Clara Cluck in her first appearance, Orphan's Benefit.
It is possible that Clara Cluck played the title role in The Wise Little Hen (June 9, 1934), as both characters were voiced by the same person, Florence Gill, and there is more than just a passing physical resemblance. However, by the time she made her big debut in the original version of Orphan's Benefit, she had changed into an over-sized operatic diva; a role that she would continue throughout the rest of her appearances. Clara's singing is meant to be a caricature of the Bel Canto style of Opera singing popular at the time of her appearance. Some of her arias are clearly modeled on those of Tosca. Her last major appearance was as one of the musicians in Symphony Hour. Curiously, although she is seen in the rehearsal scenes at the beginning, she is not seen in the performance scenes at the end.
Although she did not make a physical appearance in the film, one segment in The Reluctant Dragon showed a voice recording session for Clara (Florence Gill), singing with Donald (Clarence Nash).
1980s-present[]
Clara makes a non-speaking cameo at the end of Who Framed Roger Rabbit along with the other classic cartoon characters joining in singing "Smile Darn Ya Smile", celebrating Roger's innocence as they parade back to Toontown.
Clara made various appearances in Mickey Mouse Works, where she is presented as Daisy Duck's neighbor, and develops a crush on Donald. She also made occasional appearances among the guests at the House of Mouse.
In the new Mickey Mouse shorts, Clara appears during the theater performance that Mickey and Minnie attend at the end of "Bad Ear Day", resuming her classic role as an opera singer (although her feathers are colored white instead of their usual brown). She later appeared in the final segment of the series' Halloween special, "The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular".
Clara also appears in the Disney Junior series Mickey and the Roadster Racers. She lives on a farm, and is also the proud mother of twin chicks Clifford and Cleo, who are hatched in the episode "Egg-xasperating".
Clara made several appearances in House of Mouse as a guest at Mickey's club. In the episode "Everybody loves Mickey", she is seen seated at a table with Mickey and several other female Characters.
Printed media[]
Comics[]
Despite Clara's departure from most other Disney media, Clara has remained a major supporting character in the Disney comic stories, among the other classic animated Disney characters. In most adaptations, she is seen speaking properly rather than her usual clucks from her appearance in Disney cartoons. She has been seen dating Panchito Pistoles in one story, printed in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories#38. She also appeared in a couple of Disney comics by Carl Barks, most notably in The Double Date, where she invites her pen pal, Rockhead Rooster to accompany her on a double date with Donald and Daisy. Rockhead later appeared as Clara's boyfriend in a number of more recent Disney comics.
Clara made a cameo appearance in the Timeless River world of Kingdom Hearts II with many other classic Disney characters, like Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar, as one of the world's citizens.
During the Disney California Adventure expansion, Clara was seen as a construction worker on a mural with other Disney characters.
In Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade, Clara can be seen with all the original Disney characters in this parade. In it, she sings from the top of the barn float window in the Frontierland unit and waves to the guests.
Clara can be seen twice in One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On!. The first is during Donald's segment. She was one of the actors and actresses for Donald's film.
Trivia[]
Aside from voicing her in all of her classic animated appearances, Florence Gill also provided Clara's voice in the short-lived radio show, The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air.
Filmography[]
The Disney Wiki has a listing of the appearances by Clara Cluck.
