In what year did Donald Duck first appear?

Donald Duck first appeared in 1934. His debut came in The Wise Little Hen, a Silly Symphonies short in which he plays an unhelpful friend alongside Peter Pig.

The character was developed for Disney animation by artists including Dick Lundy, and Clarence Nash supplied Donald’s famously difficult-to-understand voice. Donald’s early design already included several familiar features: a white body, orange bill and feet, and a sailor-style shirt and cap.

The date can look slightly complicated because the short had more than one early presentation. It was reportedly shown at a benefit program at Los Angeles’s Carthay Circle Theater on May 3, 1934, while its recognized theatrical release followed in June. Disney officially treats June 9 as Donald’s birthday.

Donald was not immediately the fully developed short-tempered star audiences know today. His second appearance, Orphan’s Benefit, helped establish him as a volatile comic foil to Mickey Mouse. He later became one of Disney’s most prolific film characters, appearing in more films than any other Disney character.