When is Donald Duck's birthday?
Jun 9, 2020 23:23:09 GMT
Scrooge MacDuck, That Duckfan, and 3 more like this
Post by TheMidgetMoose on Jun 9, 2020 23:23:09 GMT
Well, today, June 9, is the day often recognized in our world as Donald Duck's birthday. Why? Because June 9, 1934 is when Donald made his animated debut in The Wise Little Hen. However, as was discussed on this thread, Donald actually debuted on radio a few months earlier on March 4, 1934. Furthermore, a character named Donald Duck (not sure if the creators of the more recognizable Donald Duck meant the two to be the same or not) previously debuted in the storybook The Adventures of Mickey Mouse Vol. 1 in 1931. It's also been suggested that Donald might have been Disney's retooling of Jimmie Wibblewobble from the Uncle Wiggily series, with this character dating all the way back to 1920 (thread about that topic). Anyway, we have threads to discuss those matters. I want us to discuss a different issue here. When is Donald Duck's birthday in-universe.
We all have different views on what information is canonical, but, for the sake of completion, I'll try to mention every hint and clue as to when Donald's birthday is in-universe as long as it is an official source. Basically, I'll try to look at it from an "everything is canonical" approach first and then look at through the lens of my headcanon. Hopefully you all can tell me about more evidence that exists and can also tell me when Donald Duck was born (or hatched) in your headcanon.
Marco Rota's From Egg to Duck spells it out for us, telling us precisely when Donald was born, but that date which Donald claims as his birthday varies on the printing, apparently. According to this website, the original printing of the story had Donald say that he was born on September 16, 1934. Why? Because this is the date that The Wise Little Hen comic strip began. However, the website says that later printings had Donald say that his birthday was on June 9, 1934, not September 16, which was obviously in accordance with Donald's animated debut in the cartoon version of The Wise Little Hen. Images from GeoX's review of the story prove that one French translation of the story also goes with June 9 date instead of September 16.
At least one other story agrees with the June 9 date. Don Rosa's The Duck Who Never Was mentions June 9 as Donald's birthday in the dialogue. Huey, Dewey, and Louie say that the story takes place on Thursday, June 9, and Donald says a few panels later, "It's just my birthday, that's all!" Donald later puts down his birthday on a job application as June 9, 19??. The reader doesn't get to see the exact year he put, but it does begin with "19".
However, while From Egg to Duck might be right about Donald being born (or hatched) on June 9, it must be wrong about the year. According to YD 38-11-05, Donald was old enough to win a pie-eating contest in 1930. There's also The Empire-Builder From Calisota to consider. Donald, though still a child, appears at the end of that story, which takes place in 1930 according to most sources. Being a child in 1930 would point to him being born sometime in the early 1920's or the late 1910's, but one source would point to an even earlier year for Donald to have been born in. In Bernard Cosey's A Mysterious Melody, we see a temperamental duck living on boat apparently named "D. Duck". Here's an image of that duck, once again from Duck Comics Revue:
It's pretty clear that this is Donald Duck. How is this relevant to the issue at hand? Well, A Mysterious Melody takes place in 1927, if I understand correctly, placing this scene chronologically before Donald's appearance in The Empire-Builder From Calisota. Since he's already capable of using a gun and appears to live alone, I would say that the Donald seen here is at least a teenager, which would point to the early 1910's as the earliest time period for him to have been born in. There's at least one more source which also points to Donald being a teenager or young adult by the mid-1920's. In the 1949 short Sea Salts, Grandpa Bootle Beetle informs us that in April 1926, he and a certain "Captain Duck" were stranded on an island after being forced to leave their storm-battered ship, the S.S. Quack. This Captain Duck fellow looks like Donald, sounds like Donald, acts like Donald, and is one of the main protagonists in a short that is part of the Donald Duck film series. Thus, he must be Donald, right? If so, then we have more evidence for Donald being born circa 1910 at the earliest, which most certainly contradicts what is seen in The Empire-Builder From Calisota and definitely contradicts From Egg to Duck's 1934 date.
