animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, 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 ...
produced by
Disney Television Animation
Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney G ...
. The original cartoon series premiered on
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
and on
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seasons, with its final episode airing on November 28, 1990. Based upon ''
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 ...
'' and other
Duck universe
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 Don ...
comic books 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 show follows
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 ...
, his three grandnephews
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 close friends of the group, on various adventures, most of which either involve seeking out treasure or thwarting the efforts of villains seeking to steal Scrooge's fortune or his
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 ...
.
''DuckTales'' has inspired video games, merchandise, and comic books, along with an animated theatrical spin-off film entitled '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'', that was released to theaters across the United States on August 3, 1990. The series is notable for being the first Disney cartoon to be produced for weekday syndication, with its success paving the way for future Disney cartoons, such as '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' and ''
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 ...
'', creating the syndication block
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon (later known internally as the Disney-Kellogg Alliance when unbranded), sometimes abbreviated as TDA, was a created-for-syndication two-hour programming block of animated television series. It was produced by Walt Disney T ...
. The show's popular theme song was written by
Mark Mueller
Mark Mueller (born July 11, 1957) is an American songwriter. A two-time winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for writing one of the Most Performed Songs of the year, he has had three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten singles and one #1 Adult Contemporary ...
. Also, Launchpad McQuack later returned to appear in another Disney animated series, becoming a main character in ''
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 ...
''.
In February 2015,
Disney XD
Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
announced the revival of the show, with the intention of rebooting the series. The rebooted series premiered on August 12, 2017 and concluded on March 15, 2021.
Premise
When
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 ...
decides to join the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
, he enlists his 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 ...
to look after his 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 ...
. Although reluctant to do so due to their hyperactivity, along with his continual pursuit of increasing his
wealth
Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...
and maintaining harsh business ethics, he eventually warms up to them upon seeing how smart and resourceful they are and takes them into his manor as well as several adventures. Scrooge McDuck is well known for his characteristic Scottish accent, spats, and top hat. We later learn in the series his family comes from Castle McDuck, and he came to America when he was young learning how to "work smarter not harder". In addition to them, the show features frequent appearances 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 ...
, an established comic book character, as well as guest appearances by Donald in the first season – this was either a full appearance, or in a cameo scene when Scrooge and his nephews read letters he sends to them, and a few minor appearances by Scrooge's old flame, Glittering Goldie, whose character was adapted from the comic books. The show introduced new characters to the Duck universe; while some were minor including the nanny Mrs. Beakley, whom Scrooge hires to babysit the nephews; Mrs. Beakley's granddaughter Webby; Scrooge's pilot
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, ...
;
Doofus Drake
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 ...
, an admirer of Launchpad and a close friend of the nephews; and the McDuck Manor butler,
Duckworth Duckworth may refer to:
* Duckworth (surname), people with the surname ''Duckworth''
* Duckworth (''DuckTales''), fictional butler from the television series ''DuckTales''
* Duckworth Books, a British publishing house
* , a frigate
* Duckworth, W ...
. The second season later introduced three new additional characters as part of the show's stories: "caveduck" Bubba Duck and his pet
triceratops
''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
Tootsie; and Fenton Crackshell, Scrooge's personal accountant who secretly works as a superhero named Gizmoduck.
The show's primary villains consist of those from the comics:
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 ...
, who seeks to replace Scrooge as the "richest duck in the world"; 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 seek to rob Scrooge of his fortune and often target his money bin; and
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 ...
, who seeks to steal his Number One Dime. A few changes were made to these villains – unlike the comics, Flintheart is of Scottish descent and wears a couple of pieces of Scottish attire, including a kilt; Magica, who is Italian in the comics, has an Eastern European accent, always saying "darling" (which shocks Scrooge in an episode when Magica changes into the form of Mrs. Beakly). She has a brother named Poe, who was transformed into a raven; the Beagle Boys have individual personalities and are headed by their mother, Ma Beagle, who sometimes springs them from jail to conduct schemes with her, but always avoids being caught by the police. The animated series also featured a list of minor villains, most of whom sought to either claim Scrooge's wealth or beat him to treasure.
Most of the stories used in the show revolve around one of three common themes – the first focuses on the group's efforts to thwart attempts by various villains to steal Scrooge's fortune or his
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 second focuses on a race for treasure; the third focused on specific characters within the show. Although some stories are original or based on Barks' comic book series, others are
pastiche
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
s on classical stories or legends, including characters based on either fictional or historical persons. ''DuckTales'' is well noted for its many references to popular culture, including
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
,
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
,
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
,
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
, and
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
. After its first season, the show moved away from globe-trotting stories, with adventures focused mainly within Duckburg.
