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We were very glad to see a cocky little character like this come along.

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This modest, unassuming young fellow

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joined our family quite a few years back

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This modest, unassuming young fellow joined our family quite a few years back

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and the way he has been accepted all over the world

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makes us proud to tell his story.

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I think Donald is hilarious.

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He's so funny and he's so relatable.

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He's fiery, he's tempestuous.

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He can blow off

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and has a hair trigger,

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but he's also incredibly lovable.

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He's a fun loving guy, he likes to have fun.

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He can be a rascal sometimes.

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He likes to play practical jokes.

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But when something gets in his way,

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that's when he loses his temper.

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Donald is just one of our classic characters.

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He's been beloved for so many years

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and still is around the world.

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There's something about the duck.

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There's something about that wacky character

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that our guests really love.

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He has the most confidence.

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Even if that's to a fault, that's something we can all,

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you know, look towards to find that confidence within ourselves.

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He's allowed to express himself in a way

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that we all would like to be able

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to express ourselves.

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Walt always wanted to make sure that these characters

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were not just funny cartoons running around,

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but that they were individual, unique personalities

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and he hit a home run coming up with Donald's character.

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Donald Duck first appeared in a cartoon short

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called The Wise Little Hen in 1934.

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Donald wasn't intended to be anything more than a bit player,

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but he was so funny and everybody loved him so much

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that they almost immediately started putting him into cartoons

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with Mickey and his other friends.

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Clarence Nash was the original voice

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of Donald Duck for 50 years, chosen by Walt.

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<i>(Donald Duck sounds)</i>

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And I became his apprentice around 1981-82.

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It's a trick I do in my mouth.

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It's really a magic trick.

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<i>(Donald Duck Voice)</i>
<i>If I told you, I'd have to kill you.</i>

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It took about three years to learn that

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and I've been doing it for the last 40 years.

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<i>(Walt Disney)</i>
<i>Donald's beginning was rather unusual.</i>

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He had a quite a bit of a different look,

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a different physical appearance.

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He had a very long bill, very long and pointed.

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He was a little bit bow legged.

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His feet were a little different, they weren't quite as webbed

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like a duck as we see him now.

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But he had the same costume with the little sailor suit.

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It's a cute little blue sailor's outfit.

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Sometimes he'll swap out his bow tie from red to black

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if he's feeling fancy.

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But most importantly,

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has this little Fauntleroy hat with the ribbon on top.

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So, the audiences identify with Donald as kind of the everyman.

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And I think that's what made Donald kind of,

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rise above in popularity, even ahead of Mickey Mouse towards

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the end of his career in film.

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I sort of fell in love with Donald Duck

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when I think I was in college and saw The Three Caballeros for the first time.

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It was such an amazingly imaginative film

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and such a great use of Donald Duck as an every person.

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Someone who was interested in the world,

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someone who is excited, someone who's happy,

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someone who was angry,

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someone who was jealous or was in love.

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The impact that Donald had on Disney

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was really to bring a new

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set of characteristics.

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He really broadened the spectrum of characters within Disney.

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He's able to, you know, kind of let it all hang out.

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He wears his emotions on his sleeve,

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which from an animator's point of view

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makes him very fun to work on.

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The most important part of Donald

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is not necessarily where he's having the tantrum or going crazy,

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but it's also those subtle moments when he's thinking.

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Donald Duck was the first of the Ducks here at Disney.

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But there are some other famous ducks that are related to him.

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So Donald, of course, had his sweetheart, Daisy.

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His nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie.

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Shortly after Donald appeared, he started making a name

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for himself in publications.

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And it was in the comic book world

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that Donald kind of exploded.

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He got his own town, which is Duckburg,

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and all of his family and friends appear in those comic books.

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And so there's hundreds and hundreds of Donald Duck based characters.

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Donald Duck really gets around and you can find him

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in many places at our parks

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and resorts around the world.

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At Shanghai Disneyland, the Disney cruise ships, the AquaDuck,

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in Mickey's Toontown at Disneyland,

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in Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway,

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And of course, as the star of Mickey's PhilharMagic.

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Donald can really connect with a wide range of generations

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because of his energy and because of a story we're creating.

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We are storytellers, and each time we work on a product,

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everything starts with an idea.

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Story is key, before we bring Donald Duck to life.

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That way, every product is unique and really connects with people.

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Donald Duck has inspired other characters

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to have some really fun stories.

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At Disney, everything is about storytelling

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and Donald can be put in any situation at all,

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and I think that has inspired a number of great stories

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for The Walt Disney Company.

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I think Donald has been influential over the past 90 years

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because he's multi-generational.

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He's been there for everyone.

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He's just one of those timeless characters

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that will endure as time goes on.

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<i>(Walt Disney)</i>
<i>Donald's the pride and joy of our studio.</i>

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<i>A versatile character who can play any role assigned to him...</i>