Anyway, while on the topic of cartoons, let's mention another cartoon that helps us decipher when Donald was born. Donald Gets Drafted, as the title spells out, is about Donald Duck getting drafted. The date on his draft card is March 24, 1941.
According to Wikipedia, it seems that only those aged 21 to 36 were drafted in real life. If this info is wrong, then please sure to tell me. Assuming that the information is correct and that it also applies to Donald Duck's world, then Donald Gets Drafted reveals to us that Donald was born on March 23 (or 24), 1920 at the latest, and March 25, 1905 at the earliest.
At this point, I'll bring up The Empire-Builder From Calisota again. That story seems to begin in 1909. The narration implies that it begins seven years after the previous chapter, The Invader of Fort Duckburg, which, in turn, takes place no more than a few weeks or months after The Billionaire of Dismal Downs. According to Scrooge, that story takes place five years after he first struck gold, which was in 1897. Thus, Billionaire of Dismal Downs and Invader of Fort Duckburg take place around 1902, and The Empire-Builder From Calisota begins around 1909. Donald seems to have been born after the beginning of the story. He is not seen anywhere in the story, his father is still his mother's fiance instead of husband, and Hortense introduces Donald to Scrooge for what seems to be the first time at the end of the story. I think it's pretty safe to say that Donald wasn't around at the beginning of the story and was born in 1909 at the earliest. We can now say that Donald was born sometime from 1909 to March 1920.
So far, I've only mentioned two possible month and days for Donald's birth, June 9 and September 16. However, there's yet another potential date for his in-universe birth, with that date being March 13. In the 1949 cartoon Donald's Happy Birthday, Huey, Dewey, and Louie have March 13 marked as "Unca Donald's Birthday" in their calendar. Yet another animated source has Donald being born on the 13th. In The Three Caballeros, Donald's birthday is said to be on Friday the 13th, though the month is not stated. According to the 1975 illustration/article, Allo Donald !, Donald simply celebrates his birthday on every Friday the 13th, regardless of whether or not he was actually born on that day. I'm not sure if this really "counts" in-universe or not. I also seem to remember one website claiming that the storybook The Life of Donald Duck says that Donald hatched on a Friday the 13th in winter, but I can't find that website anymore, and I don't own a copy of The Life of Donald Duck.
Anyway, assuming that he was indeed born on Friday the 13th and that the calendars in Donald Duck's universe match up with ours, we can come up with some potential birth dates for Donald:
Now where do the June 9 and September 16 dates fit in with all of this? Not sure, but I do have an idea. If one believes that anthropomorphic ducks hatch from eggs, then a duck may very well celebrate two birthdays a year, celebrating both the day their egg was laid and the day that they hatched from their egg. Possibly, Donald’s egg was laid on one date, and he hatched on another date. Using the March 13, 1914 dates an example, his egg may have been laid on March 13, 1914, while he hatched on June 9, 1914. If one is particularly determined to include the September 16 date, that might be the date of his conception, as September 16 is nine months before June 9 and anthropomorphic ducks might, like humans, take nine months to develop before birth (or hatching, in this case).
Of course, there are issues with the 1914 date. It would make Donald only 12 during Sea Salts and a mere 13 when he appears in A Mysterious Melody, both of which seem a bit too young. It would also make him 16 at the end of The Empire-Builder From Calisota, which seems much too old. Actually, Don Rosa has revealed that he sees Donald being born closer to 1920 than 1915.
At this point, I think I've done the best I can to tell you what official comics say about Donald's birthday, so I'll now give my personal opinion. Personally, I give much more weight to The Empire-Builder From Calisota than to Sea Salts and A Mysterious Melody (which also has some continuity issues with Gottfredson's work regarding when Pluto became Mickey's pet), and I'm also willing to totally discount From Egg to Duck since it shows Donald as having been adopted by Grandma, who's not even his real grandmother, shortly after hatching. I would still like to have Donald's calendars match ours, and I would still like to include both the Friday the 13th and June 9 dates, though I'm not particularly beholden to March 13. Thus, I would probably say that either Donald's egg was laid on June 9, 1919 and he hatched four days later on June 13, 1919 or his egg was laid on February 13, 1920, and he hatched a few months later on June 9, 1920.
