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Donald Duck

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Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic book character best known for his cartoons from Walt Disney Studios. Donald is a white anthropomorphic duck with yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He usually wears a sailor shirt and cap -- but no pants. Some people believe that Finland banned him because he has no trousers, but this is an urban legend (see http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/finland.htm ).

According to the cartoon "Donald Gets Drafted" (1942), Donald's full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck.

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 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. The character's voice, however, performed by voice actor Clarence "Ducky" Nash, is already present and would remain the same until Nash's death 51 years later. It was largely this semi-intelligible speech that would cement Donald's image into audiences' minds and help fuel his rise to stardom.

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 taunt him or harass him, 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, 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 exemplery 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 1937 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 introduced in the Donald Duck comic strip by Al Taliaferro a few weeks prior).

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.

Many of Donald's films from this era make Donald the brunt of some other character's pestering. Donald is repeatedly attacked, harassed, and ridiculed by his nephews, by the chipmunks Chip and Dale, or by other one-shot characters such as a bear 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 Duck in Mathmagic Land" (1959), and made cameos in various Disney projects, such as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and the Disneyland television show (1959).

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, notably Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Italy.

The comic book version of Donald was mainly developed by Carl Barks beginning in 1943. Barks largely did away with Donald's animated persona as a loafing, lazy hothead whose main quality is his hardly understandable quacking. To make him suitable for a comic-book story, Barks redefined his personality, gave him articulated speech, and shaded emotions. To give Donald a world to live in, Barks developed the city of Duckburg in the American state of Calisota. Barks also chose not to feature other prominent Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse of Goofy (who apparantly live in a different town) in order to focus on Duckburg citizens like the richest duck in the world, Uncle Scrooge McDuck, lucky cousin Gladstone Gander, and the peculiar inventor Gyro Gearloose. In the comics, Donald lives in a house in Duckburg with his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, who are identical triplets.

Much of this scenario would resurface in the 1987 TV series DuckTales. In that cartoon, however, Donald works and lives as a sailor on an aircraft carrier, and Huey, Dewie, and Louie live with Uncle Scrooge instead.

According to Disney comics author Don Rosa, Donald was born somewhere around 1920 -- however, this is not an official year of birth. According to Carl Barks' Donald Duck family tree (later developed and re-built by Don Rosa for the Danish publishing house Egmont), Donald's parents are Hortense McDuck and Quackmore Duck. Donald also has a sister named Thelma or Della Duck, but neither she nor Donald's parents appear in the cartoons or comics except for special cases, like The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. According to Rosa, Donald and Della are twins.

In 1969, many children complained to the publishers of the Italian version of the Donald Duck comics that Donald was always the loser in their stories. Writer Guido Martina and artist Giovan Battista Carpi responded by giving Donald a superhero alias named Paperinik ("Superduck"), which they introduced in the two-part, 60-page story "Paperinik il diabolico vendicatoro" ("Superduck the Diabolical Vindicator") released between June 8 and June 15, 1969.

To find Donald's name in other countries, please see Disney characters' names in various languages.

Movies:

Television series:

Comic Books:

  • Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
  • Donald Duck
  • Uncle Scrooge
  • Uncle Scrooge Adventures
  • Donald Duck Adventures
  • Mickey and Donald
  • Duck Tales
  • Donald and Mickey
  • Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse
  • Walt Disney Giant
  • Walt Disney's Comics and Stories Penny Pincher
  • Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck
  • The Adventurous Uncle Scrooge McDuck
  • In Old California

Famous illustrators:

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