The Donald Duck universe is a
fictional
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, ...
shared universe
A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
which is the setting of stories involving
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
cartoon character
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
, as well as
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
,
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
,
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
, and
many other characters. Life in the Donald Duck universe centers on the city of
Duckburg
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donal ...
and is a part of the larger
Mickey Mouse universe
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...
. In addition to
the original comic book stories by Carl Barks, the Duckburg cast was featured in
Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942.
''The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have b ...
, television series such as ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' (1987–1991), ''
Darkwing Duck
''Darkwing Duck'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series produced by Disney Television Animation (formerly Walt Disney Television Animation) that first ran from 1991 to 1992 on both the syndicated programming block ''The Disn ...
'' (1991–1992), and the
''DuckTales'' reboot (2017–2021), and video games such as ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' (1989), ''
QuackShot
''QuackShot Starring Donald Duck'' (also simply known as ''QuackShot''), released in Japan as ''QuackShot Gurujia-ō no Hihō'' (QuackShot グルジア王の秘宝'', QuackShot The Treasure of the King Garuzia''), is a 1991 platforming video gam ...
'' (1991), ''
Goin' Quackers'' (2000), and ''
DuckTales: Remastered'' (2013).
"Donald Duck universe", or sometimes called "Scrooge McDuck universe", are not official terms used by Disney, but are sometimes used by fans.
Disney comics
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge.
The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with ...
artist/writer
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
has also used the terms
Barks Barks may refer to:
* Carl Barks (1901 – 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter
* Coleman Barks (b. 1937), an American poet, and former literature faculty at the University of Georgia
* Samantha Barks (b. 1990), a Manx actress an ...
Universe and Italian Duck Universe to describe different versions of history. According to
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
, the
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
creator of
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
,
Duckburg
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donal ...
, and its original cast of characters and themes (who also developed
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and created
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
and
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-nep ...
for the early ''Donald Duck'' cartoons) — "Now we're beginning to read about Batman's universe, the Spiderman universe. All of those guys had their own universe, and so the ducks have their own universe." Barks adds, "Whenever I wrote the script and it was drawn by some other artist..it came out looking so different, it didn't look like it belonged in the duck universe..Didn't look as real, or I use the word, 'sincere'. You couldn't tell whether the guy who drew it was really interested in turning out a nice product or not."
The core Duckverse family dates back to the
golden age of American animation
The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the late 1960s, where theatrical animated shorts began losing popularity to the ...
, generally introduced in Disney
short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
s, weekly newspaper comics, or
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s of the period as
supporting character
A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...
s for
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
, who premiered in 1934 in ''
The Wise Little Hen
''The Wise Little Hen'' is a 1934 Walt Disney's ''Silly Symphony'' cartoon, based on the fable ''The Little Red Hen''. The cartoon features the debut of Donald Duck, dancing to the Sailor's Hornpipe. Donald and his friend Peter Pig try to avoid ...
'' (but was mentioned as a friend of Mickey's as early as 1931). Donald's nephews,
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
, debuted in 1937 in a
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
adaptation of an in-production film,
Donald's Nephews
''Donald's Nephews'' (1938) is a Donald Duck animated cartoon which features Donald being visited by his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. This cartoon is Huey, Dewey, and Louie's first appearance in animation. Al Taliaferro, the artist f ...
.
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
, Donald's on-again-off-again girlfriend premiered in 1940, in ''
Mr. Duck Steps Out
''Mr. Duck Steps Out'' is a Donald Duck cartoon produced by Walt Disney Productions, which is released on June 7, 1940, and featured the debut of Daisy Duck. The short was directed by Jack King and written by Carl Barks, Chuck Couch, Jack Hanna ...
''.
Grandma Duck
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
also appeared in 1940, as a character in
the comic strip
The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...
.
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
, the family's elderly uncle and "richest duck in the world", was created in
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
for the
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
story, ''
Christmas on Bear Mountain
"Christmas on Bear Mountain" (1947) is a Donald Duck story by Carl Barks, first published in Dell Comics ''Four Color Comics'' #178. It was the first appearance of Scrooge McDuck, a character who became a comic-book icon throughout the world.
S ...
''.
Comic books
Other media
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
appeared in the 1960
Disneyland Records
Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...
LP, ''Donald Duck and His Friends'', in a plot that involved Donald and
the Beagle Boys. With the exception of Scrooge's brief cameo in ''
The Mickey Mouse Club
''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...
'' opening theme, this marked the first appearance of a Barks-created character in a medium other than the comics and story books. Later, in 1963, the Beagle Boys played a role in ''Chipmunk Fun,'' an LP that also mentioned Scrooge.
Most of the characters have appeared in the 1980s
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
cartoon series ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
''. Disney's ''
Darkwing Duck
''Darkwing Duck'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series produced by Disney Television Animation (formerly Walt Disney Television Animation) that first ran from 1991 to 1992 on both the syndicated programming block ''The Disn ...
'' series is nominally set in the separate
''DuckTales'' universe, in a metropolis called St. Canard, although aside from sharing the denizen
Launchpad McQuack
This article includes a list of characters from the Disney ''DuckTales'' animated franchise, including the original 1987 series and the 2017 reboot series, as well as one theatrical movie and a variety of additional spin-off media merchandise, ...
