Donald Duck

**Donald Duck** is is the Royal Magician of Disney Castle and the royal assistant for King Mickey. As such, his weapon of choice is a Staff. He often provides comic relief more than advancing the plot despite the amount of camera time he has in the series. He is rash and has an aggressive personality, but he is loyal to his friends. Though he initially only cares about Sora as a means to track down King Mickey, Donald soon grows to deeply care for him as a friend.

He is also an animated character created by Walt Disney. He is a hot-headed, anthropomorphic duck who is often the victim of exceptionally bad luck. Normally depicted wearing a sailor shirt, cap, and a bow tie—but no trousers at all—Donald is a best friend and foil of Mickey Mouse, whom he sometimes envies.

Donald made his animated debut in the 1934 theatrical short *The Wise Little Hen*, as a mischievous sailor with an unintelligible voice (as famously created by his original voice actor, Clarence "Ducky" Nash). His personality was fleshed out in his next appearance, *Orphan's Benefit*, which introduced Donald's fiery temper and predisposition to misfortune. Donald's foibles endeared him to audiences, who found the duck's day-to-day struggles to be both relatable and entertaining. Animators and artists were also fond of Donald Duck's stories, as the character was allowed to exhibit more negative traits that could not be bestowed upon Mickey or the happy-go-lucky Goofy.

This enabled Donald to have a lucrative career. Having starred in over 190 films, Donald's filmography eclipses that of any other Disney character. Several of his cartoons were honored by the Academy Awards, while other notable accolades include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and cemented footprints at the Chinese Theatre. Part of Donald's widespread popularity can be attributed to his long-running comic series, under the supervision of such renowned artists as Ted Osborne, Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa. These stories depict Donald as living in the city of Duckburg, and have been enjoyed by generations of readers on a global scale.

## Appearance

Donald is an anthropomorphic duck with white plumage, a yellow-orange bill, legs of the same color, light blue eyes, and a short tuft of feathers on his head, visible under his hat. His outfit is a modified version of his original blue sailor's suit (in fact, he wears his original clothes in the opening of *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*). His blue hat, which resembles a beret, has a belt in place of a normal brim, and sports a zipper that spans the length of the hat. His high-collared jacket is navy blue with sky blue lining and cuffs. There are three pouches, all of which are blue with yellow lining, along the middle of the jacket; the center pouch is secured by a flap, while the other two use silver zippers.

The middle pouch is framed by two other silver zippers that span the entire length of the jacket, from the top of the collar to the bottom. He has a short, blue cape with yellow lining that he wears draped over his shoulders, kept in place by a silver strap. Donald also wears a thick, gold bangle on each of his wrists, and, like his cartoon version, he does not wear pants.

Donald is seen in a much different outfit during his tutelage under Yen Sid. Donald's hat in now much taller and resembles a stereotypical witch's hat, as well as the hat on his Mage's Staff. It is dark blue, has a wide brim with gold lining, and the tip curls in a very angular fashion. His navy jacket is now much longer and has a blue addition to the bottom that covers the lower half of his body. The sleeves are long and resemble those of a sweater, sporting vertical creases. The jacket now has two large, yellow buttons down the front, a gold-lined pattern of ovals, rather resembling Mickey Mouse's ears, on the lower half, and a blue belt tie around the waist.

Donald also wears a shorter, light blue coat over his jacket, this one with more bell-like sleeves, gold lining and cuffs, a turtleneck-esque collar, and the two silver, vertical zippers present in his jacket in *Kingdom Hearts* and *Kingdom Hearts II*. Donald's webbed feet are also slightly different in this appearance, as the toes are less distinguished.

## Personality

Donald has been described as a "problem child" by Walt Disney. True to this, he is a rather—albeit humorously—controversial character in nature, with his most famous personality trait being his explosive temper. When angered, Donald will pitch a fit of quacking and bouncing in place while flaunting his fists, usually as a threat to whomever (or *what*ever) caused him his latest annoyance. He is also arrogant and can be quite the show-off, especially when he is skilled at something. This has a tendency to get him into trouble, however, as he often gets in over his head. Much of Donald's comedy comes from his exaggerated rudeness and the repercussions that come with said rudeness. For example, Donald finds enjoyment in bullying, pranking, and humiliating others for his own amusement. What he can not tolerate, however, is his victims fighting back against him—as such, these battles often lead to Donald's humiliation.

