There has always been the idea that cartoons are geared towards children, and while that might be true today, in the past a lot of cartoons had adult themes, violent imagery, and just downright creepy plots or characters. "Donald Duck" cartoons are ones that always stuck out to me as being surprisingly dark and funny because of their content. Here are five insane and dark "Donald Duck" cartoons that might make you think twice about seeing all cartoons as children's entertainment:
1. "Donald's Double Trouble" (1946)
In "Donald's Double Trouble," Daisy is on the verge of breaking up with Donald because of his shitty attitude. So what does Donald decide to do? Hire a lookalike to go on dates with Daisy? C'mon Donald, you're better than that! As expected, the lookalike falls in love with Daisy and tries to settle with her while Donald loses his shit left and right. What is even more funny is Daisy doesn't immediately realize the imposter is an imposter. He claims his voice is different because he doesn't want to lose her, but Daisy should figure this out as soon as they meet.
2. "Donald's Diary" (1954)
"Donald's Diary" starts out in an interesting way. Throughout the whole cartoon, the audience is supposed to believe the events they are witnessing are things that Donald is writing down in his diary. He also narrates the cartoon, revealing his inner feelings (they give him a fancy, proper accent) and most importantly, they show his first encounter with Daisy. Here's the thing, though: Daisy is super promiscuous. She has her name carved on a tree with multiple romantic interests besides Donald and she is shown to only be physically attracted to him rather than trying to get to know him. As the cartoon goes on, Donald marries her and learns that the married life is not for him. Daisy lets herself go, makes Donald do all the chores, moves her whole family in, and is possessive of him. In the end, we learn this is Donald's dream, and he runs away screaming. The last words Donald says in his narration is, "Though I was born when I kissed her, I died when we parted. But I lived for a little while." Damn, is this a traditional "Donald Duck" cartoon or an adult novel? Those last words always hit me even when I was little and had no idea what he meant. Someone hurt this duck bad; maybe that's why he has a chip on his shoulder.
3. "Der Fuehrer's Face" (1943)
Yep. That happened. Donald has a dream he is forced to be a German Nazi working in a factory and constantly having to conform to Nazi rules. He wakes up at the end, truly happy to be an American (even wearing red white and blue pajamas). The cartoon is so strange that I'm at a loss for words. When you see Donald today and remember seeing him dressed up as a Nazi, it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. I don't want to associate my friendly cartoons with real world events, past or present.
4. "The Old Army Game" (1943)
In "The Old Army Game," Donald is a soldier in World War II (in fact, there are at least six cartoons where Donald is a soldier in World War II including one where he was drafted) who has left his camp at late hours of the night. His superior, Pete (the fat cat from other Disney cartoons) is pissed that Donald broke the rules and chases him throughout the camp. After chaos ensues, Donald pretends to have lost the lower half of his body due to Pete's actions and tries to kill himself with Pete's rifle. What! The idea that Donald lost his lower body was disturbing enough, but he tried to kill himself! Suicide is not the answer, Donald! Pete is in tears until he realizes Donald is bluffing, and the cartoon ends with him chasing Donald once more. Again, this is Disney we're talking about, and Donald tried to off himself. Even if he knows he didn't really lose his legs, why would he take it that far? I'm confident children and adults throughout the country were tearing up when they saw this.
5. "Mickey and the Beanstalk"
Okay, so this isn't a Donald-centered cartoon, but since he is in it I consider it a Donald cartoon. This is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk (if you haven't noticed by the title) that stars Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. In the beginning, once the giant steals the magic harp, the town is in poverty and the trio is poor as could be. They have nothing to eat and Donald is beginning to lose his mind. He is so hungry that he takes an ax and tries to kill their only cow. Some people might side with Donald in this situation since that is their only food, but the cartoon is framed in a way that makes Donald look bad for trying to kill the cow. What's more disturbing is that Donald looks like the devil when he tries to kill the cow (the picture is seen above in the cover photo). Luckily, Goofy and Mickey stop him before he kills it, and Donald is so ashamed of what he almost did that he cries. There are so many things going on in my head every time I see this. I'm laughing my ass off when Donald has devil eyes and goes crazy, I feel bad that he's hungry and cries, I'm disturbed at how creepy he gets, and I wonder how the hell this made it into the story.
These cartoons are all crazy when you really analyze them, but the best argument I can make is at least they are interesting and make Donald relatable rather than just a fluffy, generic Disney character that people might see him as. Now I'm not saying pointing a rifle at your head or dreaming that you are a Nazi slave is relatable, but the stuff about relationships and the more basic mistakes he makes gives him relatable human characteristics that other cartoon characters do not have. And if you don't believe these exist, search them on YouTube like I did and see just how dark cartoons can be.
