Objective

In celebration of Donald Duck's 90th birthday, Disney partnered with First We Feast to produce the first-ever 2D animated guest appearance on their popular YouTube series, Hot Ones. We wanted to bring Donald to life in new ways while highlighting his humor and personality. 

Strategy

This Hot Ones episode was a true partnership between the Disney brand, Walt Disney Animation Studios and First We Feast teams. Walt Disney Animation Studios' animator Eric Goldberg directed and wrote the historic episode, honoring the legacy of the studio by returning to pencil on paper, bringing Donald to life. After storyboarding and pitching, the team had a live shoot with Hot Ones' Sean Evans and Tony Anselmo, the voice of Donald Duck. After combining the animatics with the live action shoot and Donald's poses, the Animation team was able to deliver what you see today--garnering over 21.7 million views.

Results

The Hot Ones Donald Duck episode has set a new high watermark for Mickey and Friends entering the cultural zeitgeist with high-impact press coverage like the CNN homepage and Entertainment Weekly. Additional stats below:

• 21.7M video views to date
• Donald Duck episode ranks #3 in views for all Hot Ones episodes in 2024 (out of 33) outpacing celebrity episodes like Chris Hemsworth, Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino and Sydney Sweeney
• Out of the 418 videos posted on the First We Feast YouTube in 2024, the Donald episode ranks #5 in total comments
• Engagements on promotional clips on the Disney TikTok handle were +157% above the 2024 video average

Media