In contrast to these negative traits, Donald is—at his core—a warm and loving character. When not dealing with a problem, Donald can be quite jovial and friendly, and he usually tries his hardest to keep his temper under control for the sake of his own contentment, as well as those around him. Additionally, Donald shares a very loving relationship with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and treats them as his own children, despite their rivalries. The triplets love their "Unca Donald", with a particular scene in the first episode of *DuckTales* showcasing them having a heartfelt goodbye moment as Donald prepares to leave for the navy. Donald also has shown signs of humility, most notably in *Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas*, when Huey, Dewey, and Louie's pranks ruin Christmas for him and the whole family. When the tree falls on Donald, instead of yelling at his nephews, he stays sadly silent, humiliated, and defeated, while Daisy comforts him. When truly faced with wrongs of his actions, Donald will accept them and find the strength to bring himself to face his mistakes head-on. One of the most prominent displays of this was in *Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas*, where after vandalizing the Mousey Mall's Christmas display out of holiday fatigue, he was visibly horrified by his actions and spent the remainder of the short willingly paying recompense.

For all his bravado, Donald is secretly insecure about himself. He takes offense to those who cannot understand his voice and is notoriously envious of Mickey Mouse's popularity. Donald's bad luck also plays a part in his low self-esteem, as he sometimes sees himself as a failure due to his frequent mishaps. Donald tends to hide this with a boisterous veneer, though he has confided in Daisy about his inhibition on occasion. Daisy is also one of the very few Disney characters capable of pacifying Donald's psychotic temper, even though she has a temper of her own. What Donald sometimes lacks in confidence, he makes up for with perseverance. His aggressive nature can act as a double-edged sword; while at times a hindrance for him, it has also helped him in times of need. When faced with a threat of some kind, Donald may get frightened and even intimidated, but rather than getting scared, he gets mad and has taken up fights with ghosts, sharks, mountain goats and even the forces of nature and has usually won. In fact, many shorts and cartoons have shown a significant increase in his physical strength and fighting prowess when pushed far enough. He sometimes portrays qualities of a bruiser, being quick to fight his adversaries.

Donald is often portrayed as having great difficulty holding down a job, and can be described as a typical "jack of all trades, master of none". His attempts at these professions often go comically wrong, with Donald causing one calamity after the other.

Donald has a few memorable phrases that he occasionally comes out within given situations. "What's the big idea?" is a common one, which Donald sarcastically squawks when burdened by another character. "Aw, phooey!" is usually exclaimed as a sign of either apathy or defeat. "So!" is Donald's usual declaration when confronting someone (or something) antagonizing him. When excited, Donald will often shout, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!".

Donald is the most aggressive member of the group. Though he has mastered spells, Donald is very reckless and is the comic relief in many games. Initially, he and Sora often argued, but in the end grow into a deep friendship. Donald is also very protective over Goofy and King Mickey as he is the most worried in Castle Oblivion when he fears he will forget about Mickey, and also in *Kingdom Hearts II* when Goofy is thought to be dead.

He immediately runs into the battle after that. All in all, deep within Donald's short tempered and impatient nature he is actually good hearted, as he would sacrifice anything for the sake of friendship; this is proven twice in the games, when he initially leaves Sora to follow Riku after he obtained the Keyblade, but eventually chooses to return to his side; also when the King orders him and Goofy to take Sora from Hollow Bastion to look for Kairi and Riku, but chooses against his orders to help Leon and the others protect Hollow Bastion. He also seems to be afraid of Daisy as shown at Disney Castle when she yells at him for missing their date.

He also has somewhat of a greedy side, as commented when Sora and Goofy expressed worries that Donald would lose himself to the curse of the Aztec gold in Port Royal; or when Abu stole a sparkling ruby and Donald became infatuated with it.