''Donald Duck's 50th Birthday'' is a 1984

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

broadcast on ''

The Magical World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' on November 13, 1984 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. As the title suggests, it was produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Donald Duck character, who first appeared in the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

short ''

The Wise Little Hen ''The Wise Little Hen'' is a 1934 Walt Disney's ''Silly Symphony'' cartoon, based on the fable '' The Little Red Hen''. The cartoon features the debut of Donald Duck, dancing to the Sailor's Hornpipe. Donald and his friend Peter Pig try to avoi ...

'' in 1934. Donald is shown in both animated and live costumed form, interacting with emcee Dick Van Dyke and other cast members. The film not only shows Donald's life, but also depicts an extensive international tour that Donald went on in 1984. Various celebrities of the day send Donald birthday greetings, including

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

, Donna Summer and the '' Star Wars'' droids. The tour culminates in a parade in Donald's honor at

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

. This was the last time

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor. He was best known as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and ...

voiced Donald Duck before his death a year later. It was rebroadcast on Disney Channel Europe on November 13, 2004 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the special plus at the end of the special, it has the sign: "Walt Disney 1901–1966 Clarence Nash 1904–1985".

Features

* '' Star Wars'' characters

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

and

C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assis ...

explain that clarity of speech are qualities that are vital to future languages and that those who do not possess such qualities are doomed. They then add that there are exceptions to that rule, case in point, Donald's famed speech impediment, created by Clarence Nash, which they claim they know very well. C-3PO closes out this scene by saying, "Happy birthday, Mr. Duck. And Mr. Nash." * Acclaimed artist

is shown finishing and hanging, '' The New Spirit'' a painting that was created for Donald's golden jubilee. * There several scenes with Walt Disney, one with Donald Duck hiding under Disney's desk blotter despite the pleas of Disney to meet the people that had come to see him (from a ''

'' episode entitled " The Plausible Impossible"), another with Donald demonstrating the techniques of animation and sound effects and a third with Donald as a puppet with Disney was receiving a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(the joke being that it was in fact ''Donald'' who received the degree) * ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...

'' theme is shown with Disney characters to illustrate Donald's innate jealousy to Mickey Mouse having his own television show. Dick Van Dyke states that Donald "never let anyone forget it". * There is a film clip with Daisy Duck baking a cake for Donald featuring the 1980 Donald Duck song "Going Quackers" with various Donald Duck and other Disney character toys doing a dance number using

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation as well as reverse acting.

1984 birthday tour

In 1984, Donald Duck (in live form) went on an international tour through Europe, Japan and parts of the United States. Some of these stops on his tour actual stage performances attended by other (live)

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

characters. Donald's arrival at airports (on his own plane depicting Donald in flight on the tailfin) was met with colossal crowds that kept getting bigger. There were also several parades for Donald, and not just at the Disney theme parks. In one, Donald sat in a staff car in his

military uniform A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful and elaborate, ornamented ...

and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. This scene was also when he was discharged from the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Donald is also shown having his footprints cast in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in May 1984. In the film, Donald's tour is shown with music as well as dialogue, assumedly added later by

Cast

* Dick Van Dyke ... Host *

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

... Himself *

Bruce Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic Games, Olympic Olympic medal, gold medal-winning Decathlon, decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland ...

... Himself *

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

... Herself *

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

... Himself * Donna Summer ... Herself *

... Himself * Henry Winkler ... Himself *

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

... Himself *

Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...

...

* Kenny Baker ...

... Donald Duck / Himself * John Harlan ... Announcer

Muppet performers

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

* Richard Hunt as Scooter Also featured is

in several clips (Disney himself having died in 1966).

Featured clips

*''

'' (1934) *''

The Band Concert ''The Band Concert'' is a 1935 American animated short film produced in 3-strip Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. It was the 73rd Mickey Mouse short film to be released, and the second of that year. ''The Ba ...

'' (1935) *''

Don Donald ''Don Donald'' is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon follows Donald Duck attempting to woo a female Mexican duck named Donna. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and ...