, and a few crossover episodes involving
Gizmoduck
This article includes a list of characters from the The Walt Disney Company, Disney ''DuckTales'' animated franchise, including the DuckTales, original 1987 series and the DuckTales (2017 TV series), 2017 reboot series, as well as DuckTales the Mo ...
, there is no interaction. Much of the ''DuckTales'' and all of the ''Darkwing Duck'' material do not appear in Barks' comics, as the two TV series were created decades after Barks's active years as a comic artist. Later, a few characters would be the main characters in the show ''
Quack Pack
''Quack Pack'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, featuring Donald Duck and his nephews. The show debuted on September 3, 1996, as a part of the " Disney Afternoon" programming block, following the succe ...
''.
However, in the magazine ''
Disney Adventures
''Disney Adventures'' (also short-formed as ''D.A.'') was an American children's entertainment and educational magazine published twelve (later ten) times per year by Disney Publishing Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney Consumer Products, a unit o ...
'', there was a five-part crossover/storyline titled "Legend of the Chaos God" which began with ''
TaleSpin
''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of '' The Disney Afternoon''. It features characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature ''The Jungle Bo ...
'', and continued with ''
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers may refer to:
* ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' (TV series), 1989 television series
* ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' (film), 2022 film
* ''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' (video game), 1990 game based on the TV series
...
'', ''
Goof Troop
''Goof Troop'' is an American animated sitcom television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series focuses on the relationship between single father Goofy and his son, Max, as well as their neighbors Pete and his family. ...
'', and ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'', then concluded with ''
Darkwing Duck
''Darkwing Duck'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series produced by Disney Television Animation (formerly Walt Disney Television Animation) that first ran from 1991 to 1992 on both the syndicated programming block ''The Disn ...
''.
Duckburg was the setting of the 1987
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
''. The cartoon's version of Duckburg was based loosely on the comics' version. Duckburg appeared in the 1990s animated series ''
Quack Pack
''Quack Pack'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, featuring Donald Duck and his nephews. The show debuted on September 3, 1996, as a part of the " Disney Afternoon" programming block, following the succe ...
''. In Quack Pack, Duckburg was populated almost entirely by
human being
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedality, bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex Human brain, brain. This has enabled the development of ad ...
s, with Donald, Daisy, and Donald's nephews as the only anthropomorphized animals that usually appeared. Moreover, the Money Bin is nowhere to be seen. Duckburg was the setting for one of the three initial levels of the
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Quackshot
''QuackShot Starring Donald Duck'' (also simply known as ''QuackShot''), released in Japan as ''QuackShot Gurujia-ō no Hihō'' (QuackShot グルジア王の秘宝'', QuackShot The Treasure of the King Garuzia''), is a 1991 platforming video gam ...
'' and also for the second level of the video game ''
Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers''.
Duckburg was also used for the setting of Mickey's Birthday land (later Mickey's Starland) at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom from 1988 to 1996. It even included Grandma Duck's Farm and a statue of
Cornelius Coot
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
, though it was more of a rural town than a burgeoning metropolis. The connection to Duckburg was removed as the land was renovated in 1996 to become
Mickey's Toontown Fair
Mickey's Toontown is a themed land at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, two theme parks operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and The Oriental Land Company respectively. At Tokyo Disneyland, this land i ...
. However, the Cornelius Coot statue remains.
In the 2017 version of ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' many elements of the Duck universe from the comics of Don Rosa and Carl Barks were used, alongside elements of others Disney stories (including the original 1987 ''DuckTales'' TV series, ''Darkwing Duck'', ''TaleSpin'', ''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'', ''Quack Pack'', ''Goof Troop'' and others). They were brought together into one common global storyline in the manner of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
.
Characters
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and his maternal uncle
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
received nearly equal exposure in comics. (The reduced emphasis on Donald in the 1980s version of ''DuckTales'' was largely due to a Disney mandate that forbade its nascent television division from using major characters from the Golden Age of Animation, including Donald and Daisy.
) Other primary characters include Donald's three young nephews
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
, and girlfriend
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
.
Several secondary characters have also achieved star status in certain publications, such as
Grandma Duck
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
, Donald Duck's grandmother;
Gladstone Gander
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...
, Donald Duck's incredibly lucky cousin;
Gyro Gearloose
Gyro Gearloose is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and anyone w ...
, an inventor who is often patronized by Scrooge; and
Ludwig Von Drake
Professor Ludwig Von Drake is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company. He is the paternal uncle of Donald Duck. He was first introduced as the presenter (and singer of " The Spectrum Song") in the cartoon ''An Adventure in ...
, a knowledgeable professor. Scrooge also has several enemies, such as the
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of cartoon characters created in 1951 by Carl Barks for the Donald Duck universe. They are a family clan of Organized crime, organized criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first a ...
, a gang of robbers and escaped prisoners;
Magica De Spell
Magica De Spell (''magica'' being the feminine of ''magico'', ) is a cartoon character created in 1961 by Carl Barks for the Duck universe. An Italian sorceress, she constantly attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she believ ...
