http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck



One guess, guess who...

Who never, ever starts an argument? (woman: Hmm?)

Who never shows a bit of temperament?

Who's never wrong, but always right? (Donald: "Yeah"?)

Who'd never dream of starting a fight? (Donald: "That's so!")

Who gets stuck with all the bad luck?

No one ("QUAAAAAAACK!!") — but Donald Duck!" (Donald: "Yeah!") Theme song for the Donald cartoons (after 1947) "Who's got the sweetest disposition?One guess, guess who...Who never, ever starts an argument? (woman: Hmm?)Who never shows a bit of temperament?Who's never wrong, but always right? (Donald: "Yeah"?)Who'd never dream of starting a fight? (Donald: "That's so!")Who gets stuck with all the bad luck?No one ("QUAAAAAAACK!!") — but Donald Duck!" (Donald: "Yeah!")

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The Ensemble Dark Horse of the Classic Disney Shorts, Donald Fauntleroy Duck is one of history's most famous cartoon characters.

Donald first appeared in the Silly Symphonies short The Wise Little Hen in 1934, where he played one of the lazy animals in the fable, refusing to help the Hen plant her corn and was thus denied a reward at the end. His distinct voice, given to him by Clarence "Ducky" Nash, singled him out for stardom. He quickly became a bit player in several other shorts before finally landing a role alongside Mickey Mouse and Goofy in 1935's Mickey's Service Station.

From there, Donald took off, gaining his own supporting cast in the process. In 1937's Don Donald, he got a girlfriend, Donna (who was replaced by Daisy Duck in 1940's Mr. Duck Steps Out). In 1938, his "darling nephews" Huey, Dewey & Louie came for a visit (officially in 1938's Donald's Nephews, but the story had been told in the comics a few months earlier). The nephews' mother, Donald's twin sister Della note "Dumbella" in the short based on the comic strip and still the canonical name in some countries, was never seen or heard from again, note until DuckTales (2017) and Donald became their permanent foster parent. The next year, Donald's Cousin Gus introduced his cousin Gus Goose.

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Donald was nearly the complete opposite of Mickey. Unlike The Everyman, he was brash, quick-tempered and loaded with faults. Because of this, audiences loved him and responded to him very positively.

In 1939, he got his own Newspaper Comic and in the 1940s, Carl Barks began making an entire comic universe based around him. Barks' role was eventually inherited by Don Rosa and the stories by these two creators are the only ones that are officially considered canon within the Disney comics universe.

World War II was especially good to Donald. A series of Wartime Cartoons showed him enlisting in the army and he won his only Academy Award for Der Fuehrer's Face in 1943. It was also during the 1940s that he was featured in four entries in the Disney Animated Canon: Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Fun and Fancy Free and Melody Time.

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After theatrical shorts fell out of favor, his appearances slowed down, but he was never quite out. He appeared in DuckTales as a supporting character and starred in Quack Pack. He also appeared with Daffy Duck in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, starred in the "Pomp and Circumstance" segment of Fantasia 2000, reappeared with the gang in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers and in 2004, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also came back in Mickey Mouse Works and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, as well as the new series of Mickey Mouse shorts, Mickey and the Roadster Racers and the DuckTales revival (as a regular this time). He appeared as a court mage and recurring party member in the Kingdom Hearts series of video games, to say nothing of the few games he got to himself such as the fondly remembered Quackshot. He is the protagonist of the upcoming Legend of the Three Caballeros.

And naturally, there are the comics. Donald Duck has a specific universe associated with him and Uncle Scrooge: the Disney Ducks Comic Universe. In some countries, Donald has also developed a super-hero alterego, Paperinik (called Duck Avenger in the USA). These comics often show just how much of a hero that "loser duck" can be. Tropes specific to the comic go on that page.

He has the fewest official voice actors of Disney's Sensational Six; he was originally voiced by Clarence "Ducky" Nash. After Nash's death in 1985, animator Tony Anselmo has been the official voice of Donald in all Disney productions, except for Mickey and the Roadster Racers / Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures, in which Daniel Ross voices Donald.

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Donald Duck Filmography

Other Donald Duck Media

Tropes associated with this character include:

Breakout Character: As mentioned in the book Mickey and the Gang: Classic Stories in Verse, Walt intentionally planned Donald to be his next star character, even having press kits ready by the day "The Wise Little Hen" was released.

Butt-Monkey: Lampshaded in his theme song: Who gets stuck with all the bad luck?

No one—but Donald Duck!