Donald's Dilemma

Plot synopsis:
As the film begins, Daisy Duck is talking to a psychiatrist about an incident that occurred with her boyfriend, Donald. She recalls how they were walking through the park, passing by a skyscraper. On the 99th floor of the skyscraper is a potted flower, which falls and hits Donald on the head, knocking him out. When he comes to, he hears a voice in his head, telling him, "You are the greatest singer in the world." He gets up, and proceeds to croon "When You Wish upon a Star" in a Sinatra-like voice. Daisy is stunned, but Donald coldly glances at her as though he does not recognize her. At that moment, a theatrical agent sweeps Donald into his window, causing the flower on his head to fall at Daisy's feet.She takes the flower home, as a way to remember her lost love. She sees Donald everywhere, hawking products and on marquees-- he has become a major celebrity. She almost drives herself insane, but eventually hears that Donald is playing at the Music City Radio Hall. She decides to go see him, but is greatly hindered by a massive crowd. Many months pass, during which Daisy has no success at being able to see Donald.One night, as she is going home, she runs into Donald on the street. She grovels at Donald's feet, but only succeeds in getting a dime thrown at her. She then comes back to the present, where she is talking to the psychiatrist about what happened. The psychiatrist concludes that the hit on the head from the flower pot is what caused Donald to change so radically. He offers to help, but warns her that Donald will no longer be successful if he changes back to normal. Daisy is eager to have him back, though, so the psychiatrist tells her to put the flower in another pot and drop it on Donald's head somehow. She agrees to this plan.That night, as Donald is performing, Daisy slips into the building through the back door. She makes her way past a sleeping security guard, and climbs up into the rafters, where she drops the pot on Donald. It hits him on the head, and he quickly reverts to his regular voice. He is booed off the stage and thrown out of the building, where Daisy is waiting for him. He is thrilled to see her, asking, "Where have you been?" They kiss as the film irises out.

Tags: suicidal

Review:
Donald and Daisy both shine!.
I do agree that the title is misleading, it is more Daisy's Dilemma than Donald's.
But when you see the quality of the cartoon, you can forgive this, because Donald's Dilemma is just wonderful.
It is a cartoon where both Donald and Daisy shine, Donald is not as temperamental as he is in other cartoons but he is still a joy here.
Especially with his singing which is one of the more mellow and beautiful singing voices of any male singing voice in the Disney cartoons.
The animation is of vibrant and fluid quality, and there is a lot of energy and style in the music.
The cartoon is both touching and amusing, touching because while I have rarely seen Daisy so angry you do to an extent feel for her and amusing because the part where Donald gets the pot crashed upon his head cracks me up every time.
The story is structured beautifully and characterised so affectionately.
The voice acting is as good as you'd expect too.
Overall, a wonderful cartoon where Donald and Daisy both shine.
10/10 Bethany Cox. Coming up Daisie's.
The title is a bit of a misnomer.
It's actually Daisy's dilemma.
For once, she is thrust center stage.
No longer the shrinking violet or amiable catalyst, she displays a ruthlessly self-centered neurotic streak light years removed from the traditional Carl Barks comic-book conception.
We sympathize with her all the same, despite her theatrics  which are not all that exaggerated when you think about it.
I've known fans who would hang around stage doors for interminable lengths of time, patiently waiting for a fleeting glimpse or grudging autograph from their idol, gaining comfort during their long vigil just from the sight of a poster.Donald's Dilemma is unusual for Disney in that it tells a definite story, laid out in the traditional premise/plot development/resolution fashion, rather than presenting just a series of gags and variations on a single theme (for example, wanting to fly, trying to sleep, jitterbugging, skinning a bear) which often ends abruptly when time is up.
Happily, this well-crafted story experiment is highly successful, thanks to an ingenious central idea which is cleverly developed and brilliantly characterized, and direction that is both unusually snappy and atmospheric from the usually stolid Jack King..
Daisy's Moment To Shine.
A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.DONALD'S DILEMMA is really Daisy's - after a conk on the head leaves her boyfriend a crooning sensation with no remembrance of her whatsoever.Daisy has one of her very best screen roles in this humorous little film.
The fickleness of the public's taste in popular entertainment comes in for a bit of gentle ribbing.
Roy Williams, one of the adult members of TV's The Mickey Mouse Club, was the writer on this project.
Clarence Nash provides Donald with his ordinary voice.Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings.
As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle.
Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters.
Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe.
Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor.
When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality.
The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music.
The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable.
Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto.
All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films.
Against a storm of naysayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off..
A duck crooning a famous song.
The song Donald sings is "When You Wish Upon A Star"however it is slightly different from the famous song we know today because donald Replaces the verse "Makes No Difference who you are" to "Shine in Right In From Afar.
I saw this short many times on a home video.
I have read other comments about this short and they said that the title should be "Daisy's Dilemma" and i agree with that.
I don't think i saw donald loose his temper in this short..
Daisy gets her own..
This is a funny cartoon where Daisy goes see a psychiatrist, distressed over Donald getting amnesia from a knock on the head.
Donald doesn't recognize Daisy and becomes a famous singer, becomes the world's darling instead of Daisy's.Daisy I thought has always been bullish to Donald.
Now, seeing her getting the brunt of all the bad luck and mishaps in this cartoon, from her getting kicked out by the stagehand to her going crazy over losing Donald, was rather funny and entertaining.Great fun here with lovable characters and beautiful animation.Grade A