| Donald Duck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | The Wise Little Hen (1934) |
| Created by | Walt Disney |
| Voiced by | Clarence Nash (1934–85) Tony Anselmo (1985–present) Daniel Ross (2017–present; Mickey and the Roadster Racers) |
| Developed by | Dick Lundy, Fred Spencer, Carl Barks, Jack King, Jack Hannah |
| Information | |
| Full name | Donald Fauntleroy Duck |
| Nickname(s) | Don |
| Aliases |
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| Species | Duck |
| Family | Duck family |
| Significant other(s) | Daisy Duck Reginella (1970s comics) Hernae (Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow) Donna Duck (Don Donald) |
| Relatives | Scrooge McDuck (uncle) Ludwig Von Drake (uncle) Huey, Dewey, and Louie (nephews) Duck family (paternal relatives) Clan McDuck (maternal relatives) |
Donald Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is most famous for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous and temperamental personality. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald is one of the most popular Disney characters and was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002.[1] He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character,[2] and is the most published comic book character in the world outside of the superhero genre.[3]
Donald Duck rose to fame with his comedic roles in animated cartoons. Donald's first appearance was in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen, but it was his second appearance in Orphan's Benefit which introduced him as a temperamental comic foil to Mickey Mouse. Throughout the next two decades, Donald appeared in over 150 theatrical films, several of which were recognized at the Academy Awards. In the 1930s, he typically appeared as part of a comic trio with Mickey and Goofy and was given his own film series in 1937 starting with Don Donald. These films introduced Donald's love interest Daisy Duck and often included his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. After the 1956 film Chips Ahoy, Donald appeared primarily in educational films before eventually returning to theatrical animation in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). His most recent appearance in a theatrical film was 1999's Fantasia 2000. Donald has also appeared in direct-to-video features such as Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004), television series such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–2016), and video games such as QuackShot (1991).[4]
Beyond animation, Donald is primarily known for his appearances in comics. Donald was most famously drawn by Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. Barks, in particular, is credited for greatly expanding the "Donald Duck universe", the world in which Donald lives, and creating many additional characters such as Donald's rich uncle Scrooge McDuck. Donald has been a very popular character in Europe, particularly in Nordic countries where his weekly magazine Donald Duck & Co was the most popular comics publication from the 1950s to 2009.
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[hide]Origin
The origins of Donald Duck's name may have been inspired by Australian cricket legend Donald Bradman. In 1932 Bradman and the Australian team were touring North America and he made the news after being dismissed for a duck against New York West Indians. Walt Disney was in the process of creating a friend for Mickey Mouse when he possibly read about Bradman's dismissal in the papers and decided to name the new character "Donald Duck".[5] Voice performer Clarence Nash auditioned for Walt Disney Studios when he learned that Disney was looking for people to create animal sounds for his cartoons. Disney was particularly impressed with Nash's duck imitation and chose him to voice the new character. Besides, during that period Mickey Mouse had lost some of his edge since becoming a role model towards children, and so Disney wanted to create a character to portray some of the more negative character traits that could no longer be bestowed on Mickey. Disney came up with Donald's iconic attributes including his short-temper and his sailor suit (based on ducks and sailors both being associated with water).[6] While Dick Huemer and Art Babbit were first to animate Donald, Dick Lundy is credited for developing him as a character.[7]
Characteristics
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Personality
Donald's two dominant personality traits are his short temper and his positive outlook on life. Many Donald shorts start with Donald in a happy mood, without a care in the world until something comes along and spoils his day. His anger is a great cause of suffering in his life. On multiple occasions, it has caused him to get in over his head and lose competitions. There are times when he fights to keep his temper in check, and he sometimes succeeds in doing so temporarily, but he always returns to his normal angry self in the end.
Donald's aggressive nature has its advantages, however. While at times it is a hindrance, and even a handicap, it has also helped him in times of need. When faced with a threat of some kind, for example, Pete's attempts to intimidate him, he is initially scared, but his fear is replaced by anger. As a result, instead of running away, he fights—with ghosts, sharks, mountain goats, giant kites, and even the forces of nature. And, more often than not, when he fights, he comes out on top.
Donald is something of a prankster, and as a result, he can sometimes come across as a bit of a bully, especially in the way he sometimes treats Chip n' Dale and Huey, Dewey and Louie, his nephews. As the animator Fred Spencer has put it:
However, with a few exceptions, there is seldom any malice in Donald's pranks. He almost never intends to hurt anyone, and whenever his pranks go too far, he is always very regretful. In Truant Officer Donald, for example, when he is tricked into believing he has accidentally killed Huey, Dewey, and Louie, he shows great remorse, blaming himself. His nephews appear in the form of angels, and he willingly endures a kick by one of them—that is, of course, until he realizes he has been played for a sap, whereupon he promptly loses his temper.
Donald is also a bit of a show-off. He likes to brag, especially about how skilled he is at something. He does, in fact, have many skills—he is something of a Jack of all Trades. Amongst other things, he is a good fisher and a good hockey player. However, his love of bragging often leads him to overestimate his abilities, so that when he sets out to make good on his boasts, he gets in over his head, usually to hilarious effect.
Another of his personality traits is tenacity. Even though he can at times be lazy, and likes to say that his favorite place to be is in a hammock, once he has committed to accomplishing something he goes for it 100 percent, sometimes resorting to extreme measures to reach his goal.
Phrases
Donald has a few memorable phrases that he occasionally comes out with in certain situations. For example, when he stumbles across other characters in the midst of planning some sort of retaliation or prank, or when things don't go as he'd planned or don't work properly, he often says, "What's the big idea!?". When he has given up on something he's been trying to do, or something he's been hoping will happen, he tends to say, "Aw, phooey!". When he confronts someone who's been antagonizing him or something that's been frustrating him, he likes to exclaim, "So!!". He greets his friend Daisy, and occasionally others, with, "Hiya, toots!". And when he's very excited about something, he usually mutters, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy..." under his breath.
Health
There's a running gag in the Donald Duck comics about him being out of shape and unwilling to exercise. Usually, some character close to Donald annoys him by saying he's being lazy and needs to get some exercise. But despite his apparent slothfulness, Donald proves that he is physically strong. In the short film, Sea Scouts, Donald is traveling with his nephews in a boat when it's attacked by a shark. Donald makes several attempts to defeat the shark, each of which proves ineffective, but then finally triumphs and defeats the shark with a single well-placed punch. Additionally, as discussed below- Donald had a stint in the U.S. Army during World War II that culminated with him serving as a commando in the film Commando Duck, and he was frequently away serving in the U.S. Navy in the television cartoon series DuckTales.
