DCML Digest Issue 17

[Don Rosa]

> From: "KUR" <ggk at wp.pl>
> Subject: The Starstruck Duck!
> I herd in one of 'Hall of Fames" contains a "Starstruck Duck" 
> story witch as I found out is some sort of a story-board 
> script! 
> Why this story was never drawn?  
> I suspect it probably was explain in the "Hall of Fame". but 
> since we won't get a "Don Rosa's Hall of Fame" here 

The easiest way to answer that is copy over the original text that I sent to
Egmont for inclusion in that ROSA HALL OF FAME II volume:

THE STAR-STRUCK DUCK

Late in 1988 I was asked by Gladstone to create a very special story! The
Disney-MGM Studio themepark was nearing completion and Disney had asked
Gladstone Comics to create a Donald Duck story to promote the new park, an
assignment the editors passed to me. This was especially interesting because
I was then invited to have a special VIP tour of the unfinished park! I
stopped by DisneyWorld for that purpose while returning from a Christmas
vacation in Key West, and I was given a private tour of the entire place. I
made various notes and sketches that I would use in writing a Donald Duck
story set in the Park.
When I was growing up in the mid 1950's, Dell's Disney comics sometimes also
featured similar special stories where Donald or Mickey or other Disney
characters were shown visiting the brand new Disneyland amusement park in
California, promo stories surely requested by Disney then just as they had
requested a Disney-MGM Studio promo story from Gladstone. The way in which
those old Dell stories worked was that we would see Donald taking his
Nephews to Disneyland, then after about a page he would say "y'know, this
reminds me of the time that." and the story would switch from involving
Disneyland to a flashback tale of something else altogether. Well, I wanted
to do something better than that! I would actually have my entire story take
place in the new Disney-MGM Studio Park. I would have Donald interact with
every attraction in the new park, even with geographic accuracy. I would
have lots of funny references to old Disney films and history. And I would
even use Mickey Mouse in the story! Now, a few of you may know that in my
personal view of Donald Duck's "Universe" Mickey Mouse does not really
exist. at least not as a chum that Donald might sometimes interact with. But
I thought it would be an amusing situation if I used Mickey Mouse as being a
famous "movie star" in Donald's world, and having the action involve a
Keystone Kops chase through the Park that results when Donald is trying to
get the famous Mouse's autograph. And I thought I did a really magnificent
job accomplishing all that! I spent most of January creating a masterpiece
of promotion spotlighting every square meter of that new theme park.
But the story was never produced. Disney rejected my script when Gladstone
showed it to them.
You might think that the reason for rejection was the bizarre manner in
which I use Mickey Mouse within my own personal vision of the Duck Universe.
You might think it's because I made too many references to old movies or
other characters that only film buffs like me would understand. You might
think it was because I based the closing gag on an old expression that might
no longer be understood (and which you Europeans might not know?): "I can't
remember his name, but his face sure rings a bell". But no, none of those.
The reason I was given for Disney's rejection was that they thought my story
was "too commercial". BOING! Huh? Wasn't that the whole idea?!
Anyway, this is the only Duckstory I ever wrote that was rejected and that I
never completed with finished art. But I naturally saved my
storyboard-script and Egmont asked to use it in its chronological place here
in this volume, for it's first printing anywhere!  (And I'll finally get
paid for that lost month of work I did 'way back in January, 1989! Hoo-Hah!)