Cast
*
Alan Young
Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...
as
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 ...
*
Russi Taylor
Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until his ...
as
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Multiple birth, 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 th ...
and Webby Vanderquack
*
Chuck McCann
Charles John Thomas McCann (September 2, 1934 – April 8, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, puppeteer, commercial presenter and television host. He was best known for his work in presenting children's television programming and animation, a ...
as Duckworth the Butler, Burger Beagle, and Bouncer Beagle
*
Terry McGovern Terry McGovern may refer to:
*Terry McGovern (boxer) (1880–1918), boxer who held the world bantamweight and featherweight titles
*Terry McGovern (actor)
Terence McGovern (born May 11, 1942) is an American actor, television broadcaster, radio pe ...
as Launchpad McQuack (entire series) and Babyface Beagle (season 1)
*
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
as Bigtime Beagle (entire series), Baggy Beagle (entire series), Poe (season 1), and Bubba (seasons 2–4)
* Hal Smith as
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
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 ...
*
Joan Gerber
Joan Gerber (July 29, 1935 – August 22, 2011) was an American voice actress who provided voices for a variety of cartoons.
Her most challenging voice role was "all the children in a Japanese train wreck" for a ''Godzilla'' television episode ...
Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp (Born Robin S. Camp, 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a London-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He became an American folk singer during he 1960s, and ev ...
as Fenton Crackshell/Gizmoduck (seasons 2–4). Additional voices in season 1
*
June Foray
June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...
as Ma Beagle and
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 ...
*
Peter Cullen
Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other c ...
as Bankjob Beagle and Admiral Grimitz (season 1)
*
Brian Cummings
Brian Douglas Cummings (born March 4, 1948) is an American voice actor, known for his work in radio and television commercials, television and motion picture promos, cartoons and as the announcer on '' The All-New Let's Make a Deal'' from 1984 to ...
as Doofus Drake and Bugle Beagle (season 1). Additional voices in season 3
*
Tony Anselmo
Tony Anselmo (born February 18, 1960) is an American voice actor and animator. He has been the official character voice of Donald Duck since 1985 following the death of the original voice actor, Clarence Nash. He has also provided voices for Do ...
as
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 ...
(season 1)
The show also featured a range of additional voice actors who voiced several minor characters, most frequently including the following:
*
Susan Blu
Susan Maria Blue, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and Seasons 3 and 4 of ...
*
Corey Burton
Corey Gregg Weinberg (born August 3, 1955), known professionally as Corey Burton, is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake, Dale and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transforme ...
*
Jim Cummings
James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as th ...
*
Miriam Flynn
Miriam Flynn (born June 18, 1952) is an American voice and character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' and Grandma Longneck in ''The Land Before Time'' franchises. She has acted in other films a ...
*
Kathleen Freeman
Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost in ...
*
Linda Gary
Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Dewoskin, November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American actress.
Career
Live-action appearances
Gary worked as a voice-over artist in animation and also appeared in two live-action films, 1977's ''Joyride T ...
*
Richard Libertini
Richard Joseph Libertini (May 21, 1933 – January 7, 2016) was an American stage, film and television actor.
He was known for playing character roles and his ability to speak in numerous accents. His films include ''Catch-22'' (1970), '' The I ...
*
Tress MacNeille
Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series ''Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrench ...
*
Howard Morris
Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Cae ...
*
Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s.
Early life
Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...
*
Rob Paulsen
Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...
*
Will Ryan
William Frank Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film ''The Land Before Time''.
He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner ...
History
Production
Walt Disney Television Animation began production on ''DuckTales'' in 1986, intending to have it ready for a premiere in 1987, and its episodes airing within a 4–6 p.m. placement, at a time when more children would be watching television, rather than within a morning timeslot. Seeking to create a cartoon with high quality animation, in comparison with other 1980s cartoons which had much lower budgets, the animation was handled by
Wang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. (also known as Hong Guang Animation (宏廣) and Cuckoos' Nest Studio) is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese-American animation studios since 1978. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei and Los Angeles, ...
(some 1987 and 1989–1990 episodes only), Cuckoo's Nest Studio,
TMS Entertainment
, formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946.
TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as ''Lupin the Third'', ...
(season 1 only), and Burbank Films (1 episode only) having previously been used on two other Disney cartoons in 1985 – ''
The Wuzzles
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' and ''
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' is an American animated television series, created by Disney CEO Michael Eisner, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, and distributed by Buena Vista Television. The series, loosely inspired by the gummy ...
