Donald's Dilemma

Donald's Dilemma is a 1947 Walt Disney Studios animated cartoon directed by Jack King[1] and starring Donald and Daisy Duck. It was originally released on July 11, 1947 in the United States.[2] This short is somewhat of a misnomer. Although Donald is the official headliner for this cartoon, Daisy is the actual protagonist.[1] The dilemma of the title is actually offered to her, not to Donald.[3]

Donald's Dilemma
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack King
Story byRoy Williams
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringClarence Nash
Gloria Blondell
Music byOliver Wallace
Animation byDon Towsley
Ed Aardal
Emery Hawkins
Sandy Strother
Layouts byDon Griffith
Backgrounds byMaurice Greenberg
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • July 11, 1947 (1947-07-11)
Running time
7 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Daisy narrates her problem to an unseen psychologist through flashback scenes. Her problem started on a spring day when she was out on a date with Donald and a flower pot fell on his head. He regained consciousness soon enough but with some marked differences. His singing voice was improved to the degree in which it sounds identical to Frank Sinatra. However, Donald had no memory of who Daisy was. He became a well-known crooner and his rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio became a hit, which gave him a large number of fans. Daisy's loss resulted in a number of psychological symptoms - she suffered from insomnia, anorexia and self-described insanity. An often censored scene features her losing her will to live and pointing a gun at her head, while in front of a table of other different suicidal methods, including a noose, a grenade, a bomb, a knife, and poison.[4][5] She decided that she would see Donald once again at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, at any cost, but failed to do so. That's when she decided to go to the psychologist - and the flashback meets the actual time of the cartoon.

At the end of the cartoon, the psychologist determines that Donald would regain his memory of Daisy if another flower pot (with the same flower from the first pot, which Daisy kept as the only thing she had to remember Donald) would fall on his head. But he warns that his improved voice may be lost along with his singing career. He offers Daisy a dilemma. Either the world has its singer but Daisy loses him or Daisy regains Donald but the world loses him. Posed with the question "her or the world", Daisy answers with a resounding and possessive scream - "Me! Me! Me! MEEE!!". Soon, Donald returns to his old self and forgets about his singing career and Daisy regains her lover.

Voice cast

Reception

In The Disney Films, Leonard Maltin says that Donald's Dilemma is "perhaps the best Donald Duck of all... a sidesplitting satire of psychological dramas." Maltin provides a number of reasons why he considers this a great cartoon: "Foremost is the fact that it makes the characters and their situation real, even while reminding you that this is a cartoon. The audience actually becomes involved with Daisy's predicament, and there are marvelous little touches to heighten the emotionalism (as when she is climbing to the catwalk near the end and almost loses her step). At the same time the cartoon is filled with hilarious visual exaggeration: when Daisy recalls that Donald gave her a cold icy stare, a long icicle emits from his eyes, and as she waits for Donald at the stage door of the theatre, the seasons change and she is covered with snow. Donald's Dilemma shows how much could be done within the framework of a seven-minute cartoon, using familiar characters; it is a gem."[6]

According to John Howard Reid in Science-Fiction & Fantasy Cinema: Classic Films of Horror, Sci-Fi & the Supernatural, Daisy displays "a ruthlessly self-centered neurotic streak," but maintains the audience's sympathy throughout the film.[3]

Releases

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007 on Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950.[7]

Additional releases include:

  • 1984 – Cartoon Classics - Limited Gold Edition: Daisy (VHS)
  • 2005 – Classic Cartoon Favorites: Extreme Music Fun (DVD)

Sources
  • Reid, John Howard (2007). "Donald's Dilemma". Science-fiction and fantasy cinema:Classic Films of Horror, Sci-Fi and the Supernatural. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781430301134.

References
  1. Disney Archives | Daisy Duck Character History
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. Reid (2007), p. 60-61
  4. Donald's Dilemma (1947) - Alternate versions
  5. "Donald's Dilemma (Walt Disney Studios)".
  6. Maltin, Leonard (1984). The Disney Films (2nd ed.). Crown Publishers. pp. 301–302. ISBN 0-517-55407-0. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  7. "The Chronological Donald Volume 3 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
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