Here's 4 facts we learned about Donald Duck as he turns 90!

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If there was one Disney character that a lot of the folks here in CILISOS relate to the most, it would have to be Donald Duck. He’s equal parts impatient, grouchy, and temperamental- but his larger-than-life personality and adorable (yet unintelligible) way of speaking makes him quite a lovable character, especially amongst those of us who can understand his rage towards life’s inconveniences.

And since he was once an important part of many of our childhoods, we immediately felt a wave of nostalgia wash over us when we were recently invited to celebrate his “birthday” at Sunway Pyramid. And to our surprise (and slight horror), we were pretty shocked to find out that he’s celebrating his 90th anniversary this year, which means that… Donald Duck is actually 90 years old now?!

Anyways, in honor of Donald Duck turning 90 this year, we decided to compile a couple of interesting facts that we learned about our favorite feathery friend, starting with the fact that….

1. Donald Duck has a middle name, and it sounds incredibly atas

That’s right. Donald Duck DOES have a middle name… which you might’ve guessed already since he’s often credited as Donald F. Duck. So, what does the ‘F’ in his name stand for, exactly?

Fauntleroy. His full name is Donald Fauntleroy Duck. Apparently, Fauntleroy means “son of the king” according to Etymology… so, is there perhaps more Donald Duck lore than we know?

2. Donald Duck’s voice was initially supposed to be a frightened baby goat

Ever wondered how the iconic voice of Donald Duck came to be? Apparently, Donald’s distinctive voice was discovered by Walt Disney, who upon hearing Los Angeles performer Clarence Nash’s nervous recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in a voice he had meant as a frightened baby goat, immediately exclaimed, “That’s our talking duck!”

Aaaand the rest was history. Clarence Nash was then recruited as the original voice actor for our beloved duck, which soon made his official debut in the 1934 short film The Wise Little Hen. Originally intended to be a supporting character, Donald waddled away with the show and rose to stardom!

Which then brings us to our next fun fact…

3. He’s appeared in over 150 shows, and even hosted a bit in the Oscars!

Turns out, Donald Duck is quite the celebrity. He’s starred as himself in over 150 theatrically-released shorts and featurettes, and graced the silver screen in several theatrical features, most notably in films like The Three Caballeros, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Fantasia/2000. And of course, he’s also delighted us with his appearance in numerous television shows and specials, including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the EMMY-nominated series DuckTales.

But Donald Duck’s presence goes beyond just film. He’s even entered the realm of video games, acting as characters in Kingdom Hearts and Disney Tsum Tsum, endearing himself to gamers worldwide with his quacky quips.

And most notably, in 1958, Donald even made an appearance at the 30th Annual Academy Awards®, where he hosted a seven-minute live-action and animation history of the movies! He truly is… the duck of the town.

4. Donald Duck has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Many aspiring actors may only dream about having their own star on the infamous Hollywood Walk of Fame, but this cartoon duck was able to get his star immortalized back in 2004!

Donald cemented his contributions to the world of entertainment and pop culture when he waddled his way into the hearts of fans worldwide, leaving his webbed footprints in cement during a ceremony at the world-famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California.

But one real question remains… Why doesn’t he wear PANTS?

Perhaps one of the realest questions we’ve ever asked in CILISOS history, is… why doesn’t Donald Duck wear any pants? Since he’s already got the whole sailor suit and sailor hat getup going on, it wouldn’t make sense that he doesn’t have a pair of pants to go along with it.

But while we completely forgot to ask the Disney team about this while we were there, some people on the Internet have theorized that in the early cartoons, Donald was seen swimming a whole lot. And if you’ve seen the way ducks swim, it’d probably make sense to you that he would wear a shirt, but not any pants since it would only be the bottom part of his body that touches the water. Plus- would there even be a pair of pants that could contain his ducky bum bum?

Welp. Guess the only way we’ll ever find out is if they ever decide to make a Donald Duck…umentary.