Children's favorite Donald Duck turns 60
Children's favorite Donald Duck turns 60
JAKARTA (JP): The most famous duck in the world turns 60 today!
Donald Fauntleroy Duck, the water fowl with the feisty personality, was "born" on June 9, 1934, with an appearance in the Disney short The Wise Little Hen.
Here in Indonesia, he is loved by both children and parents alike, who call him Donal Bebek.
His debut was brief: the sailor-suited duck said eight words ("Who? Me? Oh no, I've got a bellyache") and danced a clever jig.
But Donald's success story actually began with an informal audition at the Disney studios in the early 1930s by Los Angeles radio personality Clarence Nash. He imitated a precociously shy child reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb, then went on to impersonate a family of ducks. When Walt Disney heard the latter he exclaimed, "That's our talking duck!"
For the next 50 years, Clarence "Ducky" Nash would perform Donald's distinctive voice.
An American original, Donald Duck has movie fans in 76 countries, television audiences in 29 countries, a daily comic strip in approximately 100 newspapers outside the United States and a comic book that is published in 47 countries.
Following The Wise Little Hen, Donald's next appearance was in Orphan's Benefit (1934). With more lines in this second role, his personality began to take the feisty direction that would become familiar to audiences worldwide.
This was also Donald's first appearance in a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Goofy was also seen in this short, making it the first film in which Mickey, Donald and Goofy appeared together. They would later star as a comic trio in a beloved series of shorts including Clock Cleaners (1937), Lonesome Ghosts (1937), Boat Builders (1938) and Mickey's Trailer (1938).
By 1937, Donald had become a star as he appeared in Don Donald, the gallant bird who woos an exotic senorita named Donna. Donna later evolved into Daisy Duck.
In the 1938 cartoon Donald's Nephews, his sister, Dumbella, sends three active nephews (Huey, Dewey and Louie) for him to look after. Dumbella still has not come back for them.
Donald Duck's rise to fame led to roles in more than 150 short subjects and appearances in several feature films: The Reluctant Dragon (1941), Saludos Amigos (1943), The Three Caballeros (1945) as well as featurettes Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), The Prince and the Pauper (1990) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
Donald's wartime achievements include Der Fuehrer's Face, released on New Year's Day 1943, which won the Oscar for Best Cartoon Short Subject 1942-43; and his appearance on over 400 different military insignia, created by artists at the Disney Studio.
Donald's last appearance in a Mickey Mouse cartoon was Symphony Hour (1942).
Donald made numerous television appearances, including a daily skirmish with a ceremonial gong on the opening of the original "Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-59). His television debut was made on Oct. 27, 1954 during the fourth installment of the Disneyland television series. His segment was called The Donald Duck Story.
Donald's return to series television was announced recently by Walt Disney Television Animation. Duck Daze will premiere as part of the Disney Afternoon in the Fall of 1995.
Books
Donald's first literary appearance was a passing mention in the book The Adventures of Mickey Mouse, where he is referred to as a friend of Mickey's.
The first Donald Duck book was published in 1934, a retelling of the Silly Symphony The Wise Little Hen. The following year he starred in his own book and since then there have been numerous Donald Duck books.
In 1979 a comprehensive, fully-illustrated 256-page retrospective of the feisty mallard's career, entitled Donald Duck, was written by Marcia Blitz and published by Harmony Books.
In 1935, Donald first appeared in a part of the Silly Symphony comic strip series. Within two years, he had become the star of his own Sunday strip.
On Feb. 7, 1938, Donald was made a star of his own daily comic strip syndicated by King Features.
The year 1940 marked the premiere of Donald Duck in comic books. Before long, he and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, were joined by one of the most beloved characters in comic book history, Uncle Scrooge. Unlike most characters, Scrooge was created for the comic books, and only debuted onscreen in Scrooge McDuck and Money in 1970.
Theme parks
When Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955, Donald Duck was on hand to greet the guest, and he has continued acting as official host, not only there, but at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and most recently, at Euro Disneyland.
Donald joined Mickey Minnie, Goofy and Pluto and the rest of the cartoon gang in greeting guests as Mickey's Toontown opened to Disneyland guests in 1992. Guests can visit Donald's boat, the Miss Daisy, which is permanently docked in Toon Lake.
Regarding his experiences, Donald says "I do my best to do right, but practically everything goes wrong. Sometimes, the world is just a hat with a brick underneath. But when all is said and done, I think I'm just a little guy with a lot of pride."
Donald Duck's "footprints" are preserved at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. (lem)