'' (1937) *''

Lonesome Ghosts ''Lonesome Ghosts'' is a 1937 Disney animated cartoon, released through RKO Radio Pictures on December 24, 1937, three days after ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937). It was directed by Burt Gillett and animated by Izzy (Isadore) Klein, E ...

'' (1937) *'' Donald's Nephews'' (1938) *'' Donald's Golf Game'' (1938, shown in French) *'' Donald's Better Self'' (1938, shown in Japanese) *''

The Autograph Hound ''The Autograph Hound'' is a 1939 Donald Duck cartoon which features Donald Duck as an autograph hunter in Hollywood. Many celebrities from the 1930s are featured. This is the first cartoon where Donald Duck is featured in his blue sailor hat. Pl ...

'' (1939) *'' The Riveter'' (1940) *'' Mr. Duck Steps Out'' (1940) *'' Window Cleaners'' (1940) *'' The Reluctant Dragon'' (1941) *'' Old Mac Donald Duck'' (1941) *''

Der Fuehrer's Face ''Der Fuehrer's Face'' (originally titled ''A Nightmare in Nutziland'' or ''Donald Duck in Nutziland'' ) is a 1943 American animated anti-Nazi propaganda short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, created in 1942 and released on January 1, ...

'' (1942) *'' Donald Gets Drafted'' (1942) *'' Bellboy Donald (1942) *'' Saludos Amigos'' (1942) *''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...

'' (1944) *'' Commando Duck'' (1944) *'' Donald's Crime'' (1945, shown in Spanish) *''

Fun and Fancy Free ''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film produced by Walt Disney and released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the ninth Disney animated feature film and the fourth of the package films th ...

'' (1947) *'' Donald's Dream Voice'' (1948) *'' Bee at the Beach'' (1950) *'' Canvas Back Duck'' (1953) *''

Donald's Diary Donald's Diary is a Donald Duck short film which was produced in Technicolor and released February 13, 1954 by RKO Radio Pictures. Plot In San Francisco, Donald meets Daisy Duck and the two fall in love. They date, get engaged, and finally m ...

'' (1954) *"

" (1955) *"Disneyland: A Day in the Life of Donald Duck (#2.18)" (1956) *"Disneyland: The Plausible Impossible (#3.8)" (1956) *''

Donald in Mathmagic Land ''Donald in Mathmagic Land'' is a 1959 American animated-live-action featurette produced by Walt Disney Productions and featuring Donald Duck. The short was directed by Hamilton Luske (with Wolfgang Reitherman, Les Clark, and Joshua Meador as ...

'' (1959) *"Disneyland: Inside Donald Duck (#8.6)" (1961) *''

Mickey's Christmas Carol ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' is a 1983 American animated family comedy-drama featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and stars Scrooge McDuck as ...

'' (1983, shown in Swedish)

Soundtrack

*"Happy, Happy Birthday to You (Donald Duck Version)" by Michael Silversher & Patty Silversher (1984) *"Going Quackers" (1980) *"Can You Quack Like Donald Duck?" by Michael Silversher & Patty Silversher (1984) *"

Tutti Frutti Tutti frutti (from Italian ''tutti i frutti'', "all fruits"; also hyphenated tutti-frutti) is a colorful confectionery containing various chopped and usually candied fruits, or an artificial or natural flavouring simulating the combined flavou ...

" by Little Richard (1955) *"The Army's Not the Army Anymore" (first shown in the 1942 short '' Donald Gets Drafted'') *"Donald Duck Theme" by the Disney chorus ''Happy, Happy Birthday to You (Donald Duck Version)'' was released on the ''Splashdance'' LP and cassette. ''Splashdance'' has since been re-released on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0238946
''Donald Duck's 50th Birthday'' at lucasfan.com
1980s American television specials 1984 television specials 1984 in American television CBS television specials Donald Duck films Works with live action and animation Films scored by Paul Smith (film and television composer) Films scored by John Debney