By Pat Murphy
The Daily Record Newswire
Those of us on the Warner Bros. side of the Great Divide are feeling more than a little smug today with the news that Donald Duck will be facing trial for allegedly groping a female customer at a Disney theme park.
When we were kids, the cartoon world was dominated by the Warner Bros. pair of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on the one hand, and the Disney creations of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on the other.
Although there were certainly crossovers, you tended to be either a Warner Bros. kid or a Disney kid.
I was a Warner Bros. kid. Mickey Mouse was too much of a Goody Two-Shoes for my taste.
On the other hand, it was easy to empathize with the psychotic Bugs Bunny. He’s flawed, damaged goods like the rest of us.
Being a kid, I also appreciated the liberal use of explosives and falling anvils in Warner Bros. cartoons. Disney was way too sparing for my taste when it came to mayhem.
There was also a social aspect to one’s preference for Warner Bros. or Disney.
While Warner Bros. cartoons were splashed all over free TV, Disney kept a tight rein on its cartoons. Oh, you might see them occasionally on Sunday night on the Wonderful World of Disney, but usually you saw Mickey Mouse and his compadres in a featurette only after you paid admission to a Disney movie.
Of course, in the Old Days it was also much rarer to come across a family that had the cash for a trip out to California for a stay at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
Yes, I was jealous.
Then there was just the downright oily marketing of everything Disney. Even as a kid you sensed the man behind the curtain. And who likes being manipulated?
So you can understand my sense of vindication in my choice of cartoonage as this now Warner Bros. man saw the AP report that Donald Duck is in the crosshairs of an “inappropriate touching” lawsuit.
Yes, April Magolon claims that Donald Duck groped her at Epcot Center in Florida on May 20, 2008. According to Magolon, Donald Duck approached her while she was holding one of her kids and grabbed her breast. Donald then allegedly made some kind of joke about it.
Now, we don’t know if this was the real Donald Duck or some guy dressed up as Donald Duck. Disney likes to keep a tight lid on this kind of information, so we’ll probably just never know.
What we do know is that Disney has lost its bid to dismiss the federal lawsuit filed by Magolon in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Magolon is suing Disney for her emotional injuries on two alternative theories. First, if it is shown that Donald Duck acted negligently, she claims Disney is liable on a theory of respondeat superior. If Donald Duck acted intentionally, Magolon wants Disney to pay for its negligent hiring and/or negligent supervision.
The negligent hiring claim is interesting because the AP also reports that Disney has had similar problems with other characters, including Tigger and Minnie Mouse.
Minnie Mouse is a shadowy figure, so who knows what she might be capable of.
Personally, I’m rather fond of Tigger, so I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Getting back to the Donald Duck lawsuit, Disney wanted the case dismissed arguing that Magolon sued the wrong Disney entity. Magolon sued Disney Destinations, which asserts that another Disney entity owns and runs Epcot Center and employed Donald Duck.
Judge John R. Padova refused to play Disney’s shell game and last week concluded that Magolon’s allegations were sufficient to withstand dismissal on that ground.
Disney also wanted the case transferred to the Middle District of Florida, asserting that it was the more convenient forum.
Padova also dashed Disney’s hopes in this maneuver.
“As Plaintiff notes, she, her fiancé (who was a witness to the alleged assault), and her treating doctors are all located in Pennsylvania. Moreover, Disney Destinations’ resources greatly exceed those of Plaintiff, making it more feasible for Disney Destinations to litigate this case in Pennsylvania than it would be for Plaintiff to litigate her claims in Florida,” the judge said. (Magolon v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts)
