Duck Family Tree explanation
The Duck Family Tree posted on this website is a fan-made tree that aims to include all relatives of Donald Duck. The tree has been created by members of The Feathery Society, a Disney Comics English Fan Forum. See also the About page for more details on its creation.
On this page, an explanation is given about the inclusion criteria for the tree and the sources that have been used. The explanation table provides a detailed list of all sources for all character entries in the tree.
What is the tree aiming for?
Starting with Donald Duck, the Ultimate Duck Family Tree Project aims to construct an all-encompassing family tree that contains all his relatives that have appeared or have been mentioned in any official source.
What is considered a relative?
A relative is any character that appears or is mentioned in any offical source, and is said to be related to Donald Duck or related to anyone else who is already on the tree (and therefore indirectly related to Donald). These include siblings, parents, married partners, children, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, ancestors, descendants, etc. Anyone who is not explicitly said to be related, but strongly implied to be related can also be included.
What about adoptions?
Adopted children or adoptive parents are included in the family tree if the adoption is legal within the context of the story. Examples of legal adoptions are the kangaroo Joey by Donald in the short Daddy Duck; and Milone Paperone, who is forced to adopt Paperin “meschino” in I TL 197-AP.
If a character is not shown within the story to have been legally adopted, it is only included in the family tree if the adoptive parents are shown to have been responsible for or taking care of the relevant character for a significant period of time. This can be understood in either a single story where the relationship is shown to last many years, or multiple stories in which a relationship is displayed as being more than just a one-off thing. Examples hereof are Anatruccolos, who was raised by the Bassottos family in I TL 1800-AP; and Guinevere, who was raised by Madam Mim in the book Set in Stone: A Twisted Tale.
What about clones?
Clones are only included in the family tree if the clones are clearly distinct from the original, for example in name, appearance or personality. Examples hereof are Ludwig’s female clone from the House of Mouse episode Goofy’s Valentine Date; Gyro’s evil personality Mad Ducktor; and Little Helper, who gained his sentience by Gyro’s intelligence transferred to him according to D 2001-143. Purely identical clones without any distinctive features are not included in the tree. An example hereof are the copies of Donald made by Gyro in YD 94-02-26.
What about fiancés, romantic partners and other love interests?
Partners that have been married or are implied to have been married are included in the tree, also if they had a divorce. In case they are not married, but have children together, they are also included. Romantic partners that have not married and did not have children, are not included.
What about reincarnations or past lives?
At the moment, reincarnations or past lives, like those of Donald in D 99177, are not included in the tree, unless they are also said to be ancestors or descendants.
What about pets?
Pets are not included in the family tree, unless the pet has been officially adopted and can thus be considered an adopted child.
Which sources are considered official?
As Donald Duck is a Disney character, a source is considered official if it has been published by the Disney company or any of its subsidiaries. Sources include any media like magazines, books, articles, cartoons and movies, but also games, advertisements, press releases, official websites, the Disney theme parks, Disney merchandise, and so on. Sources published by other companies but under a Disney license, like the magazines and comic books published by Egmont and Panini, are also considered official sources.
Sources that are not official are not considered for the construction of the Duck Family Tree. Examples of unofficial sources are fan-made websites, books, games and articles published or released without a Disney license.
What if sources contradict eachother?
If sources contradict eachother on the family relationship between two characters, a choice needs to be made which source will be followed and which one has to be ignored. If there are more than two sources, the relationship mentioned in the majority of the sources is usually followed, while the exception is ignored. If there is not a clear majority viewpoint, the story in which the character was originally introduced may take precedence. In case an article about a story contradicts the story itself, the original story takes precedence.
What about translations?
In case of translations, the relationship mentioned in the original language takes precedent over the relationship mentioned in the translation. Relatives that are only mentioned in a translated version, but not in the original version, are considered translation errors and are therefore ignored.
If possible, the characters are indicated in the tree by their most common English name. If a character has only appeared in stories not published in the English language and not originally written in the English language, or if the English name of a character is unknown, the character is indicated in the tree by the original non-English name or by any other known name. Names made-up by fans that are not used in any official sources are not considered.