Donald Duck

Apr183 — Donald Duck Mickey's best friend

Donald Duck (or simply referred to as “The Duck”) is an animated character created by Walt Disney as a foil to Mickey Mouse. He is also Mickey's best friend and he met Pooh and his friends in Pooh's Adventures of The Three Musketeers.

Making his screen debut in The Wise Little Hen on June 9, 1934, Donald is characterized as a pompous, showboating duck wearing a sailor suit, cap and a bow tie.

He was as a minor character from the original 1987 DuckTales series before becoming a main character in the 2017 reboot.

He is the nephew of Scrooge McDuck, the uncle of Huey, Dewey and Louie, and the older twin brother of Della Duck.

Appearance

Donald Duck is an anthropomorphic white duck. And he commonly wears a blue sailor suit with yellow stripes on it. And he wears a blue sailor's hat on his head.

In "DuckTales (2017)", Donald was mostly seen in a black sailor suit with four buttons on it, but he was seen with his original outfit in three episodes.

Personality

Donald has been described as a "problem child" by Walt Disney. True to this, he is a rather—albeit humorously—controversial character in nature, with his most famous personality trait being his explosive temper. When angered, Donald will pitch a fit of quacking and bouncing in place while flaunting his fists, usually as a threat to whomever (or whatever) caused him his latest annoyance. He is also arrogant and can be quite the show-off, especially when he is skilled at something. This has a tendency to get him into trouble, however, as he often gets in over his head. Much of Donald's comedy comes from his exaggerated rudeness and the repercussions that come with said rudeness. For example, Donald finds enjoyment in bullying, pranking, and humiliating others for his own amusement. What he can not tolerate, however, is his victims fighting back against him—as such, these battles often lead to Donald's humiliation.

In contrast to these negative traits, Donald is—at his core—a warm and loving character. When not dealing with a problem, Donald can be quite jovial and friendly, and he usually tries his hardest to keep his temper under control for the sake of his own contentment, as well as those around him. Additionally, Donald shares a very loving relationship with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and treats them as his own children, despite their rivalries. The triplets love their "Unca Donald", with a particular scene in the first episode of DuckTales showcasing them having a heartfelt goodbye moment as Donald prepares to leave for the navy. Donald also has shown signs of humility, most notably in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, when Huey, Dewey, and Louie's pranks ruin Christmas for him and the whole family. When the tree falls on Donald, instead of yelling at his nephews, he stays sadly silent, humiliated, and defeated, while Daisy comforts him. When truly faced with wrongs of his actions, Donald will accept them and find the strength to bring himself to face his mistakes head-on. One of the most prominent displays of this was in Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, where after vandalizing the Mousey Mall's Christmas display out of holiday fatigue, he was visibly horrified by his actions and spent the remainder of the short willingly paying recompense.

For all his bravado, Donald is secretly insecure about himself. He takes offense to those who cannot understand his voice and is notoriously envious of Mickey Mouse's popularity. Donald's bad luck also plays a part in his low self-esteem, as he sometimes sees himself as a failure due to his frequent mishaps. Donald tends to hide this with a boisterous veneer, though he has confided in Daisy about his inhibition on occasion. Daisy is also one of the very few Disney characters capable of pacifying Donald's psychotic temper, even though she has a temper of her own. What Donald sometimes lacks in confidence, he makes up for with perseverance. His aggressive nature can act as a double-edged sword; while at times a hindrance for him, it has also helped him in times of need. When faced with a threat of some kind, Donald may get frightened and even intimidated, but rather than getting scared, he gets mad and has taken up fights with ghosts, sharks, mountain goats and even the forces of nature and has usually won. In fact, many shorts and cartoons have shown a significant increase in his physical strength and fighting prowess when pushed far enough. He sometimes portrays qualities of a bruiser, being quick to fight his adversaries.

Donald is often portrayed as having great difficulty holding down a job, and can be described as a typical "jack of all trades, master of none". His attempts at these professions often go comically wrong, with Donald causing one calamity after another.

