"A Donald Duck Cartoon"

Release Date July 11, 1947

Synopsis

A blow on the head from a flowerpot changes Donald's personality for the better, but Daisy loses him in the process.

Characters

Donald Duck

Daisy Duck

Credits

Director : Jack King

Animation

Don Towsley

Ed Aardal

Emery Hawkins

Sandy Strother

Story : Roy Williams

Music : Oliver Wallace

Layout : Don Griffith

Background : Maurice Greenburg

Videos

United States

Cartoon Classics : Limited Gold Editions : Daisy

Germany

Donald Total Verliebt

That's Donald

Micky Liebt Minnie

Italy

Topolino and Co. : Avventure Tutte da Ridere

Paperina

Laserdiscs

Japan

Mickey Loves Minnie

Donald Duck and His Duckling Gang

Daisy : Limited Gold Edition

Disney Cartoon Festival 7

DVD

Cartoon Classic Favorites : Extreme Music Fun

Disney Treasures : The Chronological Donald, Volume 3 : 1947-1950

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #40 : Crazy Over Daisy

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode #75

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Techicolor

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Mono

Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematograhic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Comments

From Jerry Edwards : While I dislike this short, several aspects intrigue me. The title should be DAISY'S dilemma, not Donald's. Donald is perfectly happy being a famous singer, it's Daisy with the dilemma, not Donald. I suppose the cartoon has Donald in the title since it would sell better to the distributors than a Daisy title. I try to not psychoanalyze cartoons, but this short definitely shows the "dark side" of love to me. When the psychiatrist asks Daisy if she would rather have Donald as he was or allow him to continue to be successful, loved by the world as a famous singer - Daisy screams, "Me, Me, ME!!!"

From Ryan : What Jerry Edwards said above hadn't occurred to me before. The title should be "Daisy's Dilemma" not "Donald's Dilemma." Daisy tells the psychiatrist how it happened. I enjoy this short with some of the funny scenes that Daisy explains in her flashback. She says how she had trouble sleeping with her lying in bed holding the flower that hit Donald on the head. There is a censored scene in this short where Daisy explains that she didn't want to live. She is sitting at the table that is filled with knives, poison, etc. She is also holding a gun to her head.

From Brian : I saw this episode many times on a home video when I was about two, and I do agree with the other two reviews that the title would better off being "Daisy's" dilemma instead of Donald's. Daisy tells the psychatrist how Donald lost his memory of her and explains some strange things in her flashback. When on TV, this episode is missing a scene where Daisy mentions how she had trouble eating her lunch with her imagining the food on the table as nuclear waste, and her fork as a blunderbuss. The next scene is not censored—she explains how she went insane with her untying her hair ribbon and biting her arm. She goes to the Radio City Music Hall to get a chance to see her lost love, whom cannot recognize her. The psychiatrist then tells Daisy to drop another flower pot on Donald's head for a cure.

From Electro Sun Dog : I happen to have the uncensored version and yes, it's all very...wrong. I, personally, am amazed that they even OK'ed it for release. But then, think again about how the short works. I see it as a Disney attempt at a "dark humor" peice. Well, dosen't it seem like Lynch to you?

From Baruch Weiss : I agree with the two comments up above. The title should be "Daisy's Dilemma." The song Donald sings is "When You Wish Upon a Star." However it is slightly different from the famouse song we know today because the duck replaces the line "Makes no difference who you are" to "Shine in right in from afar."

From Matthew Cooper : I love this cartoon. The best thing about it is when Donald gets hit and changes from his quackish, short-tempered self into a smooth-toned, desireable singer, he sounds a lot like Bing Crosby (whom my Grandma is a fan of, so she likes this short.) I agree with some of the others that this short should have been called Daisy's Dilemma because it's her who has the problem. Myself, I think that by making Donald lose his singing career, Daisy did the right thing for even though Donald may be able to get somewhere with a smooth voice, without him, Daisy is nothing!

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