I was re-reading Carl Barks' The Cantankerous Cat, and then it struck me: isn't that a little... surprising, coming from a US franchise like the Disney ducks, that Donald has a dog named after Simón Bolívar?
If I'm not mistaken, it is generally assumed that Homer Brightman and Al Taliaferro "created" him (or to be exact, lifted him from the 1936 short Alpine Climbers, gave him a name and fleshed him out). But why would Brightman and Taliaferro name him that, of all things? Now, given my political views, it certainly doesn't disturb or offend me, but I'd assume it must have raised a few eyebrows in the US back in the day (and perhaps even today).
Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Oct 1, 2019 21:57:06 GMT
Yes, as I understand it, the dog was originally named "Tolliver", which was a mispronouncing/in-joke on Taliaferro's name, but Taliaferro grew uncomfortable writing about a character with his own name and so changed it to something unrelated but similar-sounding, "Bolivar". Then later there was some trouble about using the name of a historical hero for a dumb dog and Barks changed that to something similar to *that*, hence "Bornworthy".
Yes, as I understand it, the dog was originally named "Tolliver", which was a mispronouncing/in-joke on Taliaferro's name, but Taliaferro grew uncomfortable writing about a character with his own name and so changed it to something unrelated but similar-sounding, "Bolivar". Then later there was some trouble about using the name of a historical hero for a dumb dog and Barks changed that to something similar to *that*, hence "Bornworthy".
Hmmm... Taliaferro didn't write the strip himself, did he? Though I think maybe he contributed ideas to it from time to time.
Yes, as I understand it, the dog was originally named "Tolliver", which was a mispronouncing/in-joke on Taliaferro's name, but Taliaferro grew uncomfortable writing about a character with his own name and so changed it to something unrelated but similar-sounding, "Bolivar". Then later there was some trouble about using the name of a historical hero for a dumb dog and Barks changed that to something similar to *that*, hence "Bornworthy".
I've heard that often, but do we have actual proof that's why the name changed? After all, Barks was pretty inconsistent with the dog's name. He called it at least three different names if I'm not mistaken. Oh, and Bolivar isn't dumb, he's a good boy. I wouldn't mind giving the name of one of my historical heroes to him. He saved Donald's life after all.