The Ugly Duckling (1939 film)
A misfit duckling finds his true family among swans.
Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, it follows a cygnet briefly rejected before being accepted by his family.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Jack Cutting; Clyde Geronimi
- Producer
- Walt Disney
- Based on
- "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen
- Starring
- Clarence Nash
- Music
- Albert Hay Malotte
- Animator
- Milt Kahl
- Eric Larson
- Milt Neil
- Stan Quackenbush
- Archie Robin
- Paul Satterfield
- Riley Thomson
- Layout artist
- David Hilberman
- Studio
- Walt Disney Animation Studios
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The Film Daily wrote that the short 'is fused with real feeling and pathos.'
- It is available on Disney+ with restored Silly Symphony title cards.
Plot
An expectant mallard duck father paces by his wife's side as her eggs begin to hatch, producing four ducklings. A fifth egg hatches a mismatched white duckling, leading to an argument between the parents; the mother slaps the father and they separate. The ugly duckling is rejected by the duck family and discovers how different he is. He tries joining a bluebird family, but the mother drives him off. He adopts a wooden duck as a mother until its head collides with him. Believing he will never find a family, he cries. A mother swan and her cygnets approach and accept him. As the swan family swims by the mother duck and her ducklings, the cygnet proudly poses and swims off with his true family.
More in Disney Animated Films Based on Fairy Tales
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