Don Donald

Don Donald
Donald Duck series
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ben Sharpsteen
Produced by	Walt Disney
Voices by	Clarence Nash
Music by	Paul J. Smith
Animation by	Al Eugster Fred Spencer
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
Preceded by	series established
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.^[1]

Although billed at the time as another Mickey Mouse cartoon, the film is actually the first installment of the Donald Duck series, and is the first to feature Donald as the primary starring character.^[2] The film also introduces a love interest for Donald.

Plot

Don Donald debuted the Donald Duck series title card.

Donald Duck rides his burro through the Mexican desert playing a guitar and wearing a sombrero on his way to see his girlfriend, Donna Duck. After briefly flirting with Donald, Donna dances the Mexican Hat Dance and eventually lands on Donald's burro who throws her off his back. Donald laughs at this which angers Donna. She slaps Donald, knocks him into a fountain, breaks his guitar over his head, and storms back inside the house.

Back outside the burro makes fun of Donald which makes him mad. So Donald decides to exchange the burro for a new car at a trading post.

Meanwhile back inside the house Donna is destroying a portrait of her and Donald. But then she hears a car horn, and upon seeing Donald's new car, she is immediately won back. 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 overreacts and throws Donald out of the car and speeds off without him. The rumble seat closes on Donna and she is trapped inside. Donald chases after the car but is run over twice. Finally the car smashes into a rock and breaks apart throwing Donna out of the rumble seat. Donna attacks Donald with the car's horn and then rides off on her unicycle which she had conveniently carried with her in her purse.

Donald is left alone in the desert with the burro who had escaped from the trading post. Frustrated at his new car, Donald throws the horn at it, but the radiator explodes and the hot water lands on his sombrero shrinking it. The burro laughs hysterically.

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^[3] and the Big Cartoon DataBase.^[4] However Donna was later retconned in a 1951 Disney comic strip as Daisy's rival.^{[citation needed]}

Donna made several other appearances in the British magazine Mickey Mouse Weekly.^[5] Donna did not appear in any other films.

Releases^[6]

• 9 January 1937 – original release (theatrical)
• 1984 – "Cartoon Classics: Donald Duck's First 50 Years" (VHS)
• 13 November 1984 – Donald Duck's 50th Birthday (TV)
• 1987 – "Cartoon Classics: Starring Donald and Daisy" (VHS)
• 13 October 1997 – Ink & Paint Club, Epidode 4 "Disney Firsts" (TV)^[7]
• 18 May 2004 – "The Chronological Donald Volume One" (DVD)
• 11 January 2005 – "Classic Cartoon Favorites: Starring Donald" (DVD)

Notes

1. ^ Don Donald at the Internet Movie Database
2. ^ Donald had appeared previously in 14 films as a co-star.
3. ^ Daisy Duck at the Internet Movie Database
4. ^ Don Donald at the Big Cartoon DataBase
5. ^ Daisy's First Incarnation as Donna in Mickey Mouse Weekly on Disneyville.
6. ^ Don Donald at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
7. ^ Movie connections for "Ink & Paint Club" at the Internet Movie Database