Just when I was getting all mopey about the time change yesterday and being tired and all, back comes an old Swedish friend – Kalle Anka (Donald Duck to you and me) – to jazz things up.
You might remember that I wrote a couple blogs about Kalle Anka around the holidays and the Swedish tradition of walking a Donald Duck/Disney special on Christmas Eve. My crew was inspired by those writings to try to find a Kalle Anka-themed gift to give me for another holiday, Valentine’s Day. They found a Donald Duck tie (made in Sweden). I enjoyed the gift tremendously and even wore it to church recently.
Then, one day, I ran across a couple Kalle Anka comic books, circa 1986, for sale on eBay at a really good price. I couldn’t resist.
Now: a disclaimer. I don’t plan to begin collecting Donald Duck memorabilia. And, I am not a comic book enthusiast either nor do I have aspirations to start a new hobby. But, I really thought it would be neat to have these pieces in light of all the enjoyment we’ve had discussing Kalle Anka. What I’d really love to come up with is a copy of the Christmas special the Swedes enjoy each year – either on DVD or VHS even. But, for now, this will have to do.
These are both typical comic books. They feature a variety of the key Disney characters, including some old favorites:
- Musse Pigg (Mickey Mouse)
- Långben (Goofy)
- Piff och Puff (Chip and Dale)
- Knatte, Fnatte, och Tjatte (Huey, Dewey and Louie)
Naturally, some of Kalle Anka’s antics include battles with Piff och Puff as well as his scolding of his nephews, Knatte, Fnatte, och Tjatte. And as is often the case, Donald encounters misfortune. In one vignette, he steps on the forked end of a rake causing the handle to whip upward and whack him in the head. To this, Kalle exclaims “O-Aj!”
You can imagine that expression punctuated by the traditional Donald voice!
Speaking of sayings, in one of the Langben clips you hear (read) him say his traditional “Garsh” (which seems to be translated as “Ho-Ho!”). And later, Musse Pigg utters his trademark “Oh ja!”
Apart from the Disney comics, there are some classic advertisements scattered throughout each piece. One touts “Tecknade Parlor par Video.” From context, you can tell the ad is selling Disney Home Video on VHS (we had a number of these when the kids were little, including “Winnie the Pooh,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Beauty and the Beast,” among others).
Many of the print offers refer to a mailing address in Målmo, which is Sweden’s third largest city and is located in the country’s southern-most province.
My favorite ad, though, is for “Kellogg’s Frost Flakes.” In this feature, Tony the Tiger is fending off an evil tiger/bandit. The villainous Tiger is gray, black and white by nature and even sports the traditional bandit facemask. He is trying to abscond with the “Frost Flakes.”
In the end, Tony drives his Tony-mobile and catches the bandit, rescues the cereal and declares: “Kellogg’s Frost Flakes…smakar grr…mmm!”
You don’t need Google translate to figure that one out!
JG
(Source: disney.go.com)
Originally posted 3/13/2012
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