Donald's Diary
| Donald's Diary | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Movie Poster | |
| Directed by | Jack Kinney |
| Story by | Brice Mack Dick Kinney |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Starring | Clarence Nash Vivi Janiss Leslie Denison |
| Music by | Edward H. Plumb |
| Animation by | John Sibley Ken O'Brien Harry Holt Edwin "Ed" Aardal |
| Layouts by | Bruce Bushman |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7:15 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Donald's Diary is a Donald Duck short film which was produced in Technicolor and released March 5, 1954 by RKO Radio Pictures.[1]
Plot
In the beginning, on the 29th of February, Donald walks along the neighborhood (which looks to be in San Francisco) whistling and minding his own business in hopes he would be destined to find the girl of his dreams. Daisy, at home, hears him and gets herself ready in a beautiful red dress and black slippers in order for Donald to notice her. She does several attempts (drop her cloth, appear at the bookstore, pretending to faint, and pretending to drown) but without success. Daisy then makes a trap for Donald. Donald gets swept off his feet literally and the two fall in love.
As they date, they watch a movie at a drive-in in the rain, they dine at a diner, watch the lake by the bridge, and they carve their names on a tree, which had other carvings of Daisy and her previous boyfriends. Donald and Daisy win each other over with a kiss. The next day, Donald gets invited to meet her family, Donald gets greeting with a water pistol from Daisy's younger brothers (who bare a strong resemblance to Huey, Dewey, and Louie), Daisy also introduces him to her deaf mother (who looks exactly like James Whistler's portrait of "Arrangement in Grey and Black") and her crazed photographer father, whom Donald believed were his kind of people.
Donald goes to the jewelry store to pick up an engagement ring and returns to Daisy's place, where the boys dance happily for him and get money from Donald. Donald calls out "Anybody home?". Daisy calls back, "Be down as soon as I powder my nose, dreamer!" and takes a shower. Donald goes excited as Daisy's parents set the stage up for his big moment. Donald then begins to dream. As he does, he finds himself in a dream world where he meets Daisy and proposes. Daisy responds "Would I?! Baby!!" making Donald's dreams come true.
The two happily wed and drove off, after Daisy gets rid of a trailer in order to plan for their honeymoon. The boys also ride in the back, but Donald angrily kicks them out making Daisy cry and feel hurt. Although she was loyal, she was also very sensitive and had a wonderful sense of value (as she looks at a ring Donald gave her and believing it looked worthless). They go to their dream cottage at the hill and Donald exhaustedly carried her to the door and kicks it open where Daisy's mother yells out "Don't track no mud on them floors!"
After the honeymoon and during the marriage, Donald and Daisy's marriage was not as Donald expected. Donald would sometimes be afraid of her looking drowsy and as Donald got home, Daisy would take his money and inadvertently burn Donald's meal. Daisy also invites her whole family for dinner leaving Donald nothing. As Donald sits in his chair, Daisy steals it and sternly tells him "The garbage, buster!" Donald does so as he began to see a change in her. As he leaves to get away, Daisy pulls him back in and locks him in a pillory forcing him to do dishes and making him a prisoner in his own home. Donald wonders if this was the wedded bliss he had hoped for.
Donald then began losing his identity and literally became a robot. Daisy slaves him around shouting "Cut the grass! Wash the dishes! Beat the rugs! Take out the cat! Mop the floor! Dust the furniture! Water the flowers!" until Donald goes crazily exhausted and explodes like a bomb. Somehow, it was all just a bad dream as Daisy sweetly says "Donald? Donald! Dreamer boy, wake up!" Donald slowly wakes up until he shoots up and screams in horror and runs out leaving a duck-shaped hole in the door never to return, thus calling off the wedding.
On the last scene, Donald writes in his diary "It was a narrow escape. Though I was born when I kissed her, I died when we parted." Donald then hears a bugle play a fanfare and runs out guarding a fort in the desert with a French tricolor flag on it (implying that he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and is deployed to a fort in a desert in Africa). Donald had added in his diary, "But I lived for a little while".
Voice cast
- Clarence Nash as Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie
- Vivi Janiss as Daisy Duck and Daisy's Mother
- Leslie Denison as Donald's Internal Monologue/Narrator
References
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links
- 1954 films
- 1954 animated films
- 1950s American animated films
- 1950s animated short films
- 1954 comedy films
- American films
- Films directed by Jack Kinney
- Films produced by Walt Disney
- Disney animated short films, 1950s
- Donald Duck short films
- Films about families
- Films about memory
- Films featuring Huey, Dewey, and Louie