'' – both of which had demonstrated better quality cartoons on TV than in previous years. Although the Japanese provided them with more available artists for the cartoon, this also increased production costs, due to the currency exchange rates between the
yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
and the
dollar
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...
, though Disney intended to invest heavily in its ''DuckTales''s production, with plans to recuperate its money by having it syndicated via its syndication unit,
Buena Vista Television
Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603, The first season, aired between 1987–88, consisted of 65 episodes, the "magic number" requirement needed for a show to have weekday syndication (five days a week for thirteen weeks). Disney then commissioned three more seasons – the second season (aired between 1988–89) consisted of two television specials entitled "Time Is Money" and "Super DuckTales", with future reruns splitting them into two five-part serials; the third season (aired between 1989–90) consisted of 18 episodes, with it forming an hour-long syndicated block alongside '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers''; and the fourth season (aired during late 1990) consisted of seven episodes (including three unaired episodes meant for the previous season), which was used to form a two-hour-long syndicated block called ''
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon (later known internally as the Disney-Kellogg Alliance when unbranded), sometimes abbreviated as TDA, was a created-for-syndication two-hour programming block of animated television series. It was produced by Walt Disney T ...
'', consisting of ''DuckTales'' and three other half-hour cartoons.
The cartoon continued running within ''The Disney Afternoon'' until 1992. Following its departure from the Disney Afternoon, ''DuckTales'' reruns remained in syndication until 1995. Reruns continued on the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
from October 1995 to 2000, where it was at first part of a new two-hour programming block called "Block Party" that aired on weekday late afternoons, with it returning to syndication between 1997 and 1999. Reruns were later shown on
Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...
between 1999 and late 2004.
Legacy
The show proved an immense success for Disney, who decided to commission other cartoons with a similar level of quality, which included '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'', ''
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 ...
'', and ''
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 ...
''. In addition, ''DuckTales'' also spawned its own feature-length movie, entitled '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'', which was released to theaters on August 3, 1990, along with a franchise of
merchandising
Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...
, including toys, comic books and video games, a spin-off series, and eventually a revival in 2017, that rebooted the series. In 1990, the same year the original show ended,
Russi Taylor
Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until his ...
-the voice of regular DuckTales characters Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby- obtained more voiceover work outside of Disney when she began providing the voices of some recurring characters on ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''.
Cameos and appearances in other shows and films
*Huey, Dewey, and Louie all appeared in the 1990 drug prevention video ''
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
''Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue'' is a 1990 American animated television film starring many characters from several animated television series at the time of its release. Financed by McDonald's, Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, it was or ...
''.
*''
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 ...
'' (1991–92): Aside from Launchpad McQuack being a main character on the show and Gizmoduck appearing sporadically, Scrooge's face appears in the episode "Tiff of the Titans", and Flintheart Glomgold, the Beagle Boys, and Magica De Spell make cameo appearances in the episode "In Like Blunt".
*''
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. ...
'' (1992–93): In the episode "The Ungoofables", two of the Beagle Boys appear.
*''
Raw Toonage
''Disney's Raw Toonage'' is a half-hour American Disney animated series that aired on CBS on September 19, 1992. The show was cancelled on December 5 after 12 episodes had been broadcast.
'' Bonkers'' and ''Marsupilami'' were spun off from this ...
'' (1992): Scrooge and Launchpad appear as guest stars, and Webby appears in the opening sequence.
*'' Bonkers'' (1993–94): In the episode "The 29th Page", the Beagle Boys appear.
*''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' (1994–95): In the episode "The Day the Bird Stood Still", the Genie transforms into Scrooge.
*''
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 ...
'' (1996): Aside from Donald, Ludwig, and the nephews being main characters, the episode "Nosy Neighbors" features the Beagle Boys as an attack dummy.
*''
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 ...
'' (2017): The original design of Webby makes numerous appearances in the background of the rebooted series as a doll, and is used in a gag in "The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!" when Magica DeSpell turned reboot's Webby into a doll.
*'' Black Widow'' (2021): Clips of the ''DuckTales'' intro are shown on a TV in the background as young Natasha Romanoff's family are preparing to have dinner and when her father enters the house, and also during the opening credits sequence in which she and other girls are forced to watch it as part of their training.
Episodes
Home media
VHS releases
10 VHS cassettes, containing two episodes each, were released in the United States.
Also, the episode "Ducky Horror Picture Show" was released with the ''
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. ...
'' episode "FrankenGoof" on a VHS cassette entitled ''Monster Bash'' in 1993.
