Mr. Duck Steps Out

Mr. Duck Steps Out
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack King
Story byCarl Barks
Chuck Couch
Jack Hannah
Harry Reeves
Milt Schaffer
Frank Tashlin
Produced byWalt Disney
StarringClarence Nash
Music byCharles Wolcott
Animation byLes Clark
Larry Clemmons
Don Towsley
Lee Morehouse
Rex Cox
Volus Jones
Emery Hawkins
Ray Patin
Ken Muse
Dick Lundy
Eddie Strickland
Phil Duncan
Judge Whitaker
Jim Armstrong
Layouts byBill Herwig
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • June 7, 1940 (1940-06-07)
Running time
8:12
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Mr. Duck Steps Out is a Donald Duck cartoon produced by Walt Disney Productions, which is released on June 7, 1940, and featured the debut of Daisy Duck.[1] The short was directed by Jack King and written by Carl Barks, Chuck Couch, Jack Hannah, Harry Reeves, Milt Schaffer, and Frank Tashlin.

Clarence Nash performs all the voices in the film—Donald, Daisy and Donald's nephews.

Plot

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Donald prepares to visit his new love interest, Daisy, for their first known date. Huey, Dewey, and Louie attempt to go too, but Donald, unwilling to allow this, tricks them into entering a closet and locks them in before heading to Daisy's house, but the nephews escape by sawing a hole in the wall and beat him there. After Donald unknowingly gives a box of chocolates (which are meant to Daisy) to the nephews, he realizes who he's talking to after hearing them thank him and chases them down, cornering them just as Daisy arrives. Being forced to act nicely, he claims that he brought his nephews along before quickly taking the chocolates back and in exchange, gives the nephews a coin and sends them to buy ice cream. They do so, rushing out of the house so fast that it causes the door to briefly slam shut. Now alone, Donald and Daisy sit on a couch. Donald tries to woo her and hug her, but at first Daisy acts shy and has her back turned to her visitor. Donald soon notices her tail feathers taking the form of a hand and signaling for him to come closer, but their time alone is soon interrupted by the nephews, who have just returned; they push Donald off the couch and he bumps into a radio, causing it to play music.

Donald and the nephews take turns dancing the jitterbug with her while trying to get rid of each other. One of the nephews, cleverly switches his ice cream for Daisy, but Donald soon takes notice and in a fit of rage, throws the ice cream on the floor, making it splatter in his face. He pulls the nephew aside and dances with Daisy again, but all three nephews then knock Donald aside, causing him to fall into a tiger skin rug, which Donald uses to fling the nephews into the kitchen. In their final effort, the three younger ducks find a maize and after heating it on the stove, knock it into Donald's mouth as it is in the process of becoming popcorn. The process is completed within Donald himself, who continues to move wildly around the house while maintaining the appearance of dancing. The nephews then bring things into the room to use as instruments: a trombone, plungers, a dummy, a candelabra, a frog-shaped flower holder, a piano, a horn, and many objects that are used as drums. After landing near a fireplace, the maize that's still in Donald's stomach makes him go out of control, resulting in Daisy being tangled in curtains, her and Donald spinning on a rug, followed by them crashing through a foldable wall. The camera then moves to show that they've crashed into a dish cabinet. The short ends with an impressed Daisy showering her new lover with red kisses.

History

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Mr. Duck Steps Out stands out among other Donald shorts of the period for its use of modern music and surreal situations throughout. After this short, the idea of a permanent love interest for Donald was well established, but Daisy did not appear as regularly as Donald himself.

Virginia Davis, who years earlier worked with Walt as the titular character in the Alice Comedies, served as the dance model for Daisy.[2]

In later versions of this short, Daisy's lines were re-dubbed by June Foray.

Releases

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Home media

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The short has been re-released on home media multiple times since its first distribution. These releases include:

Legacy

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Daisy wears the same clothes from this short in the 2023 short film Once Upon a Studio.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 74–76. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ Korkis, Jim (February 25, 2015). "In Her Own Words: Virginia Davis". Cartoon Research. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Chronological Donald Volume 1 DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  4. ^ Reif, Alex (October 16, 2023). "Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" – List of Characters in Order of Appearance". Laughing Place.
  • Douglas L. McCall, Film Cartoons: A Guide to 20th Century American Animated Features and Shorts, McFarland, 2015, p. 166.
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