Duke is one of the main protagonists in the Rhapsody in Blue segment of the 2000 Disney animated feature film Fantasia 2000. He is a construction worker who longs to play in a jazz band.
Background[]
Personality[]
A construction worker and jazz player conflicted by his responsibilities and his desire to really show off his talent, Duke tries to make work more fun by bringing a little bit of music and rhythm into it.
Whenever traveling, he always seems to be in a hurry whether running late for work or rushing to the jazz club to play.
Appearances[]
Fantasia 2000[]
Duke is first shown sleeping in his apartment. When he wakes up, he realizes that he overslept and is late for work. He quickly rushes through his morning routine and hitches a ride on a newspaper van. At the construction site, his job is to drive nails into the beams with a jackhammer. During his lunch break, he sits next to a giant crusher which he uses to crack some walnuts.
Becoming bored with his job, he has a daydream where he sees himself doing what he really wants: playing the drums. Afterwards, he uses two drumsticks to drum on everything in sight. Duke decides to quit his job and and tosses away his jackhammer and helmet which inadvertently land on Jobless Joe. He rushes to a taxi stop and tries to hail one, but they all speed past. Although, he is able to purchase a man's scooter, which he uses to get to the subway and is able to make it to the jazz club's talent night just in time. There, he plays drums with the band, overjoyed to finally be doing what he is passionate about!
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- From all the protagonists of "Rhapsody in Blue", Duke is technically the only one who wasn't on a serious or unpleasant situation: he had an stable job during the Great Depression and was possibly well paid, whereas Jobless Joe needed to find a job, Rachel felt neglected by her parents and Flying John wanted to free himself of his wife's dominance over him. In contrast, Duke just left his job out for the sake of having more fun and displaying his musical talents.
- From a certain point of view, it can be said that Duke is responsible for improving the lives of his fellow protagonists despite never meeting them: his resignation as a construction worker led Jobless Joe to be hired on his place and his accidental act of bouncing Rachel's ball alerted Rachel's parents about her daughter's alarming situation. And it was thanks to Jobless Joe's hiring as Duke's replacement that Killjoy Margaret was accidentally scooped up away from Flying John, freeing him from her bossiness.
- Several cabs passing Duke as he tries hailing one, might be a reference to a common belief that cab drivers won't stop for African-Americans.