Someone around here fell asleep at the wheel! This ugly duckling actually is a duckling, and then he gets mixed up with these chickens, who don’t appreciate him until a Rudolf-the-Reindeer-type opportunity arises. There’s a cyclone and then a waterfall, and the duck saves them all because he can swim. So now they accept him.
There’s nothing wrong with free adaptation. Crazily free, even presumptuous adaptations can have their definite uses. But Disney’s first take on Hans Andersen’s tale just seems kind of clueless. But that cow is funny.