Donald's voice

[Wolfcruiser]

Was there any explanation in any of the Donald shorts as to why his voice is the way it is?

I do remember a cartoon where Donald gets a better voice after swallowing a pill. But did they ever say why his voice was the way it is?

[JDWeil]

That short was titled Donald's Dream Voice but the studio had no intention of changing it permanently. As for why Donald's voice is the way it is, that goes back to the The Wise Little Hen and all the animal characters had voices that sounded like their real-life counterparts.

[Mistress of Fuz]

That's true (I loved the Hen's voice when she asked Donald and the pig to help her with her corn! :D ) but from what I recall Daisy's (known as Donna at the time) voice was originally a female version of Donald's. She was way too hard to understand so when she appeared as Daisy in "Mr. Duck Steps out" she had a normal voice.

And as for why Donald's voice is like that, well, the nephews' voices are like that as well, though they are easier to understand, so my guess is that it's something the Disney duck species grows out of. So why hasn't Donald? Well he may be an adult, but he hasn't really "grown up" yet. Perhaps it's symbolizes the fact that he's still very immature.

[Pic1360]

That's true (I loved the Hen's voice when she asked Donald and the pig to help her with her corn! :D ) but from what I recall Daisy's (known as Donna at the time) voice was originally a female version of Donald's. She was way too hard to understand so when she appeared as Daisy in "Mr. Duck Steps out" she had a normal voice.

And as for why Donald's voice is like that, well, the nephews' voices are like that as well, though they are easier to understand, so my guess is that it's something the Disney duck species grows out of. So why hasn't Donald? Well he may be an adult, but he hasn't really "grown up" yet. Perhaps it's symbolizes the fact that he's still very immature.
In "Quack Pack" Doanald's nephews had "mature" voices (as in reality when boys
reached their teens) but in "House Of Mouse", they resorted back to their original duck voices.

[Jave]

Donald also got a normal voice in "Donald's Dilemma", after getting a hit on the head.

[Howard]

Donald's nephew's voices changed over the years so they could be understood better, once in Scrooge Mc Duck and Money, and later to the semi-duck-like voices in DuckTales and Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas (or whatever it was). They no doubt had deeper voices in Quack Pack to make them sound older and "cooler" (or some studio cast director's idea of a cool teen voice). Donald's voice doesn't change because it's his trademark...his quacking voice and his bad temper are what defines him as a character in animation. Over the years he's mellowed a little (especially in the comics) but those are the two things that people remember most about Donald, so of course they're not going to change them. (Although some insane person at the studio keeps messing with his sailor suit, changing it for a Hawaiian shirt in Quack Pack, and also changing it in House of Mouse's connecting footage. Maybe they want to make Donald Duck more hip, more cool...but why? Why mess with a classic?)

[Mistress of Fuz]

Exactly! I love Donald's sailor suit. I think that would infact be a better symbol of his immaturity because when he was created in the 30's a lot of little boys wore sailor suits. He may have grown up a bit but he hasn't changed that much. I think that should constitute as his "third" wing if you will. Leave his clothes alone!

[Howard]

The explanation for Donald's sailor suit is even easier than that...Being a waterfowl living on a houseboat in "The Wise Little Hen", it seemed only natural that he'd wear a sailor's suit. It stuck with him, because it was a distinctive costume. (It's funny to note that when he was drafted into the army, he shows up for his physical in his sailor's suit... From a sailor to a soldier...and back to a sailor when he joined the navy in DuckTales....) In at least one of the early films, he was a little boy, "Donad's Better Self", where he's tempted by his bad conscence to skip school and go fishing.

[Captchucky]

I believe Donald talks that way because he's a duck, likewise the nephews. If you want to hear what he's saying more easily, you should be buying the Gemstone comic books where his dialogue in nicely printed in the English language.

According to Clarence Nash, Donald's voice, one has to think like a duck to talk like a duck. He explains this in the Reluctant Dragon. He also demonstrates the procedure. I recommend the film.

[DarthGonzo]

From a sailor to a soldier...and back to a sailor when he joined the navy in DuckTales....)
Of course the outfit wasnt the same in Ducktales. It was more of a realistic sailor suit, which I believe he also wore in the Quack Pack episode where he had to make up a day of naval service.

Donald just didnt look right in the Hawiian shirt in Quack Pack. He seemed so off wearing that. Nobody working on that show knew how to handle Donald. The guys at Ducktakes handled him better in the mere 4 or 5 guest appearences he had on that show than anything in the entire run of Quack Pack. Whenever the center of attention shifted to Donald in Quack Pack, the episodes came to a dead halt. The one big exception was the aforementioned navy episode "All Hands on Duck", which did not include the nephews and was competely about Donald. On top of that, it was a rare episode that only included animal characters, not the humans that mysteriously had infested Duckberg on the show.

[Mistress of Fuz]

Donald just didnt look right in the Hawiian shirt in Quack Pack. He seemed so off wearing that.
Who's bright idea was that anyway? There's nothing in Donald that says "Hawaii" at all. As Homer Simpson once said, "There's only two types of guys that wear Hawiian shirts."

And yes, I've read the Gemstone comics. Thing is though, when I'm reading them I tend to forget that Donald has a "ducky" voice and it almost gets impossible to imagine him with it. Go fig.