Donald Duck

Chaos

Penultimate Amazing
Chaos
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Sep 15, 2003
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I have a confession to make.

I have now been a faithful reader of the German version of Mickey Mouse magazine for the last 23 years, starting when I was five years old and had the comics read to me.

You might know that, in foreign translations, the names of the characters are often changed, mostly because foreign readers wouldn´t understand them or couldn´t easily remember them. AFAIK pretty much the only names left unchanged in Mickey Mouse Magazine are Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse (although he is spelled Micky Maus, the pronounciation is identical) and Goofy.

So, now I am curious as to what all the characters are named in the original version.

Donald´s rich uncle, I´ve heard, is called Scrooge McDuck in the original, right? (German: Dagobert Duck - all members of the Duck family have first names starting with D, and also "A Christmas Carol" (this is where Scrooge comes from, right?) is not so well-known in Germany)
What about his cousin, the one who has such an outrageous good luck? (He is Gustav Gans in German, roughly Gus Goose)
His grandmother, the one who runs the farm? (Oma Duck - Granny Duck)
His nephews? (Tick, Trick and Track)
The prolific inventor and his "lightbulb on legs" companion? (Daniel Düsentrieb and Helferlein - Daniel Jet-Engine and Little Helper)
The witch who always tries to steal Scrooge´s "lucky dollar"? (Gundel Gaukeley - Gundel Flim-Flam)
The band of burglar who constantly try to steal Scrooge´s money? (Panzerknacker - Safe-Crackers)
Donald´s alter ego as a crime-fighting superhero? (Phantomias)

Oh, and while we are at this, what is the town they all live in called in English?
 
Interesting post! When I was learning French (as a Canadian civil servant job requirement), I would watch the various French TV channels and try to understand the dialogue. I remember the Smurfs were called "Les Strumphs". I'm blanking on Barney's French name in the cartoon "Flintstones" (Henri je pense 'que).

My favorite show to watch (en francias) was the 60's Batman TV show. The stilted dialogue was slow enough for me to follow and I was dang proud when I understood some silly pun or double entendre. I always remebered that the Riddler was called "Le Sphinxter". Not for the reason you can imagine, but for the "Riddle of the Sphinx".

Charlie (the joys of language) Monoxide
 
As an aside, here's one of my brushes with stardom:

Don Rosa, a popular (so I'm told) Donald Duck comic artist, used to come into a store where I used to work and buy art supplies. Very nice guy.
 
Bluegill said:
As an aside, here's one of my brushes with stardom:

Don Rosa, a popular (so I'm told) Donald Duck comic artist, used to come into a store where I used to work and buy art supplies. Very nice guy.
Click to expand...

Don Rosa? He´s absolutely the best there is. My favorite - by far - comics are those about how Scrooge McDuck became rich.
 
Bluegill said:
As an aside, here's one of my brushes with stardom:

Don Rosa, a popular (so I'm told) Donald Duck comic artist, used to come into a store where I used to work and buy art supplies. Very nice guy.
Click to expand...
Oooh! :eek:

These days I only buy the Norwegian Donald Duck magazine when there's a Don Rosa story.
 
Learning a new language through cartoons

The mention of all these Donald Duck/Mickey Mouse characters in German reminds me of how I learned German (lived there between 1978 and 1995).

Basically it was like going very fast through a second childhood. I used to watch all the Micky Maus stuff, die Biene Maja, and most importantly of all, Sesame Street (Sesamstrasse). I loved it ... best time in my whole life.

And Donald Duck is Anders And in Danish :o

And Tintin is Tim in German, his dog (Snowy) is Struppi (Milou in French).

Ah such fun ...

P.s. I'm now approaching my 11th birthday ;)
 
Blue Bubble said:
The mention of all these Donald Duck/Mickey Mouse characters in German reminds me of how I learned German (lived there between 1978 and 1995).

Basically it was like going very fast through a second childhood. I used to watch all the Micky Maus stuff, die Biene Maja, and most importantly of all, Sesame Street (Sesamstrasse). I loved it ... best time in my whole life.

*snip*
Click to expand...

But did you see Sendung mit der Maus ("the show with the mouse")? That was just so great... and educational, too...
 
I didn't see those in the links:

Chaos said:
The prolific inventor and his "lightbulb on legs" companion? (Daniel Düsentrieb and Helferlein - Daniel Jet-Engine and Little Helper)
Click to expand...
Gyro Gearloose and Little Helper.
Chaos said:
The witch who always tries to steal Scrooge´s "lucky dollar"? (Gundel Gaukeley - Gundel Flim-Flam)
Click to expand...
Magica De Spell
Chaos said:
The band of burglar who constantly try to steal Scrooge´s money? (Panzerknacker - Safe-Crackers)
Click to expand...
Beagle Boys
Chaos said:
Donald´s alter ego as a crime-fighting superhero? (Phantomias)
Click to expand...
Wikipedia has this to say, but I've never read a story in English featuring him.

Just for fun, in Brazilian Portuguese they are (in the same order as the OP): Pato Donald (Donald duck, but "Duck" is not the family name), Margarida (daisy), Mickey Mouse, Tio Patinhas, Gastão, Vovó Donalda, Huguinho, Zezinho e Luisinho, Professor Pardal, Lampadinha (little lamp), Maga Patalógica, Irmãos Metralha, Superpato (superduck) and Patópolis.
 
Back in the 50's when I was a kid my grandmother every year sent me a subscription to Disney's Comics and Stories, which always featured a Donald Duck as the opener. That stuff was great! Instructional too. In fact, an early influence on my skeptical career was probably the DD episode in which he is taken in by a charlatan who preaches the mystical art of "flipism," which is of course, flipping a coin. He gets into all sorts of trouble of course, and ends up going after the perpetrator. I don't remember the details, but I'll always remember the "professor's" parting words, that he'd better get going, because "there's mayhem in that duck's eyes."

At some point all those comics got thrown out, along with the Boys' Life and other treasures. Too bad.
 
Along that lines, there was a con artist in one strip who said: "The trees are dying, the fish are dying - but there will always be plenty of fools." ;)

And I fondly remember the story "Phantomias and the Magicians"; Duckburgh is overrun by con artists - astrologers, mediums, spirit healers, you name it - and Donald´s crime-fighting alter ego, Phantomias, takes it upon himself to de-bunk them and drive them out of town.
 
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