What are your thoughts? When was Donald born in your headcanon? Do you know of any other stories that give Donald a birthday or give hints as to what year he was born? Be sure to share your thoughts! I wouldn't have created this thread if I didn't want to hear from you about your knowledge and your personal opinions.
We all have different views on what information is canonical, but, for the sake of completion, I'll try to mention every hint and clue as to when Donald's birthday is in-universe as long as it is an official source. Basically, I'll try to look at it from an "everything is canonical" approach first and then look at through the lens of my headcanon. Hopefully you all can tell me about more evidence that exists and can also tell me when Donald Duck was born (or hatched) in your headcanon.
Marco Rota's From Egg to Duck spells it out for us, telling us precisely when Donald was born, but that date which Donald claims as his birthday varies on the printing, apparently. According to this website, the original printing of the story had Donald say that he was born on September 16, 1934. Why? Because this is the date that The Wise Little Hen comic strip began. However, the website says that later printings had Donald say that his birthday was on June 9, 1934, not September 16, which was obviously in accordance with Donald's animated debut in the cartoon version of The Wise Little Hen. Images from GeoX's review of the story prove that one French translation of the story also goes with June 9 date instead of September 16.
At least one other story agrees with the June 9 date. Don Rosa's The Duck Who Never Was mentions June 9 as Donald's birthday in the dialogue. Huey, Dewey, and Louie say that the story takes place on Thursday, June 9, and Donald says a few panels later, "It's just my birthday, that's all!" Donald later puts down his birthday on a job application as June 9, 19??. The reader doesn't get to see the exact year he put, but it does begin with "19".
However, while From Egg to Duck might be right about Donald being born (or hatched) on June 9, it must be wrong about the year. According to YD 38-11-05, Donald was old enough to win a pie-eating contest in 1930. There's also The Empire-Builder From Calisota to consider. Donald, though still a child, appears at the end of that story, which takes place in 1930 according to most sources. Being a child in 1930 would point to him being born sometime in the early 1920's or the late 1910's, but one source would point to an even earlier year for Donald to have been born in. In Bernard Cosey's A Mysterious Melody, we see a temperamental duck living on boat apparently named "D. Duck". Here's an image of that duck, once again from Duck Comics Revue:
It's pretty clear that this is Donald Duck. How is this relevant to the issue at hand? Well, A Mysterious Melody takes place in 1927, if I understand correctly, placing this scene chronologically before Donald's appearance in The Empire-Builder From Calisota. Since he's already capable of using a gun and appears to live alone, I would say that the Donald seen here is at least a teenager, which would point to the early 1910's as the earliest time period for him to have been born in. There's at least one more source which also points to Donald being a teenager or young adult by the mid-1920's. In the 1949 short Sea Salts, Grandpa Bootle Beetle informs us that in April 1926, he and a certain "Captain Duck" were stranded on an island after being forced to leave their storm-battered ship, the S.S. Quack. This Captain Duck fellow looks like Donald, sounds like Donald, acts like Donald, and is one of the main protagonists in a short that is part of the Donald Duck film series. Thus, he must be Donald, right? If so, then we have more evidence for Donald being born circa 1910 at the earliest, which most certainly contradicts what is seen in The Empire-Builder From Calisota and definitely contradicts From Egg to Duck's 1934 date.
Anyway, while on the topic of cartoons, let's mention another cartoon that helps us decipher when Donald was born. Donald Gets Drafted, as the title spells out, is about Donald Duck getting drafted. The date on his draft card is March 24, 1941.
According to Wikipedia, it seems that only those aged 21 to 36 were drafted in real life. If this info is wrong, then please sure to tell me. Assuming that the information is correct and that it also applies to Donald Duck's world, then Donald Gets Drafted reveals to us that Donald was born on March 23 (or 24), 1920 at the latest, and March 25, 1905 at the earliest.
