In honor of his 90th birthday, Donald Duck stopped over for an appearance on the popular YouTube series Hot Ones. Debuting on June 9, 1934, Donald Duck is a Disney icon and is second only to Mickey Mouse, even at one point eclipsing the company mascot in popularity. Disney has been celebrating Donald Duck’s 90th anniversary, including a special variant, What If…?, Marvel Comics cover featuring the character, which some fans were able to get their hands on at D23.
Now Donald Duck has appeared on the popular series Hot Ones to sit down with host Sean Evans to try a series of five Disney-themed hot sauces. Donald avoids any controversy by eating cauliflower wings instead of chicken wings. Donald, known for his temper, went on the series at the suggestion of his girlfriend, Daisy Duck, and his best friend, Mickey Mouse is on set to ensure Donald keeps his cool. Evans points out that Donald is the oldest guest they’ve had on the series and asks him a series of hard-hitting questions that Donald avoids answering, like his relation to the superhero Darkwing Duck and if the rumors of him cutting his nephew Huey, Dewey, and Louie out of his will, which Donald manages to bail on a reply due to being in such pain with the final hot sauce. In traditional Donald Duck fashion, he loses his cool with the final hot sauce. You can watch the video below:
Behind the Scenes Magic
Hot Ones is one of the most popular series on YouTube, as host Sean Evans has gained a reputation for asking deep, meaningful questions while guests enjoy (and often suffer) the pain of eating wings covered in hot sauce. The videos tend to go viral, and Disney already marketed Deadpool & Wolverine on Hot Ones by having Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman go on the series. The idea of having Hot Ones do an animated crossover with Disney characters seemed like a perfect pairing. Tim Pennoyer, Director of Brand Marketing at The Walt Disney Company, said via Animation Magazine that:
“Mickey Mouse and his friends, including Donald Duck have always been a part of popular culture so it only made sense that Donald and Mickey appear on one of the most recognized internet shows with celebrity guests.
Walt Disney Animation has been pushing the boundaries of 2D characters interacting with real people, as Walt Disney experimented with it in his early Alice’s Wonderland shorts in 1923, and the company helped master it in 1988 through their part in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Legendary Disney animator Eric Goldberg, best known for his work on Aladdin and Wreck-It-Ralph, worked on the animation for the episode, while Tony Anselmo voiced Donald Duck and Bret Iwan voiced Mickey Mouse. A full list of the talented animators who worked on the project can be found on the Instagram account of Jillian (Carney) Howell, the production coordinator for Walt Disney Studios.