Global campaign features special events, product launches and marketing actions to honor the character’s legacy.
Happy Birthday, Donald! In 2024, the character celebrates 90 years since his first official appearance in the short film A Galinha Esperta (“The Wise Little Hen”), released on June 9, 1934.
To celebrate her ninetieth birthday, the Disney recently announced the Donald 90 commemorative campaign, which will last throughout the year, with several special actions and activations for fans around the world.
In Brazil, the celebrations began in February, during Carnival in Salvador, in an unprecedented event. Donald himself was in the country to visit the capital of Bahia and participate in the largest street Carnival in the world.
The character was welcomed by singer, songwriter and Brazilian tourism ambassador, Carlinhos Brown in Candeal, Brown’s neighborhood of origin and which has a strong presence of African culture.
Carlinhos Brown celebrates Donald’s birthday on a trip to Candeal (Photo: RG Produes Team)
In addition to visiting the city’s main tourist attractions, Donald was also present at Camarote Brown by Licia Fabio on Carnival Saturday, February 10th, where Brown wore an exclusive look in the electric trio inspired by the character, created by the Rio brand The Paradise especially for the occasion, as well as exclusive Rommanel accessories. Both brands will have collections themed around Donald’s 90th birthday to be launched soon.
Additionally, in the coming months, other Disney licensees will also introduce products developed exclusively for the celebration. The campaign will also include marketing actions that will take place throughout the year and will be announced soon.
Check out the video that records the iconic character’s passage through the country:
Celebrating 90 years
Donald was created after Walt Disney heard voice actor Clarence Nash doing animal voices on the radio, in the early 1930s, and to this day he is one of Disney’s most memorable characters. Considered Mickey Mouse’s faithful henchman, Donald Fauntleroy Duck is known for his peculiar humor and lack of patience, but also for being a great friend and full of energy.
The character, who has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has participated in more than 150 animated shorts, as well as dozens of shows and television specials, including Mickey Mouse House and Duck Tales. Among his most famous films are Al Amigos! (1942), The Three Knights (1944) and Fantasia (1940), all available on Disney+.
Off screen, Donald also became a huge star through comic books. His stories were a huge success in countries all over the world, including Brazil, where his first comic was released in 1938 in Adolfo Aizen’s Suplemento Juvenil. Later, in 1950, the magazine “O Pato Donald” was the starting point of Editora Abril and the most extensive comic book title in Brazil, remaining in circulation without interruption until July 2018.
Another curiosity that shows the popularity of the character is that Disney’s first licensed product in Brazil was a Donald book, in 1943.
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