spirit of '43Donald's Tire TroubleLake TiticacaAquarela do BrazilThe Flying JalopyFall Out-Fall InThe Old Army GameHome DefenseTrombone TroubleDonald Duck and the GorillaContrary CondorCommando DuckThe Plastics InventorDonald's Off DayThe Clock WatcherThe Eyes Have ItDonald's CrimeDuck PimplesCured DuckOld SequoiaDonald's Double TroubleWet PaintDumbell of the YukonLighthouse KeepingStraight ShootersSleepy Time DonaldClown of the JungleDonald's DilemmaBootle BeetleWide Open SpacesChip an' DaleDrip Dippy DonaldDaddy DuckDonald's Dream VoiceBlame It on the SambaThe Trial of Donald DuckInferior DecoratorSoup's OnThree for BreakfastTea for Two HundredDonald's Happy BirthdaySea SaltsWinter StorageHoney HarvesterAll in a NutshellThe Greener YardSlide, Donald, SlideToy TinkersBillposters (co-starring Goofy) • No Sail (co-starring Goofy) • Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive (co-starring Goofy) • Crazy with the Heat (co-starring Goofy)
1950s
Lion AroundCrazy Over DaisyTrailer HornHook, Lion and SinkerBee at the BeachOut on a LimbDude DuckCorn ChipsTest Pilot DonaldLucky NumberOut of ScaleBee on GuardDonald ApplecoreLet's Stick TogetherUncle Donald's AntsTrick or TreatDon's Fountain of YouthThe New NeighborRugged BearWorking for PeanutsCanvas Back DuckSpare the RodDonald's DiaryDragon AroundGrin and Bear ItThe Flying SquirrelGrand CanyonscopeNo HuntingBearly AsleepBeezy BearUp a TreeChips Ahoy
1960s
The Litterbug
Educational Shorts
How to Have an Accident in the HomeHow to Have an Accident at WorkDonald in Mathmagic LandDonald and the WheelSteel and AmericaDonald's Fire Survival PlanFamily Planning
Songs
Donald Duck
See Also
DuckTales (1987 series)Donald's Quack AttackQuack PackPomp and CircumstanceDuckTales (2017 series)


v - e - d
Sillysymphonylogo
1929
The Skeleton DanceEl Terrible ToreadorSpringtimeHell's BellsThe Merry Dwarfs
1930
SummerAutumnCannibal CapersFrolicking FishArctic AnticsMidnight in a Toy ShopNightMonkey MelodiesWinterPlayful Pan
1931
Birds of a FeatherMother Goose MelodiesThe China PlateThe Busy BeaversThe Cat's OutEgyptian MelodiesThe Clock StoreThe Spider and the FlyThe Fox Hunt (1931 short)The Ugly Duckling (1931)
1932
The Bird StoreThe Bears and BeesJust DogsFlowers and TreesKing NeptuneBugs in LoveBabes in the WoodsSanta's Workshop
1933
Birds in the SpringFather Noah's ArkThree Little PigsOld King ColeLullaby LandThe Pied PiperThe Night Before Christmas
1934
The China ShopThe Grasshopper and the AntsFunny Little BunniesThe Big Bad WolfThe Wise Little HenThe Flying MousePeculiar PenguinsThe Goddess of Spring
1935
The Tortoise and the HareThe Golden TouchThe Robber KittenWater BabiesThe Cookie CarnivalWho Killed Cock Robin?Music LandThree Orphan KittensCock o' the WalkBroken Toys
1936
Elmer ElephantThree Little WolvesToby Tortoise ReturnsThree Blind MouseketeersThe Country CousinMother PlutoMore Kittens
1937
Woodland CaféLittle HiawathaThe Old Mill
1938
The Moth and the FlameWynken, Blynken and NodFarmyard SymphonyMerbabiesMother Goose Goes Hollywood
1939
The Practical PigThe Ugly Duckling
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