Donald Duck's voice was never made by squeezing the cheek
Clarence Nash invented the half-intelligible quack that defined Disney's sailor-suited duck. Later performer Tony Anselmo insists the famous cheek-squeeze rumor is false—whatever the trick is, it is not how Hanna-Barbera's Yakky Doodle talks.
Donald Fauntleroy Duck, created by Walt Disney and Dick Lundy, is a white anthropomorphic drake with yellow-orange bill and feet, usually in sailor shirt, cap, and bow tie—no pants. Critics call him a global animation icon for that speech and a volatile, high-energy temper. He debuted in the Silly Symphony The Wise Little Hen (1934), then became Mickey's comic foil in Orphan's Benefit. The 1930s often teamed him with Mickey and Goofy before a solo short series. More than 150 golden-age shorts followed, several Oscar-recognized. After Chips Ahoy (1956) he shifted into educational films, returning theatrically in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and last on the big screen in Fantasia 2000 (1999), then TV, games, and direct-to-video.
Comics made him equally huge. Al Taliaferro, Carl Barks, and Don Rosa drew definitive runs; Barks expanded Donald's world and invented rich uncle Scrooge McDuck. Europe—especially Nordic countries—embraced the duck books. Personality-wise he is impatient, insecure, cynical, and quick to rage: cartoons often begin cheerfully until envy, hubris, or incompetence detonates him. Animator Fred Spencer noted he loves annoying others yet cannot stand the reverse. He overestimates his skills as a poseur jack-of-all-trades and fails hilariously; wartime shorts even set him against Nazi Germany. Enemies range from Chip 'n' Dale and Pete to comic-book Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell.
Off-screen popularity sometimes outran Mickey's, feeding an on-screen rivalry Chuck Jones later echoed with Daffy and Bugs. House of Mouse episodes toy with Donald wanting a "House of Duck" rename. Clarence Nash's vocal method remains guarded; Anselmo only rules out the cheek myth. From Pekin-duck coloring and three-fingered hands to Scrooge's money bin, Donald endures as the everyman who loses his temper—and keeps coming back for another short.
Source: Donald Duck
