Don Donald
Encyclopedia
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.
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. The film also introduces a love interest for Donald.
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.
and the Big Cartoon DataBase
. 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. Donna did not appear in any other films.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. The cartoon follows Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
attempting to woo a female Mexican duck named Donna. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen
Ben Sharpsteen
Ben Sharpsteen was an American film director and producer for Disney. He directed 31 films between 1920 and 1980....
and features music by Paul J. Smith
Paul Smith (composer)
Paul J. Smith was an Academy Award-winning American music composer. He was born in Calumet, Michigan. Smith spent much of his life working at Disney as composer for many of its films' scores, animated and live-action alike, movie and television alike...
which was adapted from the Mexican folk songs "Cielito Lindo
Cielito Lindo
"Cielito lindo" is a popular Ranchera song from Mexico, written in 1882 by Quirino Mendoza y Cortés . It is roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One". Although the word "cielo" means sky or heaven, it is also a term of endearment comparable to sweetheart or honey. "Cielito" can thus be translated as...
" and "Jarabe Tapatío
Jarabe tapatío
The Jarabe Tapatío dance in its standardized form was first choreographed by the Mexican, in the early twentieth century to celebrate a government-sponsored fiesta that commemorated the successful end of the Mexican Revolution....
." Clarence Nash
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
voiced both Donald and Donna.
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. The film also introduces a love interest for Donald.
Plot
Donald Duck rides his burroBurro
The burro is a small donkey used primarily as a pack animal. In addition, significant numbers of feral burros live in the Southwestern United States, where they are protected by law, and in Mexico...
through the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
desert playing a guitar and wearing a sombrero
Sombrero
Sombrero in English refers to a type of wide-brimmed hat originating in Mexico. In Spanish, however, it is the generic word for "hat", which originates from "sombra", meaning "shade"....
on his way to see his girlfriend, Donna Duck. After briefly flirting with Donald, Donna dances the Mexican Hat Dance
Jarabe tapatío
The Jarabe Tapatío dance in its standardized form was first choreographed by the Mexican, in the early twentieth century to celebrate a government-sponsored fiesta that commemorated the successful end of the Mexican Revolution....
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
Rumble seat
A rumble seat, dicky seat, dickie seat or dickey seat is an upholstered exterior seat which hinges or otherwise opens out from the rear deck of a pre-World War II automobile, and seats one or more passengers. An 1899 Century Dictionary describes a rumble as " A seat for servants in the rear of a...
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
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
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 DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
and the Big Cartoon DataBase
Big Cartoon DataBase
The Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....
. 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. Donna did not appear in any other films.
Releases
- 9 January 1937 – original release (theatrical)
- 1984 – "Cartoon Classics: Donald Duck's First 50 Years" (VHS)
- 13 November 1984 – Donald Duck's 50th BirthdayDonald Duck's 50th BirthdayDonald Duck's 50th Birthday is the 1984 television special broadcast on The Magical World of Disney on November 13, 1984 on CBS. As the title suggests, it was produced for the 50th anniversary of the Donald Duck character....
(TV) - 1987 – "Cartoon Classics: Starring Donald and Daisy" (VHS)
- 13 October 1997 – Ink & Paint Club, Epidode 4 "Disney Firsts" (TV)
- 18 May 2004 – "The Chronological Donald Volume One" (DVD)
- 11 January 2005 – "Classic Cartoon Favorites: Starring Donald" (DVD)