National Donald Duck Day 2023: Facts, dates and history
Walt Disney conceived Donald Duck in order to introduce a harsher character to balance out the wholesome Mickey Mouse
When we think of cartoon characters, we cannot help but think about the two Disney creations —Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Donald Duck was first introduced to the world in June 1934 in an animated short “The Wise Little Hen”. However, he did not encounter Mickey Mouse until his second appearance in “Orphan’s Benefit” later that same year.
Donald has appeared in more films (200+) than any other Disney character. In 1958, he co-hosted the Academy Awards with Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, and Jimmy Stewart. And in 1995, an asteroid was named after him. Donald was also declared in 2002 by TV Guide as one of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time.
National Donald Duck Day
National Donald Duck Day is celebrated on 9th June each year to commemorate the birthday of a funny and short-tempered animated duck.
History of National Donald Duck Day
To celebrate the 50th birthday of this legendary cartoon character, the Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley declared the celebration of this day and proclaimed 9th June as the National Donald Duck Day. In return, the city got a silver statue of Donald Duck to adorn the place.
This beloved Disney character was first introduced to the globe on June 9, 1934. Walt Disney conceived Donald Duck in order to introduce a harsher character to balance out the wholesome Mickey Mouse. The versatility of his personality has allowed him to play a variety of roles, ranging from army officer and teacher to uncle to three ducklings.
He is not only the national hero of Finland! just like Hello Kitty in Japan but also the most published non-superhero of all time. He has appeared in more short and feature films than any other Disney character, wearing his signature blue sailor costume without trousers. In 1940s, Donald Duck surpassed Mickey Mouse with over 128 brief animations of his own.
Donald received his own comic in the 1940s, which spawned an entire series of independent Donald Duck comics that are still widely distributed and relished by adults and children alike. The Donald in the comics, who resides in the town of Duckburg and is the adoring uncle of nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, is much more mild-mannered than the original Donald and has better-articulated speech and emotions.
Interesting facts about National Donald Duck Day
Here are some other interesting facts about this day and Donald Duck:
- While Mickey Mouse is the first of the creations of Walt Disney, in the 1940s, the character of Donald Duck bypassed Mickey with more than 128 short animation videos to its credit.
- There was a brief period after Walt Disney’s death when the character did not make an appearance and was later revived in 1983.
- Donald Duck was featured in “Der Fuehrer’s Face” which won an academy award for animation in 1943.
- It was in 1953 when the character of Daisy Duck was introduced as the girlfriend of Donald Duck.
- “Don Donald” was a short film that increased the popularity of Donald Duck on the silver screen. In this film, Donald Duck tries to win the heart of Donna Duck.
- The full name of Donald Duck is Donald Fauntleroy Duck as mentioned in the short film of 1942 “Donald gets drafted”.
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First Published:9 Jun 2023, 03:23 AM IST
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