(Vientiane History Special Author: Shi Yu)
June 9, 1934 : 84 years ago today, Donald Duck, the anti-fascist star who did not wear pants, was born
【Di Si counterattack of small supporting characters】
Donald Duck is a well-known Disney cartoon star! On June 9, 1934, Donald Duck made his debut in the cartoon "The Clever Little Hen", in which he was just a humble little supporting character.
In 1935, Donald Duck's nobleman Carl Bacchus joined Disney and tailored the first cartoon drama "Modern Invention" featuring Donald Duck, which made Donald Duck famous in one fell swoop.
Since then, the orange-yellow mouth, webbing, wearing a blue sailor suit, not wearing pants, sometimes grumpy, sometimes depressed, sometimes easy to satisfy, sometimes extremely enthusiastic Donald Duck, has deeply penetrated our hearts.
(Original image of Donald Duck)
("Father of Donald Duck" Carl Bacchus)
【Superstar of the Duck Family】
In 1937, Donald Duck owned his first animated series, Don Donald, and had a girlfriend named Daisy. Since then, with the launch of more than a dozen Donald Duck series works every year, Donald Duck has become famous.
Centered on Donald Duck, Carl Bacchus created the entire Duck Family and The City of Duck Castle. Many classics that can be passed down to the world, such as "Donald Duck's Nephew", "Donald Duck's Cousin Gus", "Wood", etc., have made Donald Duck a superstar in the cartoon industry.
(Donald Duck's girlfriend Daisy)
(Donald Duck's family)
【Anti-Fascist Cartoon Pioneer】
In 1941, after pearl harbor, the United States joined World War II. In order to facilitate the identification of friendly forces and boost the morale of officers and soldiers, the army cooperated with Disney to design various cartoon insignia for troops, such as the famous Flying Tigers' "Flying Tiger" image. Among them, Donald Duck, who is full of fighting spirit, is the most popular cartoon character.
(Donald Duck smashes Hitler's American helmet with tomatoes)
In the cartoon "The Face of the Fuehrer", on the product assembly line of a military factory guarded by soldiers, Donald Duck is scrambling to tighten his weapons. It had to shout "Hey, Hitler!" as it worked. The hands picked up quickly, faster and faster, and finally, it collapsed... The camera turns, but it's Donald Duck dreaming, and when he wakes up, he finds himself lying on his soft bed, wearing pajamas with the American flag printed on them. "Oh man, I'm so glad I'm an American citizen!" Donald Duck croaked. In the end, the film ends with a tomato hitting Hitler in the face.
With his unique fighting spirit, Donald Duck boosted the audience's confidence in winning World War II. The film was screened in theaters in the United States in 1943 and won the Academy Award for Best Short Film that year.
(Stills from "The Face of the Fuehrer")
In addition to "The Face of the Fuehrer", Donald Duck also starred in "Donald Duck Joins the Army" that called on young people to join the army, "The Spirit of 1943", which encouraged tax payments, etc. Tens of millions of people watched these films, and Donald Duck became a household name in the United States. And, as the war progressed, U.S. soldiers brought it around the world, and Donald Duck became a superstar around the world.
(Propaganda poster encouraging the purchase of war treasury bonds)
【Star-studded Donald Duck】
After the war, the U.S. military honored him as a sergeant and honorably retired him. The University of Oregon used it as the school's mascot, awarding it an honorary degree, and it was the only cartoon character to have a degree.
Donald Duck has appeared in 18 feature films, 150 short films and 8 TV series, and is also the protagonist of 21 video games. In 1984, Donald Duck's 50th birthday, its duck palm was printed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, officially confirming its status as an immortal superstar.
In September 2010, at the quadrennial parliamentary elections held in Sweden, the results of the vote count were finally announced, and I was surprised to find that "Donald Duck" had taken 120 votes!
【China Show with Mickey Mouse】
In 1984, CCTV and Disney reached an agreement to introduce this cartoon animation that had been broadcast in the United States for half a century to China. Since 1985, it has broadcast 15 minutes of "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck" every day on CCTV 1.
Although the show was only broadcast for one year, it was loved by everyone. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck entered thousands of households in China and became a household name. In particular, Donald Duck, voiced by Li Yang, has a very infectious voice and is the most interesting "pistachio" in the hearts of a generation of Chinese.
(This article is the 43rd work of the Vientiane History and Biography Writing Camp, and the third work of the camper "Ten Yu")