The Father Duck is a minor character in Disney's 75th and final Silly Symphonies short, The Ugly Duckling.
Role in the short[]
In the short's beginning, he and his mate are anxiously awaiting the birth of their ducklings. As he paces back and forth, carving a trench into the ground, the sudden cries of newborn hatchlings call him back to the nest where the four perfect little yellow ducklings have been born.
The joyous father showers his mate and new ducklings with kisses until the final (and noticeably larger) egg hatches and out pops a strange looking white duckling. The duckling's awkward shape and loud honk - completely unlike the pudgy bodies and soft quacks of their other ducklings - infuriates the Father Duck and he demands the mother explain why the final duckling is nothing like their others. The spat quickly escalates until the Father Duck insinuates that no child of his could be so ugly and accuses the mother of being at fault for his appearance, prompting her to slap him with her wing. Thoroughly disgusted with the whole situation, the Father Duck storms off and leaves the mother to deal with the Ugly Duckling on her own.
It is unknown if they ever reconciled as at the end of the film, he did not reappear along with the rest of his family when the Ugly Duckling (who is actually a cygnet whose egg somehow found its way into their nest) departs to be with his own kind.