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 ne of the most popular of the Disney cartoon
characters, Donald Duck made his debut in the Silly Symphony cartoon "The
Wise Little Hen" on June 9, 1934. His fiery temper endeared him to
audiences, and in the 1940s he surpassed Mickey Mouse in the number of cartoons
reaching the theaters. Eventually, there were 128 Donald Duck cartoons, but he
also appeared in a number of others with Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto. His
middle name, shown in a wartime cartoon, is Fauntleroy. The original voice of
Donald was Clarence "Ducky" Nash, who was succeeded after 50 years by
Disney artist Tony Anselmo. A daily Donald Duck newspaper comic strip began on
February 7, 1938.
Donald Duck has a good heart and always has good intentions. Well, almost always.
Actually, it's his second or third intentions that are the good ones, but by the
time they surface Donald's already off and running in the wrong direction. He
refuses to let anyone or anything stand in his way. It doesn't matter how much
humiliation the world dishes out to him, Donald will take it and come back for
more. He's a loser, not a quitter, and he'll go down fighting. This is a duck
with one short fuse, and an amazing (if unintelligible) command of language, and
when things don't go right, he goes ballistic. Yet after the storm is over and
the tantrum is through, when faithful Daisy soothes his brow or his conscience
finally catches up with him, even Donald can admit that there must be a better
way. If only he could figure out what it is.
Hot-headed Donald is a little man in a big world that's trying to keep him down.
Call it fate, or call it lack of self-control, nothing goes right for this duck:
even his best intentions often go awry. Of course, by the time his best
intentions surface he's probably already chasing after less noble pursuits. As
stubborn as he is temperamental, he won't give in, even when he's up to his beak
in trouble. Then watch out. Like a lot of people with a temper problem, he's
blind to his own faults but quick to see them in others. He can't understand why
life seems so much easier for pals Mickey and easy-going Goofy. It's not fair.
Still, Donald will keep struggling to get what he deserves in the world.
Favorite sayings: "Oh, yeah?" "Hiya, toots!" "Aw,
phooey!" "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" "Nothin' to it!" |
