Walt Disney's Donald Duck. The Ultimate History
200Edition: EnglishAvailability: In Stock“Combining vast and eclectic material with the highest reproduction quality, TASCHEN has reinvented the boundaries between art and historiography.”
“Retraces the adventures of the most famous duck of all time.”
“Take this book as a journey, a wondrous journey amongst art by the masters of comics and animation.”
“Reveals all, truly all, about one of our most beloved comic book stars.”
“A focus - one of the most extensive and in-depth to date - on the Disney icon.”
“A must for all enthusiasts.”
“This magnificent volume shows the way to global success... That and much more can be discovered in the mighty Walt Disney's Donald Duck. The Ultimate History. Over 564 pages, it illustrates and describes how Donald's career has progressed, from hysterically cackling sailor to world duck. You leaf through it with relish.”
“A masterpiece about the greatest character ever created in comics. It also celebrates the greatest author in this field: Carl Barks.”
“This book is a tribute to a very special duck whose existence has shaped many childhoods. Thank you!”
“Walt Disney's Donald Duck. The Ultimate History is the name of this volume, published by Benedikt Taschen... The book is a cornucopia of creative art... To unfold Donald's world view in all its diversity is amazing. A magnificent document... Graphic art on a par with the old masters.”
“A declaration of love on the bookshelf. Daniel Kothenschulte delved deep into the Disney archives for this. The result of years of digging and sifting is a publication that will bring tears to everyone's eyes. King Donald has become a pop star.”
“This book is a treasure.”
“The experience of reading a TASCHEN book of this thoroughness is luscious.”
“A gigantic celebration of the world's most famous fictional duck, perfect for fans of the feathered figure.”
“This duck can't help its first name, and in terms of popularity, it declassifies its namesake by many beak lengths. For its 90th birthday, Donald Duck is being released in a colossal edition with clever texts, true to the old holiday motto: Make Duckburg great again!”
“The book is crazy... a heavy folio... richly illustrated with garish stills from the duck’s greatest hits, story sketches and background paintings as well as an abundance of images of Walt Disney.”
“Encyclopedic... TASCHEN's magnificent book Walt Disney's Donald Duck traces the metamorphoses of the feathered (anti-)hero... As you leaf through the pages, you begin to understand that the Donald Duck comics have exactly that in a very relaxed way: diversity and inclusiveness... Donald's adventures are neatly contextualized, periodized and categorized in the monumental volume. Walt Disney's Donald Duck thus shows... avant-garde popular culture.”
“TASCHEN has published a detailed Donald chronicle with some previously unpublished images. It not only pays tribute to the feathered character with the many all-too-human weaknesses, but also to the illustrators who helped him in comic books and animated films to achieve his still ongoing career.”
“The Donald Duck book is here, the result of years of work by editor Daniel Kothenschulte... A quality of reconstruction and reproduction that has never been seen before. What could be seen was considered known. What did make it into the book is not. The most spectacular thing is what Kothenschulte brings to light in terms of preliminary sketches for Donald Duck films... This book will enrich even the knowledge of intense Duck fans. Pop art avant la lettre. In addition, there are knowledgeable texts (each the length of a veritable monograph).”
“TASCHEN began its publishing career almost 45 years ago with the clumsy duckling... The book is a treasure trove of drawings, sketches, photos and stories.”
“Donald is everything, he is everybody; he makes the same mistakes that we all make.”
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. The Ultimate History
200A Duck’s Life
The legacy of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck
Revisit Donald’s life’s work from nine decades in one of the most expansive illustrated publications on the Disney universe. Following Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by TASCHEN, we witness the career of Mickey’s only rival for the throne as Disney’s most popular creation. From his debut in the Silly Symphony short film The Wise Little Hen on June 9, 1934, the authors trace Donald’s more than 170 cartoons, groundbreaking adventures in comics and TV, and theme park appearances. As a special treat to his fans, they also dive deep into the vaults to tell the story of his unfinished film projects.
With unprecedented access to Disney’s vast historical archives and collections as well as public and private collections, the authors illuminate Donald’s life story with rare concept art, story sketches, background paintings, animation, and comic drawings as well as historical photographs. We encounter the work of all major Donald artists in both film and comics who defined his character, including a vast tribute to the “Duck Man” himself, master storyteller Carl Barks, alongside unseen early storyboard drawings.
In the history of comics, Donald Duck is the most frequently printed figure outside the superhero genre, and has appeared on screen more often than any other Disney character. Since the 1950s, Duckburg has expanded into a truly global village, with American artists being joined by a new generation of international colleagues.
As Carl Barks once said of Donald: “He is everything, he is everybody; he makes the same mistakes that we all make.” He may often be unlucky, but this is precisely why everybody can relate to the world’s most famous and best loved Duck, fittingly celebrated with this monumental tribute.
Copyright © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
The editor
Daniel Kothenschulte is an author, curator, and lecturer on film and art history, and a lover of animation since he first saw The Jungle Book at the age of three. As a film journalist, he is responsible for the film section in the German national daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. He has taught at various universities. He is the author of numerous books, including The Walt Disney Film Archives and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse.
The authors
David Gerstein is an independent animation and comics historian, writer, and editor working extensively with The Walt Disney Company and its licensees. His published work includes Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library and the Floyd Gottfredson Library of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. Gerstein has worked in efforts to locate lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Laugh-O-gram shorts and to preserve the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip.
J. B. Kaufman is an author and film historian who has published and lectured extensively on Disney animation and American silent film history. His books include The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, South of the Border with Disney, and Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic. Together with Russell Merritt he published the award-winning Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney.
Walt Disney's Donald Duck. The Ultimate History
Hardcover, 29 x 39.5 cm, 5.09 kg, 564 pagesISBN 978-3-8365-5280-6
Edition: EnglishNo reviews have been posted for this item yet. Be the first to rate this product.
