Ducks' Pets

[Olivier]

Hi everyone!

A couple more of  Donald & the nephew's pets I can think of  or find
browsing through the titles (all references are to the CBL in Color):

Farragut the Falcon    ....................................    WDC&S 47, Aug '44

(4)

Rocket Wing (pigeon)    ................................    WDC&S 139, April '52

(20)

Gabby the "talking dog" ................................    WDC&S 152, May '53

(23)

Cheltenham (chipmunk) ................................     WDC&S 168, Sept '54

(26)

Old Froggie Catapult    ..................................    WDC&S 216, Sept '58

(36)

As opposed to the Smugsnorkle Squatty
Rich already mentioned, there's also
little Tagalong (I *love* that dog)    ................    WDC&S 70, July '46

(8)

As a matter of  fact, sometimes they even have
"Too Many Pets"    .........................................    DD FC 229, Sept '43
(Donald has the boys give away their                                     (DDA 2)
cat, pups, frogs and turtles--
and they come home with a monkey, Jingo)

Same problem in   ........................................     WDC&S 106, July '49
(an owl, a woodpecker, a squirrel (Sylvester),                                (15)
a possum, a little goat, and a skunk--
only this time they keep them)


They also raised (or endeavored to) animals, for honor badges or for profit:

Bees    ............................................................    WDC&S 158, Nov '53
(raised by "Future Farm Experts                                                     (24)
of the Junior Woodchucks of the World" HDL)

Ants    .............................................................    WDC&S 170, Nov '54

(27)
Frogs    ..........................................................    WDC&S 236, May '60

(40)


It would be interesting to study further the ducks' relationship with
"animal animals". I know Geoffrey Blum already dealt with the talking issue
regarding WDC&S 141 ("The Think Box Bollix", July '52, Album 21), and
that the stuffed ducks in "The Gilded Man" have alraedy been discussed on
this list, but I think there's more to it.

There are mere extras, who just appear in the background or are rapidly
dismissed (like the pets in DD FC 229), and there are others who really
are part of the story, as most of  those listed above are, but in varying degrees.

Rocket Wing for instance is important, but he isn't much of  a character:
a couple of  panels almost present his point of  view, but not quite.
A couple of  months later, Barks used the same technique much more
efficiently with "The Pixilated Parrot" (DD FC 282, July 1952, DDA 15):
for 14 pages, Polly is an adding machine. But then when he sees the girl parrot
and follows her, you get to hear him talk. It's back to his previous self  when>
he is with the ducks again.
Last one: the fish in "The Master Ice-Fisher" (WDC&S 66, March '46, 7)
obviously (?) does not talk, but has a clearly mischievous personnality
and is quite smart, as conveyed by his cunning look and smile, right to
the last moment. But when he is caught, he loses his comic book personnality
and reverts to a "real" fish.



Olivier--
                                                          "And a guy named Joe from Singapore!"
                                                            (WDC&S 65,  Feb '46, 7)
                                                    (there's also a cat named Tabby in this one)