DuckTales

Other (ended 1990)
EDIT

Show Summary

  • Ended
At first, DuckTales was intended as a 1-hour network series. However, when Bob Jacquemin, head of the studio's newly formed syndication unit, learned of the series, he realized that it had the potential to be his first hit. After immense internal lobbying, Jacquemin convinced Michael Einser to let him have DuckTales, and in doing so, he virtually reinvented television animation.

One of the first decisions he announced was that Donald Duck would play a minor role in the series, for the emphasis this time was going to be on Uncle Scrooge and his three nephews. To explain Donald's absence, the writers had him enlist in the Navy after leaving his nephews with Scrooge. The studio also created some new additions to the Disney stable. Among these were Launchpad McQuack, Mrs. Beakley, Webbigail (Webby) Vanderquack, Doofus, Duckworth, Fenton Crackshell, and Bubba Duck.

DuckTales had a special 2-hour premiere in most markets on September 18, 1987, with the first regular episode airing on September 21.

87 episodes were orginally aired, 100 in total if you count the special episodes: Treasure of the Golden Suns, Time Is Money and Super DuckTales that were later split into 30 minute shows.

Taken from The Wonderful World of Disney Television: A Complete History by Bill Cotter

Characters:

Scrooge McDuck - Donald Duck's wealthy uncle, Scrooge McDuck. He is a millionaire who has many businesses all over the world, from oil companies to factories. He takes care of his three newphews when their Uncle Donald enlists in the Navy. Scrooge came into being when comic-book cartoonist Carl Barks needed a miserly old relative for a story, "Christmas on Bear Mountain" (1947). In this tale, Scrooge serves as a mere story prop, a simple caricature of his namesake from the Charles Dickens novel, "A Christmas Carol". Scrooge may seem hard on his nephews, but deep down he cares for them greatly.

Huey, Dewey and Louie - Scrooge takes care of his three nephews after their Uncle Donald joins the Navy. Being identical triplets, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are impossible to tell apart, except by the colors they wear, and historically, red for Huey, blue for Dewey, and green for Louie. At first they disturb Scrooge whilst he is working and irritate him to the point that the nephews overhear him telling Mrs. Beakly that they are too much trouble. As a result, they decide to leave, and end up running into the Beagle Boys who are planning to steal Scrooge's money. The triplets end up saving Scrooge's money and proving they're worth to their uncle. They may seem like trouble, but they are always there for Scrooge when the chips are down.

Launchpad McQuack - Scrooge's pilot Launchpad is somewhat disaster-prone. Launchpad is mistaken for a spy, in Double-O-Duck. Launchpad was created for this series, but went on to act as Darkwing Duck's sidekick in the spin-off of DuckTales - Darkwing Duck, as well as appearing in an occasional comic book story of his own. Launchpad may not be the brightest character in DuckTales, but his loyalty is unquestionable and he is an important member of the DuckTakles team.

Gyro Gearloose - Duckburg's greatest inventor. Scrooge often calls upon Gyro when the Beagle Boys try and break into his money bin, although Gyro's ideas often backfire and he ends up aiding the Beagle Boys. Interesting note: Carl Barks (Gyro's creator) used used Gyro frequently in the comics as did other writers and artists involved in the Duck comics. Gyro himself wasn't a duck, in fact, his exact species is never specified, although it's generally assumed (and confirmed by Barks in interviews) that he's a chicken.

Mrs. Beakly - Mrs. Beakley is the only one who can tolerate Huey, Dewey and Louie's bad behavior and exert some level of control over it. She is hired by Scrooge as the nanny and stays at the McDuck mansion with her Grand-daughter Webby. She agrees with Scrooge to work for room and board for her grand-daughter and herself.

Webby Vanderquack - Mrs. Beakley's granddaughter Webby, lives with Mrs. Beakly at the McDuck Mansion. At first, Scrooge's nephews don't welcome her, and play pranks on her. Webby often follows the boys around Duckburg getting into trouble on the way. Webby is warm-hearted and sweet.

Bubba - A caveduck Scrooge meet when he accidentally traveled into the past. As Scrooge was departing to return to the future, Bubba and his pet triceratops, Tootsie stowed away on the time machine. Ever since then, Bubba has been a part of Scrooge's family.

