Title card
Donald's Diary is an animated short starring Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. This notably marks Huey, Dewey, and Louie's final appearance in the Golden Age of Animation.
Synopsis[]
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 makes several attempts to get his attention (drop her cloth, appear at the bookstore, pretending to faint, and pretending to drown) but without success. Daisy then makes a trap for Donald, literally sweeping him off his feet, 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 Golden Gate 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 bear 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. As Daisy's parents set the stage up for his big moment, Donald falls asleep and begins to dream. As he does, he finds himself in a dream world where he meets Daisy and proposes. Daisy responds "Would I?! Baby!!" before he can finish asking, 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!!!" and winds up a Victrola playing big band music.
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. Donald is then awoken from his nightmare by Daisy, which causes him to scream in horror and run out, leaving a duck-shaped hole in the door, thus calling off the engagement.
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. Donald had added in his diary, "And yet I live for a little while".
Characters[]
- Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash)
- Daisy Duck (voiced by Unknown)
- Huey, Dewey, and Louie (voiced by Clarence Nash)
Trivia[]
Donald's Diary (left) compared to Quack Pack (Right).
- In the title card, the introduction for "Stock 'Duck' Main Title #2" is heard before transitioning into the main theme for this short (the tune that Donald whistles at the beginning).
- Donald's House from the show Quack Pack is very likely based on Donald and Daisy's house from this short, albeit with a car garage and driveway added in.
- This marks Daisy's second-to-last appearance in a theatrical cartoon up until 1983, the direct last appearance being the 1959 educational cartoon How to Have an Accident at Work.
- Unlike other cartoons, Daisy had pink feathers (pale yellowish-pink feathers in some old unrestored TV/video versions) as opposed to white feathers like Donald and other ducks.
- Donald narrates the entire cartoon with the same sophisticated voice used by Dapper Duck in Donald's Double Trouble (1946).
- The story bore little continuity with the "real" Donald and Daisy as Huey, Dewey, and Louie appeared as Daisy's younger brothers as opposed to Donald's nephews as usual. Even still, it was the only time in which Daisy's parents are seen.
- Some of the labels on Daisy's "love potions" are "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".
- In one scene, when Donald carves his and Daisy's initials into a tree, the camera reveals, on the opposite side of the tree, all of Daisy's previous boyfriends having done the same thing. These names are those of Disney animators and crew members, including "Sib" (John Sibley), "Al" (Al Bertino), "Dan" (Dan MacManus), "Hugh" (Hugh Fraser), "X" (Xavier Atencio), "Nick" (Nick George), "Harry" (Harry Holt), "Ed" (Edward H. Plumb), "Fred" (Fred Moore), "Volus" (Volus Jones), "Jack" (Jack Kinney) and "Bruce" (Bruce Bushman).
- The scene depicting the wedding of Daisy and Donald also implies Daisy's promiscuity; Several sailors attend the wedding and tearfully wave goodbye to Daisy, implying they were all former lovers. This also hints that Daisy loves men in uniform, and interestingly, this matter has mostly used as a plot device in the Mickey Mouse cartoon "Captain Donald", on how Donald got his sailor suit.
- A small clip of the "Pecos Bill" segment from Melody Time appears briefly at the drive-in movie theater Donald and Daisy went in the cartoon.
- Daisy's mother is modeled after the famous James McNeill Whistler painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, better known colloquially as Whistler's Mother.
- Daisy's mother is seen reading Dun & Bradstreet.
- Some animation during the "Donald the Robot" sequence is reused from the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" segment of Fun and Fancy Free and the end of the dream sequence in Der Fuehrer's Face.
- The French flag on the fort implies Donald's way of escape was enlisting in the French Foreign Legion.
- Daisy's appearance in DuckTales is based on her appearance in this cartoon, albeit with white feathers like Donald and the other duck characters instead of pink.
Goofs[]
- When Daisy's family comes over unannounced for dinner at Donald and Daisy's, Donald isn't wearing his blazer. His blazer suddenly reappears when he goes back to the table and eats the flower.
- In the same shot, Donald's bow-tie suddenly disappears, and then reappears when Daisy's family run him over.
- When Donald wakes up from his nightmare, Daisy is wearing her green dress with a yellow pinafore apron, but two shots later, when Donald makes his escape from her, she is wearing her red dress.
Releases[]
Television[]
- Walt Disney Presents, episode #6.23: "This is Your Life, Donald Duck"
- Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, episode #8.6: "Inside Donald Duck"
- The New Mickey Mouse Club, February 9, 1977
- Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald, episode #1
- Good Morning, Mickey, episode #34
- Donald Duck Presents, episode #15
- From Disney, with Love
- Mickey's Mouse Tracks, episode #1
- Donald's Quack Attack, episode #39
- The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.46: "Disney Dreams"
Home video[]
VHS
- Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoon Collections, Vol. 2
- Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Starring Donald & Daisy
Laserdisc
- Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Starring Donald & Daisy / Starring Pluto & Fifi
DVD
- Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites: Best Pals - Donald & Daisy
- Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Four
Gallery[]
Donald: "Donald Duck, ma'am."
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