When you walk through Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom park of many lands, it’s evident there must have been many influences in its creation. On this day in 1948, Walt Disney returned from a trip that proved to be another great inspiration for his dream park. Walt and Disney Legend Ward Kimball had embarked on …
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During World War II, the Disney studio had deep economic problems, with many staff members away at war and much of the studios’ facilities being utilized for war efforts. This combination of factors made it impossible to produce typical full-length animated features. Thus, the “package” features were created, combining shorter segments into motion picture compilations. …
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While Donald Duck is a much-beloved character, he has never been known for clarity of speech. In 1948’s Donald’s Dream Voice, Ajax voice pills change the duck’s dialogue into something quite suave and debonair. But alas, he loses the magic medicine and is subjected to live eternity with the voice of an average talking duck. …
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Beginning on this day in 1948, the cartoon short Daddy Duck was on the bill at movie theaters, featuring Donald Duck. Our irascible hero finds himself in an adoption agency after deciding he wants to become a father. No, not to his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but to a bouncing baby kangaroo named Joey. …
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G’day, mate! It was on this day in 1948 that Mickey Down Under was released, featuring Mickey and Pluto in Australia struggling with an uncooperative boomerang that seems to have a mind of its own. When Mickey grabs a large egg, he quickly learns that it belongs to a protective mother emu which, although never …
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As we at D23 have often said, when it comes to laughs, watching Donald Duck go ballistic is about as good as it gets. And in Drip Dippy Donald, our favorite feathery friend with the anger management problem doesn’t disappoint. In terrible need of a good night’s sleep, a somnambulant Donald heads to bed after …
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Those rascally rodents Chip and Dale first appeared in the 1943 cartoon short Private Pluto, but they were neither Chip nor Dale by name. It wasn’t until this day in 1947 that they debuted with their names in the Academy Award®-nominated Donald Duck cartoon short Chip an’ Dale. The diminutive duo went on to appear …
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In the early ’40s, Disney was working on two full-length animated feature films, Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. When war broke out at the height of their development, it was decided to create a “package feature,” combining the two stories in a single film, Fun and Fancy Free, which was released on this day …
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This Donald Duck cartoon opens with a forlorn Daisy recounting the ‘beautiful spring day” she had with her boyfriend, Donald, to an unseen psychiatrist. Through a series of flashback scenes, Daisy details the ill-fated moment when a flower pot fell several stories from a tall building and directly onto Donald’s head. Just as Donald awoke …
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Jack King, who directed Sleepy Time Donald, the 69th Donald Duck cartoon, began his animating career in 1920, eventually making his way to the West Coast and joining the Disney Studio in 1929. He stayed for four years before jumping to Leon Schlesinger Productions, makers of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros., before …
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