Articles from Komix #161 and #162

Kriton Kyrimis kyrimis at cti.gr
Mon Jun 3 08:13:32 CEST 2002


[Actually, only one article, from Komix #161, as there were no
Rosa-related articles in #162. Even this one is stretching things a bit,
with only one reference to Don in a caption, but I think the article
was interesting enough to merit a translation.]

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        Donald Munchhousen... a forgotten script by Carl Barks
                The First Steps of a Story Teller

  Some thoughts on the life and times of Carl Barks, based on a script
  for a cartoon that was never filmed!

In 1938, Carl Barks is working in the script department of the _Disney
Studio_. Working in the field of animation does not completely satisfy
him and he is already considering turning to the field of comics. A
suggestion for the script of a short cartoon that was never filmed allows
us to assume that since that time, in some deep corner of his mind,
the ideas for the classic adventures that he would write a few years
later had already begun to be born.


DONALD AS A STORY TELLER

Work in in Walt Disney's stdio was teamwork. When someone had an idea
for a cartoon, he would pin the summary on a notice board along with a
note asking for ideas and suggestions from his colleagues. In the book
_The Disney that Never Was_, a wonderful study of the unrealized ideas
of the _Studio_, Charles Solomon presents such a summary that Carl Barks
had submitted to his colleagues in 1938.

The title of the cartoon would have been _Donald Munchhousen_. The
script begins with the hero catching his nephews reading an adventure
story, which he considers childish and unacceptable. He quickly makes
up an incredible story reminiscent of the stories of the legendary Baron
Munchhousen and attempts to impress his nephews with his own outrageous
accomplishments... Thus, Donald is supposed that once, during a trip in
Africa, he had discovered a mysterious and dream-like valley inside the
crater of an extinct volcano. There he met prehistoric dinosaurs and King
Kong himself, to whom he gave a beating... Mark Davis made a series of
drawings for the fight between Donald and King Kong, and Raymond Jacobs
drew scenes with Donald fighting a tribe of natives. The story ends badly,
when one of the nephews makes the shadow of King Kong with his hands on
the room wall, making their uncle run away...


IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE

The idea was not bad, but it was rejected for a very simple reason: Donald
could not take the part of the narrator of a relatively complicated story,
because his voice is almost unintelligible. Thus, Carl Barks' suggestion
ended up in the huge archive with the unfinished plans of the _Studio_
and was soon forgotten by everyone... except the person who though of it.

In this brief summary, the Duck Man's readers will have recognized many
elements and circumstances that Barks would use later in his classic
stories.  From the lost valley with the dinosaurs of the *Forbidden
Valley* story (_Komix_ #10), to the first panels of the yet unpublished
in _Komix_ ten-page *Super Snooper*, where Donald speaks scornfully about
what his nephews are reading, Barks will let nothing go to waste. Another
common element is that of the rivalry between uncle and nephews. As
in many ten-page stories, the starting point for the most outrageous
adventures is an almost everyday,common experience... In this case, the
ruthless rivalry between uncle and nephews serves this particular purpose.


THE ART OF THE NARRATOR

It is known that from that time, Barks had already been considering
working on comics. It is interesting, however, that, four years before
he drew his first story, the basic structure of Duck adventures had
been crystallized in his mind: unexpected adventures in exotic countries,
threats and mysteries from the past, references to classic movies... And
all this with protagonists having complete characters, with strong,
almost human personalities, capable of dealing with any challenge and
to move us. The only thing still missing is a story-like hero who will
give a different depth to Barks' stories... This hero will make his
appearance in 1947,. His name is Scrooge McDuck!

Looking at things from a distance, in the final analysis, it would
have indeed been a pity if the _Donald Munchhousen_ script had been
exhausted within the narrow frame of a short cartoon. Because Barks,
inspired by this script which identifies Donald with Baron Munchhousen,
will decide, four years later, to write and draw his own comics, thus
giving his hero the opportunity to have adventures of which even the
infamous story-telling Baron would be envious...  Thanks to this cartoon,
it appears that Barks found the way to put his talent into use and become
the greatest story-teller of the 20th century.

[Caption, p.1]
Donald as an aspiring _National Geographic_ photographer, travels to
the heart of the Black Continent, coming face to face with King Kong
himself... One of the most characteristic draft drawings for the cartoon
_Donald Munchhousen_.

[Caption, p.2, top]
Nine years after the rejection of the script for _Donald Munchhousen_,
Carl Barks comes back to the idea of the discovery of a valley forgotten
by time, where dinosaurs still live. Forty four years after uncle Carl,
Don Rosa sends Donald back on new adventures in the legendary lost valley.

[Caption, p.2, bottom]
The rivalry between Donald and his nephews may lead to many different
situations. As in the script for _Donald Munchhousen_, the starting point
of the story in _Super Snooper_ is that Donald wants to prove to his
nephews that he has nothing to be jealous of the heroes of their favorite
stories. The subject of the comparison between Donald and fictional heroes
and situations reappears in many other classic stories by Carl Barks.

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	Kriton	(e-mail: kyrimis at cti.gr)
	      	(WWW:    http://dias.cti.gr/~kyrimis)
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"Just remember what curiosity did to the cat."
"Why do you think they have nine lives?  And why do you think Time Lords have
 twelve?"
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