UK, Australia and New Zealand VHS releases
10 VHS cassettes, each containing two or three episodes, were released in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
DVD releases
North America (Region 1)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
has released the complete series on DVD; four volumes have been released in Region 1 featuring all 100 episodes of the series. The first was released on November 8, 2005 (containing episodes 1–27), the second on November 14, 2006 (containing episodes 28–51), and the third volume on November 13, 2007 (containing episodes 52–75). The fourth and final volume was released as a Disney Movie Club exclusive on September 11, 2018 (containing episodes 76–100). The first three volumes were packaged in a box containing 3 slipcases, one for each. The 2013 re-releases of the first three volumes packages the discs into one DVD case.
''DuckTales: Destination Adventure!'', a DVD compilation release of episodes from the 2017 reboot, contains two episodes from the original series as bonus features: "New Gizmo Kids on the Block" and "Ducky Mountain High". These episodes were available before their inclusion in the Volume 4 release.
The episodes are in the order that they originally aired (except for the five-part serial "Treasure of the Golden Suns", placed at the beginning of Volume 2). None of the DVD sets contain any special features.
International (Region 2)
In the United Kingdom, Disney released one Region 2 volume in 2007, titled ''DuckTales First Collection''. Despite the set being similar to the North American version, the DVD contained only 20 episodes, while having 5 language tracks: English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Other regional versions were distributed to other countries, but only going up to episode #20. On November 12, 2012, the UK received two further releases of Collection 2 and Collection 3, being a Region version of the 2nd and 3rd volumes from North America. Unlike the first release, these 3-disc sets include a Fastplay mode, and only four language tracks: English, Dutch, German and French, but subtitles have not been added.
There are currently no plans to release the rest of the series, or the seven episodes missing between the first two sets.
Hindi language (Region 2, 4, 5)
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
where Duck Tales was dubbed in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
for TV broadcast on
Doordarshan
Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
and syndication on
Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...
Disney India
The Walt Disney Company India Private Limited, known simply as Disney India, is the Indian subsidiary of the Indo Pacific region of the American media and entertainment conglomerate The Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharasht ...
, on 20 DVD volumes and
Video CD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
s in
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
format. These discs support Region 2, Region 4 and Region 5. However, due to a limited number of copies, they quickly went out of stock. Each DVD contained only 3 episodes. Episodes 08, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24, 36, 55 and 61 are missing from the released set. The remaining episodes starting from episode 70 to 100 ("Super DuckTales" from Season 2, and entire Seasons 3 and 4) are yet to be released in Hindi on DVD.
Video on demand
Season One of ''DuckTales'' was released on
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
in 2013 and was free for
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
members but as of February 28, 2014, ''DuckTales'' Season 1 is no longer accessible through Amazon Video or Amazon Prime accounts.
As of December 11, 2015, some episodes from Season 1 have been made available on Netflix in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In Denmark, at least, only 20 episodes from season 1 are available on Netflix. The episodes available do follow the correct airdate order but some episodes are simply missing. For instance, the episodes on Netflix do not include a lot of Season 1 episodes, even though they have indeed been dubbed into Danish. Amongst the episodes missing are the Five-Part Miniseries, "Treasure of the Golden Sun", "Duckman of Aquatraz", and "Top Duck".
The entire series is currently available for purchase on
Amazon Instant Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
in Germany, with the episodes split into eight different seasons.
iTunes and Amazon Instant Video in the United States currently offer the entire series (except the episode "Sphinx for the Memories") for purchase in SD format, split into six volumes at $9.99 per volume.
The series has been available to stream on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
since its launch on November 12, 2019, however some episodes are out of order and the episodes "Sphinx for the Memories" and "Launchpad's Civil War" are missing.
Music
The series theme song was written by
Mark Mueller
Mark Mueller (born July 11, 1957) is an American songwriter. A two-time winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for writing one of the Most Performed Songs of the year, he has had three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten singles and one #1 Adult Contemporary ...
, an
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
award-winning pop music songwriter who also wrote the theme song to ''
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
...
''; Mueller was paid a little over $1000 to write the tune.
Episode musical scores and background cues were written by at least four musicians. The primary and most known composer was Ron Jones, who wrote and conducted orchestral themes for the program. In contrast to how the other composers were creating a "patronizing" and "cute" score for the show, Jones says he composed the music with regard to the audience and its intelligence. "I would not play the score like a kid's show at all. If they went on an adventure I would play it serious like ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark
''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...
''. Jones' score for ''DuckTales'' has been praised by fans of the show.
Three other musicians worked on creating incidental music cues for ''DuckTales''. One musician,
Stephen Rucker
Stephen Donald Rucker (born June 27, 1949) is an American composer. Rucker studied piano with M. Mendelsohn of the Paris Conservatory.
