''Don Donald'' is a 1937 American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. The cartoon follows

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. 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. Donald is known fo ...

attempting to woo a female Mexican duck named Donna. It was directed by

Ben Sharpsteen Benjamin Sharpsteen (November 4, 1895 – December 20, 1980) was an American film director and producer for Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment con ...

and features music by Paul J. Smith which was adapted from the Mexican folk songs "

Cielito Lindo "Cielito Lindo" is a popular Mexican song '' copla'', popularized in 1882 by Mexican author Quirino Mendoza y Cortés (c. 1862–1957). It is roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One". Although the word ''cielo'' means "sky" or "heaven", it is a ...

" and "

Jarabe Tapatío ''Jarabe tapatío'', often referred to as the Mexican hat dance, is the national dance of Mexico. It originated as a courtship dance in Guadalajara, Jalisco, during the 19th century, although its elements can be traced back to the Spanish ''zambr ...

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor. He was best known as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and ...

voiced both Donald and Donna. Although billed at the time as another ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

'' cartoon, explaining the face of

at the beginning of the original release, 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

Jenny Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...

the

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

through the Mexican desert playing a guitar and wearing a

sombrero A sombrero (Spanish , ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high pointed crown, an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the we ...

on his way to the house of his girlfriend, Donna Duck. Donna dances the

Mexican Hat Dance Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous peopl ...

and eventually lands on Donald's donkey who throws her off his back. Donald laughs causing Donna to get angry. She knocks Donald into a fountain, breaks his guitar over his head, and storms back inside the house. Back outside, Jenny laughs at Donald's misfortunes. Donald decides to exchange Jenny for a car at a nearby trading post. Donna is immediately won back with Donald's car. She lands in the

rumble seat A rumble seat (American English), dicky (dickie/dickey) seat (British English), also called a mother-in-law seat, is an upholstered exterior seat which folded into the rear of a coach, carriage, or early motorcar. Depending on its configuration, ...

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 throws Donald out and speeds off without him. The rumble seat closes on Donna and she is trapped inside with Donald in pursuit. The car crashes, throwing Donna out of the rumble seat, across a waterhole, and into a mud puddle, and Donald laughs at her. Donna furious once again, grabs the car's horn and hits Donald with it, until he lands in some cacti and Donna shoves the horn in his mouth. Donna then rides off on her

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a bicycle frame, frame with a bicycle saddle, saddle, and has a human-powered vehicle, pedal-driven direct-drive mechanism, direct-drive. A two spee ...

which she has conveniently carried with her in her purse, and declares their relationship over. Donald, alone in the desert with Jenny who has escaped from the trading post, is furious at the car and throws the horn at it in retaliation. This however causes the car's radiator to explode and the hot water lands on Donald's sombrero, shrinking it. Jenny laughs yet again.

Donna Duck

It is unclear if

Donna Duck Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American Pekin duck, white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lo ...

simply represents an earlier version of Daisy Duck or is a separate character entirely. Donna was later

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

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

Source: * January 9, 1937 – original release (theatrical) * November 13, 1984 –

Donald Duck's 50th Birthday ''Donald Duck's 50th Birthday'' is a 1984 television special broadcast on ''The Magical World of Disney'' on November 13, 1984 on CBS. As the title suggests, it was produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Donald Duck character, who first ...

(TV) * 1993 – ''The Adventures of Mickey and Donald'', Episode 26 (TV) * October 13, 1997 – '' Ink & Paint Club'', Episode 4 "Disney Firsts" (TV)

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume One: 1934-1941''. Additional releases include: * 1984 – "Cartoon Classics: Donald Duck's First 50 Years" (VHS) * 1987 – "Cartoon Classics: Starring Donald and Daisy" (VHS) * January 11, 2005 – "Classic Cartoon Favorites: Starring Donald" (DVD) * April 29, 2008 – bonus feature on the "Classic Caballeros Collection" (DVD)

References

External links