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Donald Duck's 50th Birthday

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Donald Duck's 50th Birthday
Logo used by Disney in the birthday tour and the CBS television special
Directed byAndrew Solt
Phil Savenick
Written byPeter Elbling
Andrew Solt
StarringDick Van Dyke
Clarence Nash
John Harlan
Release date
November 13, 1984 (1984-11-13)
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

Donald Duck's 50th Birthday was a television special broadcast on The Magical World of Disney on November 13, 1984 on CBS. As the title suggests, it was produced for the 50th anniversary of the Donald Duck character. Donald is shown in both animated and 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 as well as showing various celebrities of the day wishing Donald happy birthday. The tour culminates in a parade in Donald's honor at Disneyland.

Features

  • Acclaimed artist Andy Warhol is shown finishing and hanging a painting of Donald Duck that was created for his golden jubillee.
  • There are quite a few 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, another with Donald demonstrating the techniques of animation and sound effects and a third with Donald as a puppet with Disney was recieving a Master of Arts (the joke being that it was Donald who received the degree)
  • The theme of The Mickey Mouse Club is shown with Disney charactcters to illustrate Donald's innate jealousy to Mickey Mouse having his own TV 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 toys doing a dance number using stopmotion as well as reverse acting

1984 Birthday Tour

Stamp from Bhutan commemorating Donald's 50th Birthday depicting a scene from Good Scouts
Stamp from Bhutan commemorating Donald's 50th Birthday depicting a scene from Good Scouts

In 1984 Donald Duck (in costumed 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 (costumed) Disney 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 and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. This scene was also when he was discharged from the US Army. 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 Clarence Nash.

Cast

Also featured is Walt Disney in several clips (Disney himself having died in 1966).

Songs

  • Happy Birthday to You Donald Duck Version by [Michael Silversher] and [Patty Silversher] (1984)
  • Going Quackers (1980)
  • ''Can You Quack Like Donald Duck?by [Michael Silversher] and [Patty Silversher] (1984)
  • Tutti Frutti 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 Birthday to you Donald Duck Version was released on the Splashdance LP and cassette. Splashdance has since been re-released on compact disk.

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