Don Donald

Don Donald
Donald Duck series

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen
Produced by Walt Disney
Story by Webb Smith
Otto Englander
Merrill De Maris[1]
Voices by Clarence Nash
Music by Paul J. Smith
Animation by Fred Spencer
Dick Huemer
Al Eugster
Johnny Cannon
Milt Schaffer
Jack Hannah
Ugo D'Orsi[1]
Studio Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s)
  • January 9, 1937 (1937-01-09)

(USA)

Color process Technicolor
Running time 8 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Followed by Modern Inventions

Don Donald is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon follows Donald Duck attempting to woo a female Mexican duck named Donna. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and features music by Paul J. Smith which was adapted from the Mexican folk songs "Cielito Lindo" and "Jarabe Tapatío." Clarence Nash voiced both Donald and Donna.[2]

Although billed at the time as another Mickey Mouse cartoon, explaining the face of Mickey Mouse at the beginning, the film is actually the first installment of the Donald Duck series, and is the first to feature Donald as the primary starring character.[3] The film also introduces a love interest for Donald.

Plot

Donald Duck rides a donkey through the Mexican desert playing a guitar and wearing a sombrero on his way to the house of his girlfriend, Donna Duck. Donna dances the Mexican Hat Dance and eventually lands on Donald's donkey who throws her off his back. Donald laughs causing Donna to get angry. She knocks Donald into a fountain, breaks his guitar over his head, and storms back inside the house.

The title card of Don Donald.

Back outside, the donkey laughs at Donald's misfortunes. Donald decides to exchange the donkey for a car at a nearby trading post.

Donna is immediately won back with Donald's car. She lands in the rumble seat and gives Donald a big kiss. Together they speed off through the desert, but eventually the car has engine problems and stops working. Donald confidently tries to fix the problem but the car throws Donald out and speeds off without him. The rumble seat closes on Donna and she is trapped inside with Donald in pursuit. The car crashes, throwing Donna out of the rumble seat, across a waterhole, and into a mud puddle, and Donald laughs at her. Donna then rides off on her unicycle which she has conveniently carried with her in her purse.

Donald, alone in the desert with the donkey who has escaped from the trading post, gets mad at the car and throws a horn at it. This however causes the car's radiator to explode and the hot water lands on Donald's sombrero, shrinking it. The donkey laughs yet again.

Donna Duck

It is unclear if Donna Duck simply represents an earlier version of Daisy Duck or is a separate character entirely. Donna is officially recognized as Daisy by the Internet Movie Database[4] and the Big Cartoon DataBase.[5] However Donna was later retconned in a 1951 Disney comic strip as Daisy's rival.

Donna made several other appearances in the British magazine Mickey Mouse Weekly.[6] Donna did not appear in any other films.

Releases

Source:[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Walt Disney’s “Don Donald” (1937) - Cartoon Research". Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Don Donald on IMDb
  3. ↑ Donald had appeared previously in 14 films as a co-star.
  4. ↑ Daisy Duck at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Don Donald (Walt Disney Studios)". Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ Daisy's First Incarnation as Donna in Mickey Mouse Weekly on Disneyville.
  7. ↑ Don Donald at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
  8. ↑ Movie connections for "Ink & Paint Club" at the Internet Movie Database
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