The sound comes from Donald Duck and the Gorilla, a Walt Disney cartoon short released on 31 March 1944, in which Donald tries to deal with a gorilla that has escaped from a zoo. In the stilt sequence, Donald uses the stilts to make himself look taller and more threatening, but the gag works because he can barely control them. Clips from classic Disney shorts circulated widely online as short soundboard sounds, and this one survived because its frantic, uneven rhythm is instantly recognisable even without the picture. It is now used as a comic shorthand for a clumsy chase.