, an Italian sorceress; and South African
Flintheart Glomgold
Flintheart Glomgold is a cartoon character created in 1956 by Carl Barks. He is a South African American Pekin Duck and the business rival of Scrooge McDuck, usually portrayed as an ambitious, ruthless, and manipulative businessman who shar ...
and English-American
John D. Rockerduck
John D. Rockerduck is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company for the Duck universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals in Disney comics. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist an ...
, both rival business men of Scrooge.
Some characters have appeared alongside Donald primarily in animation, such as chipmunks
Chip 'n' Dale
Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) is a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company.
Concept
The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short ''Private P ...
(''
Chip an' Dale
''Chip an' Dale'' is a 1947 animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures. The film depicts Donald Duck's first encounter with the two chipmunks Chip 'n' Dale when he unkno ...
'', ''
Toy Tinkers
''Toy Tinkers'' is a 1949 American animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on December 16, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures. Set during Christmas time, the film shows Chip 'n' Dale trying to steal ...
'') and
Humphrey the Bear
Humphrey the Bear is a cartoon character created in 1950 at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He first appeared in the 1950 Goofy cartoon '' Hold That Pose'', in which Goofy tried to take his picture. After that he appeared in four classic Donald ...
(''
Rugged Bear
''Rugged Bear'' is a 1953 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon follows Humphrey the Bear (in his 2nd appearance) as he takes refuge in Donald Duck's cabin during hunting ...
'', ''
Grin and Bear It
''Grin and Bear It'' is a former daily comic panel created by George Lichtenstein under the pen name George Lichty. Lichty created ''Grin and Bear it'' in 1932 and it ran 83 years until 2015, making it the 10th-longest-running comic strip in Amer ...
''), as well as
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
(''
The Dognapper
''The Dognapper'' is a 1934 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon stars Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as police officers who chase Pegleg Pete after he dognaps Fifi, Minnie Mouse' ...
'', ''
Magician Mickey''),
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...
(''
Polar Trappers'', ''
Frank Duck Brings 'Em Back Alive''), and
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...
(''
Donald and Pluto
''Donald and Pluto'' is a 1936 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by United Artists. The film stars Donald Duck, employed as a plumber, and Mickey's dog Pluto as his assistant. The film was directed by Ben Sha ...
'', ''Window Cleaners''), who are more often associated with the
Mickey Mouse universe
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...
.
Fictional locations
Duckburg
Duckburg is the
fictional city
A fictional city refers to a town, city or village that is invented for fictional stories and does not exist in real life, or which people believe to exist without definitive proof, such as Plato's account of Atlantis.
Cultures have always had l ...
, located in the fictional
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Calisota
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the D ...
, that serves as the home of
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
;
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
;
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
;
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
and most of their supporting cast. Duckburg was first mentioned in ''
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American Comics anthology, anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mic ...
'' #49 in 1944, and was created by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
.
The city is populated by various
anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
animals, with dogs, different birds (including
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
s,
geese
A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...
and
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
s) and pigs as the most dominant ones. The
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of the city is often depicted as a pig, whose name most of the time goes unmentioned and is referred instead by readers as the
Pig Mayor. However, in some stories the office of mayor is held by various dog characters.
The size and
structure
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
of Duckburg varied in the works by Barks: it was adjusted to better fit the story he wanted to tell; it could vary from a small town to a medium-sized city, to a bustling
metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
. Later writers and artists adhere to this tradition recurrently. In one specific story by Barks, ''Monsterville'' (1961), Duckburg was even transformed into a futuristic city by
Gyro Gearloose
Gyro Gearloose is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and anyone w ...
, however it proved that the citizens were not ready for the high level of technology that the new city provided. Thus the city was turned back to its old city structure.
In comic writer
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
's stories, Duckburg and the state of Calisota is located on the
West Coast of the United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
, though Carl Barks himself and other writers often leave the city's location more vaguely defined. However, in
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
's ''
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
'', the author alludes to where exactly he has situated Duckburg: "I won't bother to say precisely where I situated Duckburg and Calisota on America's west coast... but if you get out a good map and compare the coastline, you'll see that I stuck the old gold-prospector's adopted hometown directly across the bay from a very appropriately named actual city." Knowing how Don Rosa used gags, it is likely that this city would be
Eureka, California
Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...
(''
Eureka
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
'' meaning 'I found it'!). This fits with the river and a large forest south of Eureka.
In the
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
episode "Double O' Duck", a map is shown which shows Duckburg as being located somewhere in Virginia or North Carolina.
There are no references to the governor, legislature, Capitol, etc., of Calisota in any of the many stories about Duckburg. However, Duckburg seems to have its own governor, if it is not a sort of
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
. In more than one story a "Duckburg embassy" has been shown, which would place it outside the US at a diplomatic level. In the story ''Treasure of Marco Polo'' (Uncle Scrooge #64, 1966) by Carl Barks, the Duckburg embassy displays a flag of Duckburg, which consists of a white duck over a green field. However, in the Don Rosa story "
His Majesty, McDuck
"His Majesty, McDuck" is a Donald Duck story by Don Rosa, first published in '' Uncle Scrooge Adventures'' #14 in August 1989.
Despite thematic similarities, this story is not to be confused with the Carl Barks story ''King Scrooge the First''.
