Donald's Diary

The first time I saw this short was when I was a kid and it was part of a VHS collection of shorts called "Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Starring Donald & Daisy". It was the last of three shorts included. This is quite a concept for a short, taking a page out of Donald's diary, which is narrated by British character actor Leslie Dennison, as Donald walks and whistles down the steep roads of San Francisco and Daisy attempts to "trap" him in various ways. The one thing that always confused me is that in the middle, it was made clear that Donald was dreaming, as evidenced by the shot of Donald sleeping in the chair and the ripple effect used, and yet, the narration kept going as if it was really happening. Other than that, a lot of good visual gags, one of my favorites being Daisy's mother being a duck version of "Whistler's Mother", and also very good music. Edward Plumb's theme has never left my head since I heard it.

Daisy Duck is reading a book about how to catch a husband. She sets her designs on Donald. She gets him to fall in love with her but there are lots of troublesome sign. Her mother lives with her and her crazy father and the three nephews. He borrows money to buy her a ring and while he waits for her to get ready for a date, he has a horrible dream. Really fun episode.

Elegant, funny and really nice to watch, Donald's Diary was thoroughly enjoyable. Gloria Blondell is terrific as Daisy, the girl of Donald's dreams, and Clarence Nash once again provides the voices of Donald and the three nephews Huey, Duey and Louie and as always does impeccably. Leslie Denison, in a very Ronald Colman-like style, gives a very sophisticated account of himself as the narrator. Along with beautiful animation, wonderful music and a very nice concept, it is just a nice cartoon to watch. There are also some funny moments, Donald carrying Daisy up all those stairs was hilarious, though I did feel sorry for Donald, he goes through such a lot here. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

DONALD'S DIARY chronicles his meeting with Daisy...and his descent into the horrors of matrimony.

Daisy gives a terrific performance in what would prove to be her final significant role in a Disney cartoon. Huey, Dewey & Louie play her little brothers this time around, not Donald's nephews. Careful watching of the film shows that Donald & Daisy finally met in the Japanese Tea Garden of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Clarence Nash provides the voice for the male Ducks, but the entries to the Diary are read with a Ronald Colman-style sophistication, a nice touch.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Donald Duck writes to his diary about how he met and fell in love with Daisy Duck.He gets to meet Daisy's family, including her brothers who look a lot like Huey, Dewey and Louie.He has a nightmare about their marriage before he pops the question and he decides to run off when he wakes up.Jack Kinney's Donald's Diary (1954) is 7 minutes of pure fun.It's awfully hilarious when the newly wed Donald carries Daisy all those stairs to get her in the house.Clarence Nash is the voice of Donald Duck but Ronald Colman speaks with his sophisticated voice the words written in the diary.June Foray does the voice nagging Donald about chores.Watch this cartoon and have fun with Donald and Daisy.