Walt Disney releases first Donald Duck short film since 1961

CALIFORNIA – After more than six decades, the Walt Disney Company has produced and released another Donald Duck short film titled “D.I.Y Duck,” as part of Donald Duck’s 90-year anniversary.

In a press statement, the Disney company said the short film will debut on June 9, in time for Donald Duck’s 90th anniversary, on Disney+ as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios YouTube, Disney Channel and Freeform.

Written and directed by master animator/incoming Disney Legend Mark Henn, this appearance marks Donald’s first standalone starring role since the 1961 short film, “The Litter Bug.”

Henn, who recently retired from the studio after an illustrious 43-year career in which he supervised the animation of such beloved characters as Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Young Simba, Mulan and Tiana in their feature films, had previously directed the 2000 short film, “John Henry.”

He was recently named a Disney legend and will receive that honor in August at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.

The short is produced by Emmy® Award-winner Dorothy McKim and was created by the hand-drawn animation team at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation’s chief creative officer, produced it.

In “D.I.Y. Duck,” Donald tries his hand at home repairs which begin with the replacement of a light bulb and quickly turn into a series of comic catastrophes. His temper flares and his frustration grows as things spiral out of control, leading to an explosive finale.

This new short includes dialogue by Clarence “Ducky” Nash, who originated the voice of Donald in the 1934 short film, “The Wise Little Hen,” and voiced the character for the next 50 years.

Donald’s vocal gestures and assorted wise quacks in “D.I.Y. Duck” are delivered by way of archival voice recordings of Ducky Nash.

Henn will also screen his short film on the big screen for the first time at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14 as part of Disney Animation’s annual presentation. Henn is being inducted into the prestigious Annecy Walk of Fame this year.

In an earlier interview with The Star, Henn said it took about six to nine months to finish the short film.

“It was a very small intimate little group of artists working on it, which is nice. D.I.Y., do it yourself. I kinda came out with the title of that premise first and then we worked on how do we build the story around that notion of Donald trying to do, take care of some problems or some home maintenance which oftentimes Donald would have an adversary like the chipmunks, “Chip ‘n’ Dale,” or some other animals or creatures but in this case, it’s Donald versus his environment. So it’s just an idea of looking for something which I thought people could really identify with, and we are in a society now that a lot of people would like to do their own home repairs and everything. I thought that would be fun and put Donald in that situation and see what happens,” Henn told The STAR.

“D.I.Y. Duck” will stream on Disney+ beginning June 9. Disney Channel will have multiple airings of the short throughout June 9. Freeform will air the short film on Sunday, June 9 at 5:15 pm. DisneyNOW will have the short film for 30 days beginning June 9.

Combining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made.

Disney Animation continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, including the first fully-animated feature film, 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and 2019’s “Frozen 2,” the biggest animated film of all time. Among the studio’s timeless creations are “Pinocchio,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,”  “Frozen, Zootopia,” and “Encanto.”