The Ugly Duckling Finds a Place to Belong

Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen was a deeply imaginative man who wrote many enduring fairy tales, including The Little Mermaid, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and Thumbelina. Of all the tales he composed, my favorite would probably have to be The Ugly Duckling, a classic story of a misfit who ultimately comes to be seen as beautiful by the very birds who ridiculed him.

Such a story seems a perfect fit for Disney, so it’s little wonder that it was the subject of two Silly Symphonies. The picture book The Ugly Duckling, written by acclaimed children’s author Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Gil DiCicco, is an adaptation of the second, which was released in 1939.

This Disney version differs from Andersen’s tale in that the entire story takes place in the title character’s youth. The “ugly duckling” is born to a pair of ducks who ostracize him because he does not resemble their four fluffy yellow ducklings. He is white and much larger than they are, and he makes a peculiar honking noise instead of quacking. Once he realizes that he is unwanted, he meanders through the marshlands looking for someone who will treat him kindly until he finally finds a group of birds with whom he fits in.

The main character is absolutely adorable, full of exuberant energy and eager to face the world with a smile. The lovely watercolor paintings, whose backdrops are rich in natural detail, emphasize how different he is from his siblings while showing that this does not bother him in the slightest. The pictures of him walking around while still mostly inside his shell are especially cute. After the first few pages, his innocent duck-billed grin gives way to sadness as he realizes that nobody wants him around. The illustration in which he gazes at his reflection in the water while a tear trickles down his nose is truly heartbreaking.

Brown weaves the tale through simple but effective language. Aside from some honking, the duck parents are the only characters in the book with any dialogue. We get the sense that this is a bird who is not yet capable of intelligible speech. That increases the lonely feeling of this book, as not only is this youngster on his own, he doesn’t seem able to tell others what is wrong.

The tone here is a bit different than in the original since it’s about acceptance, not vindication. We never see the ducks again at the end of the book, so there’s no moment of realization as they marvel at his beauty. Indeed, he’s still a bit gangly and awkward; it will be some time before he becomes a stately adult. However, he has found a family to love him as he is, and that is all he needs to make him happy. In some ways, then, I think I like this version even better.

The treatment this open-hearted character receives from other birds, particularly his supposed family, is discouraging. They never give him a chance. Then again, the situation is sadly not that uncommon. While the cruelty displayed early in the book is troubling, the affectionate resolution, depicted in a joyous fold-out three-page spread, leaves the reader with a sense of warmth and optimism. If “one little duck in the wide, wide world” can find acceptance, maybe other societal rejects can too.