January 17th, 2022 
Michael Lyons 
Another year begins and with every New Year comes hope, resolutions, and the thought of new beginnings.
What better time for animation fans than the start of a New Year than to look back at how some iconic cartoon characters got their first start.
Continuing this column’s tradition from last year, here are the first appearances of some of animation’s biggest stars.
Donald Duck, The Wise Little Hen (1934), Disney
“’Who Me? Oh no, I’ve got a bellyache.’
Who could have guessed that these eight words, uttered in a 1934 short, The Wise Little Hen, would herald the arrival of one of the world’s most popular and durable movie stars?” – John Grant, The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters.
The Wise Little Hen may have been the star of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony released on June 7, 1934, but the scene-stealer was a supporting player: a mischievous duck decked out in a sailor’s uniform.
In this short, the debut of Donald Duck brought to the screen one of the most popular players in the Disney canon. Over the next decade, he would eclipse Mickey Mouse in popularity.
The Wise Little Hen’s plot is that the titular character is looking for assistance planting and harvesting her corn. She approaches her neighbors, Peter Pig and Donald Duck. They both feign belly aches to get out of work.
However, when she cooks the corn and bakes delicious cornbread and muffins, she looks for someone to help her eat her corn. She asks Peter and Donald to help and when they agree, she gives them castor oil for their “belly aches.”
Much of what would become so familiar about Donald is here in his debut: the sailor suit and the somewhat decipherable vocal performance of Disney Legend Clarence Nash. However, the character’s look is markedly different: a thinner frame and a longer bill that would evolve through the years.
In The Wise Little Hen, Donald is more mischievous and not the foul-tempered fowl we would see in later films. Perhaps getting castor oil at the end of this short is the origin story that set off what would become his trademark, hilarious anger fits.
Daffy Duck, Porky’s Duck Hunt (1937), Warner Bros.
“No discovery in western civilization can compare with this one: Warner toonists hit upon ideas that will really put them on the map.” – Jerry Beck & Will Friedwald, Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons
This is a perfect description for this Porky Pig short (released on April 17, 1937), directed by one of animation’s most original visionaries, Tex Avery. As mild-mannered, stammering Porky sets out on a duck hunt in this black and white outing, he encounters a barrage of what would become the outlandish sight gags and jokes that would be trademarks of Avery’s career.
The other hunters in the marsh fire a barrage of shotgun blasts that seem to go on forever, only to hit nothing and a school of inebriated fish sings, “Moonlight Bay” (directly to the camera).
Additionally, this short is known for introducing Daffy Duck. Although never mentioned by name, the black duck with the white ring on his neck has all the earmarks for what would be Daffy’s early, off-the-wall personality. “Don’t let it worry you, skipper,” says this early version of Daffy in the short, “I’m just a crazy darn-fool duck!” He even does the characteristic “Woo-Hoo! Woo-Hoo!” and flip flops across the screen.
As with many characters, Daffy’s look is much different here, and the slow burn, “You’re despicable” personality for the character would be years away. Still, it’s a nice “call back” and see the Duck being truly Daffy, especially as he “Woo-Hoo’s” and bounces across the “That’s All Folks!” title card at the conclusion.
Droopy Dog, Dumb-Hounded (1943), MGM
“We cease to be astonished by Droopy’s unexplained appearances even before he lethargically confides, ‘I surprise him like this all through the picture.’” – John Canemaker, Tex Avery: The Great American Director from the Golden age of the Hollywood Cartoon.
Tex Avery was also behind this eccentric short, which featured the debut of the sad-sack, slow-moving, but always victorious Droopy the dog. For the first time, we meet Droopy as the sluggish part of a pack of hound dogs, which are sent after the Wolf, who has escaped from “Sing-Song Prison.” Looking right at the camera, Droopy declares, “Hello all you happy people. You know what? I’m the hero.”
After this debut, (released on March 20, 1943), this “hero” would continue to star in many famous MGM short subjects. Seventeen of them were directed by Avery, who filled all the shorts with breakneck sight gags that seem to stretch even the limits of what animation can do.
In one scene in Dumb-Hounded, the Wolf races from a cab to a scooter, to a cross-country train, and then an ocean liner in an effort to escape from Droopy, who always one step ahead of him.
Droopy’s look and personality are pretty much fully formed here and didn’t seem to change much through the years. Adding to the character is the frail, deadpan vocal performance, hysterically provided by talented radio actor Bill Thompson, who originated Droopy’s voice.
He was undoubtedly low-key, but Droopy is a high point in animation history.
Heckle and Jeckle, The Talking Magpies (1946), Terrytoons
“Like Woody Woodpecker, Heckle and Jeckle are aggressors. They need no real provocation to wreak havoc wherever they go…” – Charles Solomon, Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation
Eventually, the identical magpies of Heckle and Jeckle would evolve into a mischievous pair, one with a British accent, one with a note of Bronx in his voice. Still, they were quite different in their debut, The Talking Magpies.
In their first outing, the magpies are husband and wife, looking for a nest. They buy one outside the window of Farmer Al Falfa and his dog, Dimwit. When the Farmer complains about the Magpies’ noise, the two birds spend the balance of the short torturing him and his dog.
Neither magpie is referred to as Heckle and Jeckle in this debut (released January 4th, 1946), but the short establishes the pair’s paradigm of chaos that would become the standard for decades of theatrical cartoons and TV shows that would follow.
Mr. Magoo, The Ragtime Bear (1949), UPA
“Considering a name for the composite figure that emerged, [writer Millard ] Kaufman and [director John] Hubley discussed the ‘weirdness’ of California place names. They were particularly struck by point Mugu, which is above Malibu; so they named their cartoon character ‘Magoo.’” – Adam Abraham, When Magoon Flew: The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio, UPA
The near-sighted, wealthy gentleman known as Mr. Magoo, who would become a tentpole character for the UPA studio, made his debut in this “Jolly Frolics” cartoon short on September 29, 1949.
In the short, Magoo goes on vacation to the “Hodge Podge Lodge” with his nephew, Waldo, who is wearing a fur coat. The optically challenged Magoo mistakes a bear for his nephew, and close call “sight” gags ensue (the bear gets a nice punchline at the end of the short).
Mr. Magoo’s look seems to be still forming here, as does his personality (he seems crotchetier than the more innocent character seen in later films). Comedian Jim Backus, already a well-established actor when he voiced Magoo here, does brilliant work, reportedly basing the voice on his father. The actor and Mr. Magoo were perfect for each other. They seemed like one, and Backus would go on to voice the character for the next several decades of theatrical and television cartoons.
Given what Mr. Magoo narrowly escapes in Ragtime Bear and his subsequent outings, it’s a wonder he made it through so many films.
And so, as we start another year, renewing, re-setting, and thinking about the twelve months ahead, it’s the perfect time to look back at our favorite cartoon stars and see how far they’ve come.
- An Eye for A Classic: The 60th Anniversary of “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” - December 22, 2022
- A Very Merry Mickey: The 70th Anniversary of “Pluto’s Christmas Tree” - December 19, 2022
- A Fine French Feline Film: The 60th Anniversary of “Gay Pur-ee” - December 12, 2022
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