P ...
" (Uncle Scrooge Adventures #14, Gladstone Aug. 1989) Scrooge gains a short-lived independence from the United States for Killmotor Hill, thus placing Duckburg within the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
The most prominent landmark in Duckburg is Scrooge McDuck's
Money Bin, a giant building sitting on Killmotor Hill (formerly known as Killmule Hill) in the center of town. The money bin contains both office space, Scrooge's private living quarters and, most famously, three cubic acres of money, the results of Scrooge's lifetime of business and treasure-seeking adventures. Another major landmark in some stories is a large
statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of Duckburg's founder,
Cornelius Coot
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
.
Duckburg is a major center for
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
, mainly operated and overseen by
Gyro Gearloose
Gyro Gearloose is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and anyone w ...
, and has had expeditions to the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
,
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
,
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
, the
Asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
, and more remote parts of the
Galaxy
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
. The city also features a sea port and is in proximity of a large forest called the Black Forest and to several
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s, the most notable being "Old Demon Tooth", usually depicted as a towering pointed peak leaning slightly to the side.
The main river of the city is the Tulebug River, first mentioned in ''The Money Well'' (1958) by Carl Barks, and it is located near Killmotor Hill.
Duckburg is home to Yarvard University (a play on the universities of
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
), an institution more notable for its athletic teams than for its academic achievements.
It also has had international students, like the
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
of El Dagga from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, who is mentioned in Yarvard's first appearance; ''
Donald Duck and the Mummy's Ring
"Donald Duck and the Mummy's Ring" is a 28-page Disney comics story written and drawn by Carl Barks. It was first published in ''Donald Duck'' ''Four Color'' #29 (Sept 1943) with two backup stories also by Barks, "The Hard Loser" and "Too Many Pet ...
'' by Carl Barks from 1943. One of the things the bey learned at the university was that
mummies
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...
do not eat. Duckburg is also the home of the Billionaires Club of some of which Scrooge McDuck,
John D. Rockerduck
John D. Rockerduck is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company for the Duck universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals in Disney comics. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist an ...
and, according to some stories,
Flintheart Glomgold
Flintheart Glomgold is a cartoon character created in 1956 by Carl Barks. He is a South African American Pekin Duck and the business rival of Scrooge McDuck, usually portrayed as an ambitious, ruthless, and manipulative businessman who shar ...
are influential members. Duckburg also has a
Ritz Hotel, first mentioned in Carl Barks' story ''Turkey with All the Schemings'' (Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #148, 1953) at which Scrooge McDuck had a business meeting with Donald Duck; who was disguised as the Duke of Baloni, the World's Second-Richest Duck at that time. In the same story Scrooge later buys the Ritz Hotel and he still owns it in Don Rosa's story ''Attaaaaaack!'' (2000).
Located near Duckburg is a
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
owned and run by
Grandma Duck
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
, a direct descendant of
Cornelius Coot
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
and Donald's paternal
grandmother
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetics, ge ...
.
Donald's cousin
Gus Goose
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to The Walt Disney Company, Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the ...
also lives on Grandma's farm as a farmhand. The farm is often a gathering site for various Duck family holiday celebrations.
In other languages, Duckburg (for example ''Duckstad'' in Dutch, ''Entenhausen'' in German, ''Ankeborg'' in Swedish, ''Rațburg'' in Romanian, ''Andeby'' in Danish, or ''Patópolis'' in both European and Brazilian Portuguese) is not only home of "the Ducks", but Mickey Mouse and friends live there too.
History
In the comics by Don Rosa, Duckburg was a fort built on Killmule Hill on June 17, 1579, by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
explorer
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...
in the area he named ''
Nova Albion
New Albion, also known as ''Nova Albion'' (in reference to Albion, an archaic name for Britain), was the name of the continental area north of Mexico claimed by Francis Drake, Sir Francis Drake for Kingdom of England, England when he landed on ...
'', in what would later become the state of Calisota. It was originally known as "Fort Drakeborough". In the year 1818, during the
Spanish colonization of California (1697–1821), the fort had been handed over by its departing British occupants to the visiting
hunter
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
and
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
r
Cornelius Coot
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
, who Americanized the British name of the fort to "Fort Duckburg". "Drake" means a male duck, while "borough" and "burg" are
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
. Cornelius Coot turned the old fort into a
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
for fellow traders and hunters, and their families. Eventually a small town grew around the fort on top of Killmule Hill. In Carl Barks' story ''The Day Duckburg Got Dyed'' (1957), it is revealed that Cornelius Coot at some point in Duckburg's history managed to pipe mountain water into the town. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, a decisive battle was fought on top of an unnamed hill in Duckburg, led by the Duckburgian General Stonewall Duck. It is not known on which side the city fought, but with General Stonewall Duck being based on the real-life
Stonewall Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...
, it can be assumed they fought for the
Confederacy. However, the real-life state of California, in which the fictional state of Calisota is located according to Don Rosa, was a Unionist state, making Duckburg a more likely member of the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
.
Duckburg remained a quiet, small town until the arrival of wealthy businessman Scrooge McDuck. He had bought the old fort and the hill from fellow
prospector
Prospector may refer to:
Space exploration
* Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962
* '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft
Trains
* Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...
