Donald Duck was born with his twin sister Della on June 9, 1920 in Duckburg.
Donald Duck is a character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions; Donald is a 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. He has played in more films than any other Disney character, and is the most published comic book character in the world.
These films introduced Donald’s love interest, Daisy Duck, her name is Paperina in Italia, and 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 “Fantasia 2000”; Donald has also appeared in television series such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
The origins of Donald Duck’s name may have been inspired by Australian cricket legend Donald Bradman, who was touring North America with his team in 1932. When they created a friend for Mickey Mouse, the new character “Donald Duck”, voice performer Clarence Nash auditioned for Walt Disney Studios; Disney was particularly impressed with Nash’s duck imitation and chose him to voice the new character.
Disney came up with Donald’s attributes, including his short-temper and his sailor suit (based on ducks and sailors both being associated with water). While Dick Huemer and Art Babbit were first to animate Donald, Dick Lundy is credited for developing him as a character.
Donald is also a bit of a poseur. He likes to brag, especially about how skilled he is at something. He does, in fact, have many skills: he is a talented fisher and a competent hockey player. However, his love of bragging often leads him to overestimate his abilities.
Another of his personality traits is perseverance, even though he can at times be a slacker 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.
Donald Duck first appeared in the 1934 cartoon “The Wise Little Hen” which was part of the “Silly Symphonies” series of theatrical cartoon shorts.
Donald’s nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, perform in their first animated episode in April 1938, in the film, “Donald’s Nephews”, directed by Jack King; they had been earlier introduced in the Donald Duck comic strip by Al Taliaferro.
Donald has since appeared in several different television shows and short animated movies. Donald had a rather small part in the animated television series “Duck Tales”. There, Donald joins the U.S. Navy and leaves his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie with their Uncle Scrooge, who then has to take care of them.
Donald Duck in comics
Donald Duck, named Paolino Paperino, is also a very popular character in Italy, where new stories about him and Scrooge McDuck are hosted in the kids’ weekly Topolino and the monthly Paperino. While Paperino is written by many authors, he still maintains several characteristics. He’s mostly an everyman, but with the fierce, harsh temper, Donald is unable to do or get anything right.
Donald’s house boat is at Mickey’s Toontown, in Disneyland. He has actually been seen in more attractions and shows at the parks.
Donald has been a frequent character in children’s books beginning in 1935. Most of these books were published by Whitman Publishing, Western Publishing, and Beyond Disney. Donald’s name and image are used on numerous commercial products; one example being Donald Duck brand orange juice, introduced by Citrus World in 1940.
Donald Duck received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
ANNA & MARIA SCIACCA