Donald has a few memorable phrases that he occasionally comes out within given situations. "What's the big idea?" is a common one, which Donald sarcastically squawks when burdened by another character. "Aw, phooey!" is usually exclaimed as a sign of either apathy or defeat. "So!" is Donald's usual declaration when confronting someone (or something) antagonizing him. When excited, Donald will often shout, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

In the 2017 DuckTales reboot, Donald Duck is a hot-headed duck, devoted, independent and caring, who has taken responsibility for his sister's kids as their guardian. Giving them love and protection as if they were his children, doing anything to protect them from danger.

Donald is extremely overprotective of his nephews, to the point where he feels uncomfortable leaving them alone. Before his nephews met Scrooge McDuck,

Yet once when he realized how capable they were during their first adventure with their great-uncle Scrooge McDuck in the pilot episode, Donald gives them the freedom to have adventures with Scrooge, although originally on birthdays or federal holidays until his houseboat exploded because of Dewey.

Donald has altruism and compassion for his family as well as other people, often answering requests to lend a hand. Even if either party may have treated him poorly in the past. Such as when he allowed Flintheart Glomgold's henchmen access to the submarine while Atlantis was falling apart. He does the same thing in The House of the Lucky Gander! where he tries to help his cousin Gladstone, even though he despises Gladstone's smug luck and lax behaviour.

Donald is also honest, straight-forward, aggressive and very short-tempered, as when something is unfair or has angered him, he is the one to express his opinion on it in the loudest way possible. He doesn't hold back to express his fury and love, often resorting to temper tantrums as an outlet. This has gotten him into trouble, as his anger almost always leads to a chaotic rampage of quacking and a chain of comedic destruction. However, this can be used against his enemies. This is well displayed in Daytrip of Doom!, where Donald single-handedly took on two of the Beagle Boys (one being the significantly larger Bouncer) out of sheer rage for the kidnappers ransoming his boys.

He can also be quite stubborn, holding a high value to his independence and his desires. In the Daytrip of Doom!, Donald's attitude towards Mrs. Beakley in regards to her house rules is dismissive, to say the least, as he openly opposes her for any form of assistance. This self-proclaimed competition is immediately ignored, however, after finding the ransom note tied to a brick.

Although mostly well-meaning, Donald can prove to be unpredictable, as well as a "financial risk," as put by Huey in Who is Gizmoduck?! His explosive temper can be set off in moments of frustration, impatience, and typically when nothing goes his way.

This is likely due to his outstandingly terrible luck. In The House of the Lucky Gander! it was stated by Louie that Donald was "the unluckiest duck in the world." Donald's luck has been shown to extend to various levels of unfortunate circumstances, including physical injury, property damage, vocal misunderstandings, misplaced respect from others, unintended massive responsibilities, and a bittersweet lack of previous interests.

Even though his misfortunes set him up for failure, Louie states the best thing about Donald is that he never gives up. Persistent, devoted and stubborn, Donald's misadventures make him a survivor, a quality his nephews' respect. Webby even went as far as describing him as a daring hero in Woo-oo!.

Through all of Donald's emotional tendency of affection, protectiveness, and fury, Donald has shown to be insecure, as nothing comes easy for him. The opinion of others can sometimes drag him into being depressed. This is well shown in The House of the Lucky Gander!, where Donald's bad luck brings him down while his cousin Gladstone's good luck gives him everything, causing Donald to feel like a loser. Donald is discouraged further when his nephews favour Gladstone and Scrooge more than him, making him feeling hurt and belittled. This, however, has been known to change throughout the series. As seen in The Shadow War!, when asked by Webby to say one nice thing about a relative, the nephews prefer to only say nice things about Donald since after hearing about the story of what happened to their mother, they begin to appreciate how devoted he is to his family. As well as the reasoning as to why Donald has always been so overprotective of them in their lives. This cheers Donald up very much, knowing his nephews meant every word and allowing him to feel achieved as a guardian to them for all these years. And when Donald's confidence shows, he shows signs of great leadership and initiative, as seen in The Shadow War! when Donald takes charge of saving Scrooge.