Casey Coot
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of the ...
, a descendant of Cornelius Coot, during the
Klondike Gold Rush in 1899. Scrooge proceeded to construct his famous
Money Bin on the location, which would eventually cause McDuck an incredible variety of problems and dilemmas. The first one was caused by the
Junior Woodchucks
The Junior Woodchucks of the World is a fictional scouting organization appearing in Disney comics and the ''DuckTales'' animated television franchise, most notably in adventures featuring Disney characters Huey, Dewey, and Louie as members.
T ...
, who were squatting in the site and using the old fort as their headquarters, even though they did not have legal title to it. The dispute led to a small war in 1902, involving the United States
marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, led by then
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
. Eventually however, the construction of the Money Bin, and Scrooge's establishment of various businesses in and around Duckburg, caused Duckburg's population to swell, and turned the small town into a bustling city and a global
financial centre
A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to ta ...
within a few decades.
Calisota
Calisota
[The pronunciation is derived from the blending of those of "]California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
" and "Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
". is a fictional U.S. state, created by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
in his story ''
The Gilded Man'' (''
Four Color
''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...
'' #422). Duckburg is among the cities located there, as well as Goosetown, a traditional rival of Duckburg, and
Mouseton
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving Disney cartoon characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, and many other characters. The universe originated from the ''Mickey Mouse'' an ...
.
![Calisota location](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Calisota_location.png)
Although it has many fictional elements and a variable climate, Calisota is probably synonymous with
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
, being roughly equivalent to
Northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
. Duckburg is located north of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, with a map in
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
's ''
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
'' showing Calisota corresponding to the part of California north of the 39th parallel.
The name is a
blend
A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender.
Blend
Blend may also refer to:
* Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words
* ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans
* ...
of ''
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
'' and ''
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
'', supposedly to allow all kinds of weather or climate in the stories, although Calisota has very little in common with the latter (a state in the
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
, far from the ocean) and Northern California's regional weather is variable enough by itself.
Brutopia
Brutopia (a portmanteau word from ''brute'' and ''Utopia'') is a
fictional country
A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof.
Sailors have always mistaken low clouds for land masses, and in later times this was given ...
appearing in several
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
stories. It was created by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
in the story ''A Cold Bargain'' from 1957. Brutopia is a hostile country, aiming for world domination. It is clearly a
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. In the Duck universe, Brutopia occasionally attempts to steal Scrooge's money so as to devastate the American economy, and to fund the creation of doomsday weaponry. Its
national coat of arms
A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally ...
has been shown either as a dagger or the hammer and shackles.
Whether Brutopia is a stand-in for all of the USSR, or just for part of it, varies with the story. Sometimes parallels to Russia are drawn directly. Don Rosa has suggested that Brutopia might instead represent the eastern part of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
.
The language of Brutopia often looks somewhat
Slavic. On some occasions it is written in
Cyrillic
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
script. On the other hand, Brutopians seem to speak perfect, non-accented English; and other stories show English language texts being used by Brutopians.
In 1957, Brutopia's military spending budget amounted to one trillion dollars plus all the kitchen sinks of its happy people (a number that on closer inspection turned out to be five).
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
outbid the Brutopian government by paying one trillion dollars and six kitchen sinks for a sample of the recently discovered substance of
bombastium.
Money Bin
The Money Bin is the building where
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
stores the portions of his money he earned by himself. Carl Barks invented the "money swim" in his story ''
A Financial Fable
"A Financial Fable" is a Donald Duck comic book story written and illustrated by Carl Barks in September 1950. As with many other Barks stories, it was originally untitled. The story deals with what will happen if everyone in a community becomes ...
'' (1950), followed by the "Money Bin" in the story ''Terror of the Beagle Boys'' (1951). In Barks earlier stories, interchangeably with the name Money Bin, the building's official name was the McDuck Building, which was only used on
facade signs. Eventually however, the name was discontinued in the later stories by Barks and subsequent writers and artists.
While the first stories showing the Bin treated it as if it had just been built, later continuity established that Scrooge had built the Money Bin in 1902 after having traveled around the world to make his fortune, mostly through prospecting and the establishment of various businesses. Scrooge's favorite
pastime
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...
is to dive off a
springboard
A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type.
Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...
into his money and swim through it. In most comic books stories, Scrooge lives at the Money Bin in his private quarters on the top floor, with the rooms often filled with large amounts of money. Because of Scrooge's
frugality
Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the consumption of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance.
In behavioral science, frugality has been ...
he has at times even made his own furniture and architecture out of his money; like using moneybags as chairs or using stacked paper bills as stairs to reach high places. The Money Bin also has a worry room in which Scrooge paces around in circles, which has caused a circular depression in the floor, to worry and ponder about hardships that has befallen him. The worry room was first mentioned in Carl Barks' story ''
The Secret of Atlantis
"The Secret of Atlantis" is a 32-page Disney comics story written and drawn by Carl Barks, and lettered by his wife, Garé Barks.
The story was first published in ''Uncle Scrooge'' #5 (March–May 1954) by Dell Publishing with three one-page ga ...
