(And yes, that is a takeoff on "Down and Out In Beverly Hills", with the title card spoofing the poster for that movie. Just with Donald and Daisy in place of Nick Nolte and Bette Midler.)
Narrated by the late, great Stan Freberg, this "duckumentary" (presented as a parody of "60 Minutes", right down to a ticking watch (with Donald in it)), through the usage of clips of various Donald cartoons, presents a look at how Donald Duck's iconic hair-trigger temper cost him his great career at Disney. He is abandoned by friends and family alike. Faced with poverty, Donald tries to get a job, only for his temper to get constantly get in the way. He tries various relaxation tactics, from vacation trips to various hobbies, but to no avail. In the end, he resorts to psychiatric treatment, courtesy of Ludwig Von Drake, to whom Donald explains that everyone he knows, from Huey, Dewey and Louie to Black Pete to even Mickey Mouse, is out to get him. Von Drake provides Donald with an insult machine for the treatment. However, the treatment is only so successful, as just when it seems like Donald is over his temper, he is presented with his astounding bill and relapses. It is not until Donald has an awful dream one night, where he sees himself for the terrible, temperamental monster he has become, that he learns the error of his ways and reforms, leading to forgiveness from friends and family and returning to Disney.
This program is one of the first, though not the first, to feature Tony Anselmo as the voice of Donald Duck. In addition, he also provides the voices of Huey, Dewey and Louie (which he would only voice infrequently thereafter, such as on "MouseWorks"), and he even provides the voice of Daisy Duck, the first time in almost fifty years that Donald and Daisy shared the same voice actor, though in this case, Anselmo gave Daisy a "normal" voice, rather than a squawking one.
Surprisingly, after its initial debut on NBC, the program reaired a few years later on, surprise, surprise, the (old school) Disney Channel:
I won't show the whole program. If you want to see this program, you can find it on YouTube. However, I will provide a video showing the very end of the program (featuring the song "I Want a New Duck" by "Weird Al" Yankovic (which spoofs Huey Lewis' "I Want a New Drug")), from when the program aired in England (however, there are ads after that - just turn it off after 1:30):
Happy 30th to an offbeat Disney program from my youth!