Despite his negative personality, Donald's positivity, loyalty, and perseverance shine when he gives his all for the ones he loves.

Trivia

Donald Duck has appeared in the most Disney comics (along with Huey, Dewey, and Louie).
Donald's outfit colour scheme is similar to ones in comics created by Don Rosa.
When speaking of Donald, the artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios rarely called the character by name, instead referring to him as “The Duck”. The moniker was regularly used by Walt Disney during interviews and discussions about Donald.
- Donald did call himself "the Duck" in the Roadster Racers/Mixed-Up Adventures series.
- Appearing in over 150 theatrically released films and shorts, Donald has the record for most theatrical appearances for a Disney character and he is the most published non-superhero comic book character in the world.
- A duck skeleton that looks like Donald can be seen in James and the Giant Peach.
- A float that looks exactly like Donald Duck appears in the “Safety Smart in the Water” episode from the Timon and Pumbaa's Wild About Safety series.
- Though Donald has black irises, they sometimes appear to be blue in 2-D artwork or in his 3D models and artworks, such as his Kingdom Hearts III artwork.
- Donald Duck is the only popular film and TV cartoon character to appear as a mascot for the sports team of a major American university, namely, the Ducks at the University of Oregon.
- Donald's name and image are used in numerous commercial products, one example being Donald Duck Orange Juice, introduced by Citrus World in 1940.
- Donald resembles a species of duck called Crested Duck.
- Though he does not appear in that series, Donald was mentioned at least twice in Darkwing Duck. In "Film Flam", when Drake Mallard refuses to believe something Gosalyn is telling him, he sarcastically remarks "Yeah right, and I'm Donald... Duck?" Also, in "A Star is Scorned", when Darkwing and Gosalyn arrive at the studio, the security guard thinks that Darkwing is Donald, saying he didn't recognize him without his sailor suit. Later, when trying to get back into the studio, Darkwing and Gosalyn manage to get in disguised as Donald and Louie, respectively.
- In the comic universe, Donald is the first descendant of the three main Duck families (Duck, Coot, and McDuck), a trait shared only by his sister and his nephews.
- To mark Donald’s 50th anniversary, 50 Pekin ducks followed the costumed character around Disneyland.
- Osamu Tezuka (known as "The Godfather of Manga") was a huge fan of the Donald Duck and Scrooge McDucks comics by Carl Barks. Every Christmas, Tezuka would annually send Barks Christmas Cards and letters featuring his characters (such as Astro Boy, Kimba/Leo, and Unico). One Holiday card featured Astro Boy hugging Donald Duck.[2]
- Donald’s voice can be heard on a television in Prep & Landing.
- In The Muppet Show episode guest-starring Petula Clark, there was a character named Ronald Duck, whose name is a spoof of Donald Duck.
- In Italian version, Donald was renamed "Paperino", which comes from "Papero", the Italian word for "Duck".
In the first episode of the 2017 series Woo-oo!, Donald's contemporary blue and yellow sailor shirt, including the red bowtie, briefly appear before being destroyed in Donald's efforts to prepare for a job interview. This outfit has been seen very few times since, for example, flashbacks as to what happened before Della's disappearance and the events of "Quack Pack!". He later receives a black and white version of his sailor shirt and bowtie, a design calling back to the original Donald Duck comics, after being hired for a short time by Glomgold.
In "The Spear of Selene!" Donald and his family were revealed to have made friends with the Greek Gods Storkules and Selene before the series and before Della's disappearance.
In "The Most Dangerous Game...Night!" it's revealed that both Donald and Scrooge are experts at non-verbal communication due to thirty years of constantly trying to guess what Donald's saying.
In "The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!" it's revealed that during Donald's college years, he used to enjoy spending his time with friends Panchito Pistoles and Jose Carioca. They also formed a band together known as The Three Caballeros, but most of the crowds disliked them due to their singing (particularly Donald's).
