Donald Duck
onald
Duck is a funny animal 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 suit
with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most famous for his
semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous and irritable 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 appeared in more films
than any other Disney character, listed as appearing in approximately
178 theatrical films compared to Mickey Mouse's 137, and is the fifth
most published comic book character in the world after Batman, Superman,
Spider-Man, and Wolverine.
Donald
Duck rose to fame with his comedic roles in animated cartoons. His
distinctive voice was created by Clarence Nash, who performed the role
for 50 years. Donald's first appearance was in The Wise Little Hen
(1934), 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 girlfriend Daisy Duck and sometimes featured
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's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and The Three Musketeers (2004) as
well as television programs such as DuckTales (1987–1990), Quack Pack
(1996), and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–present).
Beyond
animation Donald is primarily known for his appearances in comics, both
in newspaper strips and comic books. Donald was most famously drawn by
Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. Barks in particular is credited
for greatly expanding the "duck universe", the world in which Donald
lives, and creating many additional characters such as Donald's maternal
uncle Scrooge McDuck. Today Donald is a very popular character in
Europe, particularly in the Low Countries and Scandinavian countries
where his weekly magazine has remained the most popular comics
publication for over 50 years. Disney comics' fandom is sometimes
referred to as "Donaldism", a term which originated in Norway.
(Norwegian: Donaldisme) He has also made video game appearances, such as
QuackShot (1991), Goin' Quackers (2000), and Kingdom Hearts (2002).
