[interknot]

I'll punt as to the accuracy of your "moralizing America" sneer, but remember that Disney chose their mascot--not the American public.

Additionally, my understanding is that Donald Duck had at least a few American fans. Though their numbers are probably limited to the few Americans who enjoy Looney Tunes, Homer Simpson, and the stereotypical sitcom dad (among other characters).

[m_mueller]

TIL that Donald Duck isn't very popular in the US.

I grew up with a weekly Disney comic book that was a collection of mostly Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse (detective) stories. Almost always skipped Mickey, he's just way too boring as a character.

But didn't you guys have Duck Tales as well? I thought that was massively popular.

[egypturnash]

Donald comes off a lot better in comics, where he's not saddled with a comedy voice that renders him almost completely incomprehensible. Duck Tales was, indeed, pretty popular, with four seasons - and it focused almost entirely on the adventures of Uncle Scrooge and Donald's nephews. Who you could actually understand. (It was also largely based on the Carl Barks comics, so a lot of the stories would probably be super familiar to you.)

And yeah. Mickey's a boring goody-two-shoes. The earliest cartoons had him as an anarchic troublemaker but once he became the Disney mascot he got all the fun siphoned out of him and everyone quit giving a shit about him.

[m_mueller]

Carl Banks, that's the one yes! Thanks for reminding me.

[Nadya]

>TIL that Donald Duck isn't very popular in the US.

A large part due to how utterly annoying it is to listen to him "talk".

>But didn't you guys have Duck Tales as well? I thought that was massively popular.

Yes - at least in my childhood/area it was very popular. They also didn't talk like Donald Duck though. That probably has a lot to do with it.

[m_mueller]

Yes, first time I heard his original voice I felt utterly betrayed.

[Noos]

I don't think it was. It lasted a while, but that had to do with it being the first syndicated afternoon Disney animated cartoon. (Gummi Bears was a saturday morning one first.) It lasted a bit because of that, but around the same time you had the really popular cartoons and shows, like Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman the Animated series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Ducktales was a very well done series, but what appeals to adults doesn't always appeal to kids, and the Ducktales movie bombed so bad it canceled the rest of the movies based on Disney Afternoon shows.

For comparison, the best Disney Afternoon series in the states was Aladdin, which outlasted Ducktales by several years, and spawned several direct to DVD movies.

[andrewstuart]

I didn't like Donald Duck on TV but I loved the comic books.

I collected hundreds of them at flea markets about 40 years ago.