GizmoDuck/Fenton Crackshell - This character was introduced in the last season of DuckTales. Scrooge hires Fenton as his accountant, whose alter ego is GizmoDuck, a superhero who protects Scrooge's money bin. Aside from Scrooge, the only one who knows GizmoDuck's true identity is his mother.

Donald Duck - Donald enlists in the Navy leaving his nephews in his Uncle Scrooge's care. He pops up from time to time, normally to accidentally get himself in trouble. Today, Donald Duck is recognized by people of all ages, the world over. His face appears on lunch boxes, T-shirts, and thousands of other products, including a long-running brand of frozen orange juice. And, at any given moment, somewhere in the world, in any of a hundred languages, someone is reading a Donald Duck comic book or watching a Donald Duck cartoon.

DuckTales Theme Song -

Life is like a hurricane here in Duck - burg''Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes it's a, duck - blur!''Might solve a mystery, or rewrite hist'ry!

CHORUS''DuckTales! (a - whooh ooh)''Every day they're out there making''DuckTales! (a - whooh ooh)''Tales of daring do bad and good luck tales!

When it seems they're heading for the final curtain''Cool deduction never fails that's for certain

The worst of messes become successes

CHORUS

D-D-D-Danger! (Watch behind you!)''There's a stranger, (out to find you!)''What to do? Just grab on to some DuckTales!

INSTRUMENTAL

CHORUS

D-D-D-Danger! (Watch behind you!)''There's a stranger, (out to find you!)''What to do? Just grab on to some...

CHORUS

Everyday they're out there making''DuckTales! (a-whooh ooh)''Tales of daring do bad and good luck tales! (a-whooh ooh)''Not pony tales or cotton tales, no

DuckTales! (a - whooh ooh)

''Where can I watch DuckTales?''Unfortunatly DuckTales no longer airs on the Disney Channel in the United States nor has it been shown in the UK for some years now

Spin offs of DuckTales - DarkWing Duck - Quack Pack

Nominations''1989 Best Animated Series - DuckTales was nominated for the Best Young Artist Award

Check out Mike's House of Cartoons for DuckTales Downloads - http://www.mikes-house-of-cartoons.freeservers.commoreless
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  • DuckTales? WOO HOO!

    10
    "Perfect"
    In the 80s - early 90s, the Disney company produced some absolute gems such as: "Goof Troop", "Darkwing Duck", "TaleSpin" and of course - "DuckTales" (what ever happened to make them stop producing such classics??)

    DuckTales begins with Donald Duck joining the navy and sending his three nephews (Huey, Dewey and Louie) to live with their Uncle Scrooge while he is away.
    At first Scrooge is none too happy with the situation - as he would prefer to spend his time "swimming" in money - but he soon shows the boys that he is truly a caring duck and looks after them very well.

    Other characters in the show include: Doofus (an overgrown duck kid), Magica DeSpell (an evil sorceress who is always trying to steal Scrooge's "Number One Dime") and of course, Launchpad McQuack (a pilot who is notorious for crashing his plane [and who would also later become Darkwing Duck's sidekick]).

    Episodes of the show cover many different genres - comedy / adventure / sci-fi and drama, just to name a few.

    There has also been a "Ducktales" movie, which was released theatrically, known as "Treasure Of The Lost Lamp". As well as a comic book series of the same name.

    In my opinion, the very best time of all to be a kid was in the 80s - 90s. Especially with shows of this caliber domineering the airwaves.moreless

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  • ducktales was a really well made cartoon

    8.5
    "Great"
    ducktales is about rich uncle and his nephews and they go through alot adventures togeather for treasuer and people are always tring to get at his money. like they went on treasure hunts and other things and there would always be people also tring to get it . and his nephews would also get into trouble or help him out in time of need . the show was a hit i thought and i really joyed it . it had alot of classic eps in the show that had alot of good moments i thought. and i rember watching repeats of the show in the 90s .moreless

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  • One of the greatest shows featuring the world's richest duck and his nephews, along with many other memorable characters.

