National Donald Duck Day Date in the current year: June 9, 2024

Donald Duck is an anthropomorphic duck wearing a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Considered one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time (at least according to TV Guide’s 2002 rating), he is known for his arrogant, immature, mischievous and temperamental personality, as well as semi-intelligible speech that has come to be known as “Donald Duck talk”.

Donald Duck is six years younger than Mickey Mouse. He was first introduced in The Wise Little Hen, a musical cartoon based on the fable The Little Red Hen. The first showing of the cartoon occurred on May 3, 1934 at the Carthay Circle Theatre as a benefit performance, but the official release date according to the cartoon’s distributor was June 9, 1934.

However, it was Donald Duck’s second appearance in the short film Orphan’s Benefits that introduced him as the character we all know and love today: a temperamental foil to Mickey Mouse. During the 1930s, Donald, Mickey and Goofy, a clumsy and eccentric dog, often appeared in cartoons together as a comedy trio.

Donald Duck’s nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie were introduced in comics in 1937 and on screen in 1938, and his girlfriend made her first appearance in the 1937 cartoon Don Donald as Donna Duck and in the 1940 cartoon Mr. Duck Steps Out as Daisy Duck. Donald and his nephews were voiced by Clarence Nash, who invented the signature Donald Duck talk, until 1965. Nash also voiced Daisy Duck in her debut appearance, but for her second appearance, actress Gloria Blondell took over.

Since his introduction, Donald Duck has appeared in short films, theatrical films, television and direct-to-video features, television series, video games, comics, and books. In 2005, he received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joining other cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, the Simpsons, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, and Woody Woodpecker.

National Donald Duck Day was first proclaimed by the then-mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley in 1984 to commemorate Donald’s 50th birthday. Since then, Disney fans have celebrated the holiday every year.

There are many fun ways to celebrate National Donald Duck Day with your friends and family. You can watch your favorite cartoons or read books or comics featuring Donald Duck, host a Disney-themed party or a Donald Duck impersonation contest, take a trip to Disneyland or World Disney World, buy Donald Duck merchandise, dress up as Donald Duck, and post about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalDonaldDuckDay and #DonaldDuckDay to spread the word.

Donald Duck is not the only Disney character with a holiday. For example, Mickey Mouse’s birthday is celebrated on November 18, and National Polka Dot Day, which pays homage to Minnie Mouse and her iconic polka-dotted dress, is observed on January 22.