As seen in "Last Christmas!," Donald used to have an emo hairstyle when he was still a pre-teen, as well as an obsession with writing songs with his electric guitar.
A recurring theme for Donald during this series is his inability to keep his boat together. In Woo-oo!, his boat was destroyed due to Dewey keeping the engine running for too long. In Daytrip of Doom!, the boat suffered fire damage while setting up generators. In Jaw$!, the boathouse is further damaged by the confrontation with the money shark. In The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!, even with Donald's confidence in the boat being nearly repaired, explosions from the boat can easily be seen in the background. In The Shadow War!, his boat is destroyed once again when Beakley failed to stop the shadow monsters from tearing the boat apart, with it sinking into the water soon after.
Donald and his sister Della are the first descendants of three major families; the Duck Family, Clan McDuck, and the Coot Family.
Donald and his sister Della's parents have never been seen in person nor through flashback throughout the entire series, making it unclear when the two went to live with Scrooge before the Spear of Selene incident.
Donald is one of three sensational six members to appear in the DuckTales reboot series, with the other two being Goofy and Daisy Duck.
Tony Anselmo, Donald's voice actor for this series, is also the current voice for Donald in other media.
Donald's confirmed middle name is Fauntleroy.
In "Whatever Happened to Donald Duck?", Donald's anger manager, Jones, helped Donald control his temper by channelling it into protective instincts at those who threaten to harm his family.
Donald Duck has a huge dislike towards Suzi, Wilhelmina and Buttsquat. But Suzi seems to be the one who dislikes him most of all. They always give dirty looks to each other and they are always violently threatening each other. Donald will protect the friends that he loves from anyone who threatens to badly hurt them.
Donald made a cameo with Mickey Mouse in Pooh's Adventures of A Goofy Movie.
Donald guest-starred with Goofy and Sora in Pooh and Garfield's Halloween Adventure.
Donald made a cameo with Mickey Mouse and Goofy in Pooh's Adventures of The Muppet Movie.
Donald guest-starred with Mickey Mouse and Goofy in Winnie the Pooh Visits The Haunted Mansion.
Donald guest-starred with Goofy and Sora in Winnie the Pooh Goes to The Road to El Dorado.
Donald will guest star again in Pooh's Adventures of Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Pooh's Adventures of James and the Giant Peach, Pooh's Adventures of Miracle on 34th Street, Pooh's Adventures of Barney Live in New York City, Winnie the Pooh in The Adventures of the American Rabbit, Pooh's Adventures of Problem Child, Pooh's Adventures of Around The World In 80 Days, Pooh's Adventures of Cats, Winnie the Pooh Meets The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Winnie the Pooh hears The Sound of Music, Pooh's Adventures of The Fairly OddParents: Whishology: (Full Movie), and Pooh's Adventures of Animals United.
Donald Appears in a lot of Sora's Adventure Movies That Made by TheAngryPepe, Due to Him as a Team Member of Sora's Adventures.
Donald, along with Pluto, Sora, Mickey and Goofy, will join the team in Pooh's Adventures of The World of the Worlds.
Donald met Tino and his friends in Tino's Adventures of The Three Musketeers.
Donald, along with Sora, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto will make their first debuts in Winnie the Pooh Shouts Help! I'm a Fish.
Donald will meet Bloom and her friends in Pooh's Adventures of Winx Club Season 2.
Donald will make his first guest appearance in a Winx Club crossover film in Bloom Meets Tinker Bell.
Donald will see Bloom and her friends again in Bloom's Adventures of The Three Musketeers.
Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Goofy will meet Nighlock and Red Smoke in Nighlock and Red Smoke in Kingdom Hearts.
Donald Duck will join the team in Winnie the Pooh vs The Mummy (1999).
Donald Duck will make his debut in Winnie the Pooh Knows God With Us.
He was voiced by Cristina Vee as a child.