Donald Duck

Early debut
Donald may well have made his first printed appearance in Mickey Mouse Annual 3 (published 1932; the annual for 1933), a 128-page British hardback. This book included the poem Mickey's Hoozoo, Witswitch and Wotswot, which listed all of Mickey's then-current barnyard animal friends (most of Disney's major characters developed out of this barnyard scenario). Among them was a duckling named Donald Duck. Besides the name, however, there is little similarity between this character and the one introduced in The Wise Little Hen during 1934. Mickey Mouse Annual 3 was drawn entirely by Wilfred...

Donald in animation

[edit]Early appearances
For more details on this topic, see Donald Duck filmography.


Donald Duck as he first appeared in The Wise Little Hen
According to Leonard Maltin in his introduction to The Chronological Donald - Volume 1, Donald was created by Walt Disney when he heard Clarence Nash doing his "duck" voice while reciting "Mary had a little lamb". Mickey Mouse had lost some of his edge since becoming a role model for children and Disney wanted a character that could portray some of the more negative character traits he could no longer bestow on Mickey.
Donald Duck first...