'' (''
Uncle Scrooge
''Uncle Scrooge'' (stylized as ''Uncle $crooge'') is a Disney comic book series starring Scrooge McDuck ("the richest duck in the world"), his nephew Donald Duck, and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and revolving around their adventures in Du ...
'' #5, 1954).
The traditional location of the Money Bin is on top of Killmotor Hill which in turn lies atop a
fault line
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
which would prove catastrophic in the event of an
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
, and this earthquake occurred in the story ''
Land Beneath the Ground!
"Land Beneath the Ground!" is a Scrooge McDuck comic book story that appeared in 1956 in the comic book ''Uncle Scrooge'', written by Carl Barks.
Plot
Worried about earthquakes damaging his money bin, Scrooge McDuck is determined to find out wha ...
'' (1956) by Carl Barks.
The Money Bin is the victim of repeated assaults by Scrooge's enemies who try to steal his money, such as the
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of cartoon characters created in 1951 by Carl Barks for the Donald Duck universe. They are a family clan of Organized crime, organized criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first a ...
, who are after the bulk of Scrooge's money, and
Magica DeSpell
Magica De Spell (''magica'' being the feminine of ''magico'', ) is a cartoon character created in 1961 by Carl Barks for the Duck universe. An Italian sorceress, she constantly attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she bel ...
, who is after Scrooge's "
Number One Dime
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the D ...
", the first
dime Scrooge ever earned. To protect against these attempted break-ins, Scrooge has installed the greatest
security system
A security alarm is a system designed to detect intrusion, such as unauthorized entry, into a building or other areas such as a home or school. Security alarms used in residential, commercial, industrial, and military properties protect against ...
in the world, which includes
Gizmoduck
This article includes a list of characters from the The Walt Disney Company, Disney ''DuckTales'' animated franchise, including the DuckTales, original 1987 series and the DuckTales (2017 TV series), 2017 reboot series, as well as DuckTales the Mo ...
in the ''DuckTales'' TV-Series, to thwart any thought of even trying to intrude onto the premises.
Barks defined the volume of money contained inside as "three cubic acres", but the exact meaning of a "cubic acre" left to the reader to interpret, since an
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
is a measure of
area
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape
A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...
, not
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...
. Taken literally, a
cubic acre would be a 6-
dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...
al space of 82,653,950,016,000 ft
6, i.e. feet to the sixth power. Taken as an acre that is raised to a cube with each side an acre, it would be around 9 091 379 ft
3. A series of blueprints created for the Scrooge McDuck story "
The Beagle Boys vs. the Money Bin" by
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
state that the Money Bin is approximately tall, and wide. In the story, said blueprints are accredited to an architect named Frank Lloyd Drake, who is based on the real-life architect
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
.
The Money Bin also contains various valuable artifacts like the
Golden Fleece
In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...
, the Crown of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
, the Crown of the
Mayas
The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical reg ...
, the Candy-Striped Ruby and the Goose Egg Nugget. According to Carl Barks' story ''
The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone'' (Uncle Scrooge #10, 1955) Scrooge also owned the
Philosopher's Stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
at one point, but it was later confiscated by the International Money Council as it could devastate the economy because of its capability to turn base metals into gold.
The
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
and
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
names for "the Money Bin" are ''Pengetanken'' and ''Pengebingen'', respectively, and these have become a regular word in these languages for a large amount of money or cash.
Russell W. Belk mentions the Money Bin in ''Material Values in the Comics: A Content Analysis of Comic Books Featuring Themes of Wealth'', where he remarks that Scrooge's "childish fascination with money", where he takes pleasure in diving and swimming in the Money Bin, might account for Scrooge not being portrayed as a villain. Penelope Fritzer in the article ''Scrooge McDuck: Postmodern Robber Baron'' considers it possible for the Money Bin to symbolize the entire Disney empire.
The Money Bin in the
Ducktales 2017 reboot is given a total redesign. Here it is depicted as a large tower situated on an island in the waters near Duckburg, connected to the city via a bridge, and visible directly from Scrooge's bedroom window. It is perceived as a costly architectural fancy by Scrooge's board of directors, though Scrooge candidly claimed its deranged staff being let go would cause a larger danger. Aside from storing his money, this incarnation of the Money Bin (somewhat emptier due to Scrooge's costly search for the lost
Della Duck
Della Duck (sometimes named Dumbella Duck) is a fictional character created in 1937 by Al Taliaferro and Ted Osborne. She is a core member of the Disney Duck family, as the niece of Scrooge McDuck, the younger twin sister of Donald Duck and the ...
) also serves as the corporate headquarters of McDuck Industries and the location of Gyro Gearloose's lab.
Glomgold's bin
Flintheart Glomgold
Flintheart Glomgold is a cartoon character created in 1956 by Carl Barks. He is a South African American Pekin Duck and the business rival of Scrooge McDuck, usually portrayed as an ambitious, ruthless, and manipulative businessman who shar ...
also owns a money bin, located near
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...
Valley in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. Glomgold's bin substitutes the dollar sign (
$) that appears on Scrooge's with a pound sign (
£),
The Second-Richest Duck
"The Second-Richest Duck" is an Uncle Scrooge comic book story written and illustrated by Carl Barks in February 1956. It features the first appearance of Flintheart Glomgold.
