Can anyone explain how all the Duck characters are related to each other?

[Rocketeer]

What happened to Della anyway? How did the boys end up living with Donald in the first place?

 

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We've seen Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. But we've never seen their father, who would be Donald's brother. What happened to him? Does he exist?

 

Actually, he doesn't exist. Donald doesn't have a brother.

 

He does, however, have a sister, who is the mother of his nephews.

The only mention of Donald's sister that we know of is in a 1938 animated short feature entitled 'Donald's Nephews'. In this cartoon Donald gets a postcard from his sister, whose name is Dumbella. She tells him she will be sending her three darling little children, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, for a visit. Donald's nephews show up, and from that point they become a semi-permanent part of Donald's household.

 

In a later cartoon short ('The New Spirit', 1942), Donald fills out a tax form and lists the nephews as adopted. Perhaps Dumbella couldn't cope with the three of them any more!

 

So now you know the rest of the story!

 

 

 

 

[Arty]

more info

 

"The father of Huey, Dewey and Louie is Daisy's brother. This explains why their last name is Duck. But this is NOT the same Duck name as Donald's and Grandma Duck's last name. According to Don Rosa, the name Duck is a rather common name in Duckburg, like "Smith" and "Jones" in America."

 

"The reason why I don't show the relation between HD&L's father and Daisy in my Family Tree is that there wasn't room for it, but this is one good reason why a story about the Duck's family relations should still be told."

 

 

 

[garthgantu]

In addition to the cartoon short, there was also a comic strip, likely reprinted from newspaper funnies, depicting the same thing: Donald gets a letter from his sister Dumbella saying her sons are coming for 'a visit', or words to this effect, and moments later the doorbell rings. Donald answers, and is knocked off his feet by H, D, and L as they race into the house.

 

So now Daisy is in fact H, D and L's aunt? That's a new twist. In the Barks stories, Daisy was not related to the boys...