At this point, I'll bring up The Empire-Builder From Calisota again. That story seems to begin in 1909. The narration implies that it begins seven years after the previous chapter, The Invader of Fort Duckburg, which, in turn, takes place no more than a few weeks or months after The Billionaire of Dismal Downs. According to Scrooge, that story takes place five years after he first struck gold, which was in 1897. Thus, Billionaire of Dismal Downs and Invader of Fort Duckburg take place around 1902, and The Empire-Builder From Calisota begins around 1909. Donald seems to have been born after the beginning of the story. He is not seen anywhere in the story, his father is still his mother's fiance instead of husband, and Hortense introduces Donald to Scrooge for what seems to be the first time at the end of the story. I think it's pretty safe to say that Donald wasn't around at the beginning of the story and was born in 1909 at the earliest. We can now say that Donald was born sometime from 1909 to March 1920.
So far, I've only mentioned two possible month and days for Donald's birth, June 9 and September 16. However, there's yet another potential date for his in-universe birth, with that date being March 13. In the 1949 cartoon Donald's Happy Birthday, Huey, Dewey, and Louie have March 13 marked as "Unca Donald's Birthday" in their calendar. Yet another animated source has Donald being born on the 13th. In The Three Caballeros, Donald's birthday is said to be on Friday the 13th, though the month is not stated. According to the 1975 illustration/article, Allo Donald !, Donald simply celebrates his birthday on every Friday the 13th, regardless of whether or not he was actually born on that day. I'm not sure if this really "counts" in-universe or not. I also seem to remember one website claiming that the storybook The Life of Donald Duck says that Donald hatched on a Friday the 13th in winter, but I can't find that website anymore, and I don't own a copy of The Life of Donald Duck.
Anyway, assuming that he was indeed born on Friday the 13th and that the calendars in Donald Duck's universe match up with ours, we can come up with some potential birth dates for Donald:
- August 13, 1909
- May 13, 1910
- January 13, 1911
- October 13, 1911
- December 13, 1912
- June 13, 1913
- February 13, 1914
- March 13, 1914
- November 13, 1914
- August 13, 1915
- October 13, 1916
- April 13, 1917
- July 13, 1917
- September 13, 1918
- December 13, 1918
- June 13, 1919
- February 13, 1920
Now where do the June 9 and September 16 dates fit in with all of this? Not sure, but I do have an idea. If one believes that anthropomorphic ducks hatch from eggs, then a duck may very well celebrate two birthdays a year, celebrating both the day their egg was laid and the day that they hatched from their egg. Possibly, Donald’s egg was laid on one date, and he hatched on another date. Using the March 13, 1914 dates an example, his egg may have been laid on March 13, 1914, while he hatched on June 9, 1914. If one is particularly determined to include the September 16 date, that might be the date of his conception, as September 16 is nine months before June 9 and anthropomorphic ducks might, like humans, take nine months to develop before birth (or hatching, in this case).
Of course, there are issues with the 1914 date. It would make Donald only 12 during Sea Salts and a mere 13 when he appears in A Mysterious Melody, both of which seem a bit too young. It would also make him 16 at the end of The Empire-Builder From Calisota, which seems much too old. Actually, Don Rosa has revealed that he sees Donald being born closer to 1920 than 1915.
At this point, I think I've done the best I can to tell you what official comics say about Donald's birthday, so I'll now give my personal opinion. Personally, I give much more weight to The Empire-Builder From Calisota than to Sea Salts and A Mysterious Melody (which also has some continuity issues with Gottfredson's work regarding when Pluto became Mickey's pet), and I'm also willing to totally discount From Egg to Duck since it shows Donald as having been adopted by Grandma, who's not even his real grandmother, shortly after hatching. I would still like to have Donald's calendars match ours, and I would still like to include both the Friday the 13th and June 9 dates, though I'm not particularly beholden to March 13. Thus, I would probably say that either Donald's egg was laid on June 9, 1919 and he hatched four days later on June 13, 1919 or his egg was laid on February 13, 1920, and he hatched a few months later on June 9, 1920.
What are your thoughts? When was Donald born in your headcanon? Do you know of any other stories that give Donald a birthday or give hints as to what year he was born? Be sure to share your thoughts! I wouldn't have created this thread if I didn't want to hear from you about your knowledge and your personal opinions.