Plot
The story starts when Scrooge McDuck tries to know where was h ...
comic by Carl Barks, February 2, 1956 as the
South African pound
The pound (Afrikaans: ''pond''; symbol £, £SA for distinction) was the currency of the Union of South Africa from the formation of the country as a British Dominion in 1910. It was replaced by the rand in 1961 when South Africa decimalised.
In ...
was the currency of South Africa until 1961. The preference for the pound sign can also be explained by Glomgold's heritage, which puts him as a citizen of South Africa with British blood, whereas Scrooge embraced America despite his pure Scottish blood.
Recurring elements
Number One Dime
The Number One Dime is the first
coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
that
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
ever earned (or, according to some stories, produced). The Number One Dime first appeared in the story ''The Round Money Bin'', created by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
and first published in ''
Uncle Scrooge
''Uncle Scrooge'' (stylized as ''Uncle $crooge'') is a Disney comic book series starring Scrooge McDuck ("the richest duck in the world"), his nephew Donald Duck, and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and revolving around their adventures in Du ...
'' #3 (September, 1953).
In this story, the dime is so old that it has become thin as a razor blade and allows Scrooge to cut binding ropes and escape from the Beagle Boys. In later stories, it is insinuated that the dime brings good luck to Scrooge and has helped him become a rich man. In some stories, he instantly starts losing money whenever the dime is no longer in his possession. In fact, in some series, Scrooge is so attached to the dime that he becomes hysterical, to the point of losing his mind, whenever he loses possession of the dime.
It is never made clear whether the dime actually brings good
luck
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
, or if Scrooge merely believes in it so much that he is distressed and makes bad decisions whenever he no longer has his
dime. Since Barks never actually said that it was because of the coin that Scrooge was the richest duck in the world, Don Rosa, after various informational exchanges with Barks, for a faithful production of ''The Life and Times Of Scrooge McDuck'', clarified that the Number One Dime is not actually an amulet, and that this vision was just a myth. The Number One Dime is just a sentimental object that happens to be the first coin Scrooge received for his work. Rosa made clear, also, that Scrooge made his fortune working hard and being honest.
This point is heavily reinforced in the ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' TV series where Scrooge tells his nephews about the value of hard earned cash.
The dime is a key plot point in practically every story featuring
Magica De Spell
Magica De Spell (''magica'' being the feminine of ''magico'', ) is a cartoon character created in 1961 by Carl Barks for the Duck universe. An Italian sorceress, she constantly attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she believ ...
, a character invented by Carl Barks, as the main villain. Magica believes that by stealing the first coin earned by the richest person in the world and melting it down to a magical
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
, she can gain the power of the ancient
King Midas
Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...
, so that everything she touches becomes
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
and she can be rich beyond her wildest dreams. The fact that this will only work if the coin indeed belongs to the richest person in the world at the time, and is the first coin that person earned, is crucial, and is made into a plot point in some stories. However, the dime only has magical value because of these circumstances and not on its own. Magica once successfully stole the Dime while helping the Beagle Boys rob McDuck, stopping when she realized this would mean McDuck would no longer be the world's richest person, rendering the Dime worthless.
According to a comic story by
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
, it is an 1875
Seated Liberty dime, but in a comic story written by Pat and Carol McGreal and drawn by Maximino Tortajada Aguilar,
[See Kalle Anka & C:o issue 1-2/2010 p. 66-69.] the last two digits have been swapped, making it an 1857
Seated Liberty dime The Seated Liberty portrait designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Goddess of Liberty in a Seated Liberty design included the half dime, the dime, the qua ...
.
Scrooge earned the dime in 1877 in his hometown of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, when he started working as a shoeshine boy on his tenth birthday.
['']The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
'' by Don Rosa Before that it belonged to
Howard Rockerduck (the father of
John D. Rockerduck
John D. Rockerduck is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company for the Duck universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals in Disney comics. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist an ...
). The customer who paid it to him, a ditch-digger called Burt, seemingly "cheated" Scrooge. In reality, Scrooge's father,
Fergus McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
, gave Burt the dime specifically for paying Scrooge for his services. Scrooge McDuck never learned that fact, although Fergus did reveal it to Scrooge's sisters Matilda and Hortense. Burt and Magica De Spell, who learned about this when she traveled in time to the day Scrooge earned the Dime, are the only other ones who know. McDuck kept it as a reminder not to be fooled again in the future. When he emigrated to the
US three years later, he carried it with him. Scrooge still has the dime and keeps it on a pillow under glass because of its sentimental value.
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
,
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
, and
Gladstone Gander
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...
among many others think it is really a lucky charm, but Scrooge himself rejects any claims beyond sentimentality.
The Junior Woodchucks
The Junior Woodchucks are the
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
organization to which
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
belong. They have a uniform with a
coonskin cap
A coonskin cap is a hat fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. The original coonskin cap consisted of the entire skin of the raccoon including its head and tail. Beginning as traditional Native American headgear, coonskin caps became associ ...
. The Junior Woodchucks were created by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
in 1951, in the story "Operation St. Bernhard" (''
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American Comics anthology, anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mic ...
