Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Dick Lundy. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Often described by critics and scholars as a global pop culture icon of animation, Donald is known for his semi-intelligible speech and his volatile, boisterous, and high-energy personality. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald is one of the most recognizable characters owned by the Walt Disney Company, and was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002, as well as earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character.
Donald Duck has appeared in over 150 animated short films in the golden age of American animation, several of which were recognized at the Academy Awards. Donald's first appearance was in the Silly Symphony film The Wise Little Hen (1934), but was reworked as a temperamental comic foil to Mickey Mouse in Orphan's Benefit. In the 1930s, he typically appeared as part of a comic trio with Mickey and Goofy and was given his own film series starting with Don Donald (1937). These films introduced Donald's love interest and permanent girlfriend Daisy Duck and often included his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Donald gradually outshone Mickey, who was relegated to a side character in newer cartoons while Donald maintained his own series until 1961.
After the film Chips Ahoy (1956), Donald appeared primarily in educational films before eventually returning to theatrical animation in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). His final appearance in a theatrical film was in Fantasia 2000 (1999). However, since then Donald has appeared in direct-to-video features such as Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004), television series such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–2016), and video games such as QuackShot (1991), Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers (2000) and the Kingdom Hearts series (2002–present).
In addition to animation, Donald is well known worldwide for his appearances in comics. Donald was most famously drawn by Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. Barks, in particular, is credited for greatly expanding the "Donald Duck universe", the world in which Donald lives, and creating many additional characters such as Donald's rich uncle Scrooge McDuck. Donald has been a popular character in Europe, particularly in Nordic countries. In Italy, Donald is a major character in many comics, including a juvenile version named Paperino Paperotto, and a superhero alter ego known as Paperinik (Duck Avenger in the US and Superduck in the UK).
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