    10
    "Perfect"
    This is definitely one of the cartoon series that influenced and marked a generation. When Donald enlists in the Navy, he decides to leave his three nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie with his uncle, the world's richest duck, Scrooge McDuck. What at first seems like a very bad idea (at least for good old Scrooge), turns out to be one of the best things that happened to the old millionaire. With their help, Scrooge goes on adventures around the world, trying to find treasures and other riches, in hopes of becoming even richer than he already is.

    Besides these four characters, the show also featured other memorable characters like Launchpad McQuack (Scrooge's personal pilot, who's the world's clumsiest pilot, crashing every plane he pilots), Gyro Gearloose (a great inventor, with a solution and an invention for all problems), Mrs. Beakley (the boys nanny) and her grandaughter Webby (who is seen by Scrooge as the niece that he never had), Duckworth (Scrooge's butler), Doofus Drake (the boys best friend, Launchpad's sidekick and one of the members of the Junior Woodchucks), among many others, who made us laugh with their jokes and their nonsenses. Of course, we cannot forget about the villains, who played a very important part in the series, like the Beagle Boys (who dedicate their lives trying to steal the money of Scrooge's Money Bin), Magica De Spell (a witch who wants Scrooge's Number One Dime), El Capitan (a crazy sailor who loves gold), Merlock (although he only appeared in the movie, he was one of the most powerful villains that Scrooge ever faced) and Flintheart Glomgold (Scrooge's personal archrival, and the world's second richest duck, who only wishes to be the first). The cast is among one fo the best ever in a Disney cartoon series. It is also the only Disney animated series which had 100 episodes and a movie. This and more make it pure solid gold. 10 out of 10!moreless

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  • A decent comedy.

    8.0
    "Great"
    I used to like this show when I was a kid. It was quite interesting and also quite funny, most of the time. I liked seeing many of the spin-off characters from other past comedy shows and it was also fun to see the characters interact with one another. The comedy was decent, the action was good, the writing was okay, and the plots and storylines were pretty good. The show was entertaining and was well suited for kids. One thing I didn't like was the fact that it became repetitive in certain areas. Overall, this was a decent show for kids. Thank you.moreless

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    2 0
  • Amazing Tales

    9.2
    "Superb"
    This is another one of those shows in my childhood. Some relics from time long gone don't always withstand the test of time very well, shows that I thought were good but then years later I see them and they would fail to meet the expectations I have now. But this show is truely an exception because it has withstood the test and I have as much fun with the show now as I did back when I was a kid.

    This show I thought was great. Not just from the great hand drawn animation style that I'll admit still looks really good today in my book. But from it's personality and emotion it holds.

    The minor characters are colorful and great, two of my favorates "Launchpad Mcquack" whom is a pea brained Errol Flynn like character. He is a dangeriously unqualified pilot that always crashes each and every aircraft he pilots though with style and miraculously survives each and everyone of them. Gyro Gearloose whom is to Scrooge what the character Q is to James Bond, he always comes up with the most inovative gagets which amazingly work as long as something doesn't go wrong or someone misuses it (which is usually the case).

    And of course Uncle Scrooge whom is one of my favorate animated chracters ever, this guy is one of those pulp heroes similar with "Doc Savage", "Buckaroo Banzai", and "Macgyver". On the surface he seems like a typical greedy tycoon with that money bin of his, but as we see deep down inside he really is person with a warm heart for his family and friends; as well as that Scottsman like brashness and charm, and that money bin really symbolizes his achivments in his adventures. His role on the surface is a business man but in reality he's really a determined ambitious adventurer whom is always looking for the next big score or discovery.

    And they do go on a varity of adventures which all pay a very huge homage to a lot of the pulp serials and stories on a decade long gone. The naive romantic creative sensability of them is intact. What I also love is other than creative adventures there were some and most that were afraid of creative a real sense of emotion. Like there were a few of my favorates (ones I've reviewed) 1. Duck to the Future 2. Nothing to Fear 3. The Golden Goose that were pritty dark and really made the show take an unfun turn. But that was great because it really brought out the humanity and depth in the characters more.

    Well I've said enough, Ducktales are truely legendary tales that are timeless to me.moreless

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For The Child In You, For The Nostalgic, Good Vs. Evil, Kids Hijinks, Sarcastic Characters