'' #125). Later stories introduced a similar organization for girls,
Junior Chickadees, to which
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
's nieces,
April, May and June
This list of Donald Duck universe characters focuses on Disney cartoon and comics characters who typically appear with Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, but are not related to them. For relatives of Donald and Scrooge, see Duck family (Disney) or ...
belong. The hallmark of the Junior Woodchucks is their spirited dedication to
environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
and
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
, as well as the preservation of
knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
and the furtherance of
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
. They are also known for their exalted titles and ranks (Huey, Dewey, and Louie being promoted to become ''Ten-Star Generals'' in the 1952 story of the same name) and the awarding of buckets of badges, along with severe ideals as to decorum. In this way Barks poked gentle but pointed satire at aspects of the Boy Scouts.
Bombastium
Bombastium is a
fictional chemical element.
[''Uncle Scrooge'' #17 by ]Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
Its
atomic number
The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol ''Z'') of a chemical element is the charge number of an atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei, this is equal to the proton number (''n''p) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every ...
and atomic symbol are unknown. Bombastium is stated to be the rarest element in the world. Even though it is very coveted, its usage potential is not entirely known. One characteristic is that it tastes different every time you try it, and scientists eventually discovered that one atom of bombastium dropped into a barrel of water becomes one barrel of
ice cream
Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...
– a different flavor of ice cream each time. The element is orange-brown in color and is about the size of a
soccer ball
A football (also known as football ball, soccer ball, or association football ball specifically in the United Kingdom) is the ball used in the sport of association football. The name of the ball varies according to whether the sport is called " ...
. To avoid evaporation, bombastium must be kept frozen.
The only piece of bombastium known to exist was found in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
, and it was soon after its discovery acquired by
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
in the 1957 story "A Cold Bargain" by Carl Barks, but at that time it was also heavily sought after by the hostile nation of
Brutopia. Brutopia's military spending budget that year amounted to one trillion dollars plus all the kitchen sinks of its happy people.
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
therefore had to pay one trillion dollars plus six kitchen sinks to win the auction.
The element was also used for the 5-part ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' episode "
Time is Money," which introduced
Bubba the Caveduck. In this cartoon episode, bombastium is the fuel for one of
Gyro Gearloose
Gyro Gearloose is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and anyone w ...
's inventions, a
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
ing
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
named the Millennium Shortcut. The bombastium itself must be kept frozen in order for it to be usable as fuel (a small
freezer
A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
is equipped on board the Shortcut for this purpose). Otherwise, the Shortcut could not travel through time.
One of the treasures that can be obtained in the computer game ''
DuckTales: The Quest for Gold'' is bombastium. Unlike the other treasures, bombastium is worth more than just money, as Gyro Gearloose can use it to build a matter transporter which takes away the risk of flying from place to place while having the possible downside of sending the player to a location they had not intended to go.
Squiggs
Squiggs are fairly small fish that are typically eaten "oolated". Squiggs were first mentioned in the Carl Barks ten-pager "Turkey Trouble" where, in one panel, a can of "oolated squiggs" can be seen as a background detail. Don Rosa later used the fish as a key plot element in the story "
Oolated Luck".
Conserved oolated squiggs are fairly cheap and wholesome food but taste particularly bad, and smell worse.
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and
Gladstone Gander
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...
once took part in a competition organized by a company producing oolated squiggs, where the grand prize was an
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
cruise. Donald won the grand prize and Gladstone won a year's supply of oolated squiggs.
See also
*
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
– the character in film and comics
*
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-nep ...
and The
Junior Woodchucks
The Junior Woodchucks of the World is a fictional scouting organization appearing in Disney comics and the ''DuckTales'' animated television franchise, most notably in adventures featuring Disney characters Huey, Dewey, and Louie as members.
T ...
*
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
and the
Clan McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
*
Daisy Duck
Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is ...
and the extended
Duck family
*
List of Donald Duck universe characters
This list of Donald Duck universe characters focuses on Disney cartoon and comics characters who typically appear with Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, but are not related to them. For relatives of Donald and Scrooge, see Duck family (Disney) or ...
*
Donald Duck in comics Donald Duck, a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company, is today the star of dozens of comic-book and comic-strip stories published each month (in certain parts of the world, each week) around the world. In many European countries, Dona ...
– the story of his stories
*
Disney comics
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge.
The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with ...
– comic strips and books
*
Inducks
The International Network of Disney Universe Comic Knowers and Sources[From Inducks lecture](_blank)
held at ...
– Disney comics database
*
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
– comic book creator
*
Mickey Mouse universe
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...
Notes
References
External links
I.N.D.U.C.K.S., World-wide database of Disney comics*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090611193105/http://duckman.pettho.com/history/history.html A history of Duckburg, based on Barks' and Rosa's storiesA study of Duckburg's location plus various Duckburg mapsList of characters associated with the "Ducks" universeat
Inducks
The International Network of Disney Universe Comic Knowers and Sources[From Inducks lecture](_blank)
held at ...
The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duck Universe
Walt Disney Studios (division) franchises
Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
Disney comics
Fictional populated places in the United States
Fictional universes
Fictional locations of Disney
Fictional locations in comics
Disney fandom
Mass media franchises introduced in 1934