He has composed and conducted for the London Symphony Orchestra in the animated film, '' Little Nemo: Adventu ...
, also was in charge of conducting and composing tracks, much like Jones. The two other musicians, Steve Zuckerman, and Thomas Chase Jones, composed only synthetic cues for the show, and generally kept the tone lighter, as opposed to Jones and Rucker.
In total, there were approximately 85(?) incidental music cues composed for ''DuckTales''. A track was played on different occasions on an episode, appropriate with the current ongoing situation. As of 2019, there has never been an official release of any of the background music on ''DuckTales''.
The ''DuckTales'' Theme was sung by
Jeff Pescetto
Jeffrey "Jeff" Pescetto (born November 21, 1954) is an American musical artist who is most notable for collaborating with David Foster on the 1990 recreation of John Farnham's Australian single, "You're the Voice". Pescetto lent the vocals to Fo ...
. There are four different versions of the theme song. The original version, serving as the show's opening theme, contained one verse, chorus, bridge, and then a chorus. A shorter version of the opening theme was used in
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon (later known internally as the Disney-Kellogg Alliance when unbranded), sometimes abbreviated as TDA, was a created-for-syndication two-hour programming block of animated television series. It was produced by Walt Disney T ...
lineup with the line, "Everyday they're out there making Duck Tales, woo-ooh", taken out.
A full-length version of the theme song was released on the Disney Afternoon soundtrack, the third volume (which was released in a set with the other two volumes) in ''The Music of Disney: a Legacy in Song'' along with the full ''
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 ...
'' theme and in the November 2013 release of the ''Disney Classics'' collection. Also, it is heard in the end credits of ''DuckTales: Remastered'' and is also released on its official soundtrack.
The full version contains a second verse, and it includes a
guitar solo
A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...
, which is performed with a
wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The p ...
to make it sound like duck-like noises. It also has a fadeout ending, unlike the other versions. There is also a rare extended version that was used in the read-along cassettes in 1987. It has a sequence order of verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-instrumental break-chorus.
According to an interview conducted with Jeff Pescetto in 2009, he was originally approached by Mark Mueller to cut a demo version of the theme song for Disney's approval. Although they were impressed with Pescetto's demo, Disney had decided at first to hire pop group The Jets to perform the theme song for broadcast. However, after recording a version with the group, Disney felt that the theme song needed a different vocal style, and instead commissioned Pescetto to perform the theme. After performing on ''DuckTales'', Pescetto would later be asked to sing the vocal themes for ''Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' (composed by Mueller and produced by
Alf Clausen
Alf Heiberg Clausen (born March 28, 1941) is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of ''The Simpsons'', for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or orc ...
), ''
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 ...
'' (composed by Steve Nelson and Thom Sharp and produced by
Steve Tyrell
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
), and for ''The Disney Afternoon'' itself. The Jets, meanwhile, later performed a full-length version of the ''Rescue Rangers'' theme song in a music video aired on
The Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
in 1989.
Reception
Critical reception
Maximilian Leunig of ''
Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
'' wrote, "This classic series brought along characters that hadn’t been in much media apart from comic books, notably written by Carl Barks and Don Rosa. Among these were famous villains like Magica De Spell, the Beagle Boys, and Flintheart Glumgold, to allies like Gyro Gearloose and Glittering Goldie. Of course, the show also created beloved partners like Launchpad McQuack, Gizmoduck, and Webby, who all brought fun and adventure to this Disney classic." Emily Ashby of ''
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
'' rated the show a 4 out of 5 stars, stating, "''DuckTales'' was a huge hit with fans during its four-year run in the '80s and continues to entertain today with quality stories, wild adventures, and classic Disney characters such as Scrooge McDuck and the dynamic trio of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Because the stories often are set in far-flung places such as Greece, Antarctica, and the Klondike, kids are introduced to basic concepts of geography and diverse world cultures."
Jeremy Hayes of ''
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' ranked ''DuckTales'' 2nd in their "Best Cartoons From The '80s" list, saying, "Arguably the greatest Disney cartoon show ever, the animation and voice acting really stand out (from what I've seen of this show). Often considered one of the most underrated cartoons ever, the show ran for four seasons after debuting in September of 1987." In January 2009, ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' listed ''DuckTales'' as the 18th best show in the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows, writing, "This was Disney’s first syndicated animated TV series and it paved the way for other hugely successful shows like ''TaleSpin'' and ''Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers''. It even created two spin-offs, ''Darkwing Duck'' and ''Quack Pack''. Disney made the smart movie of taking classic characters like Scrooge McDuck and Baloo from ''The Jungle Book'' and giving them a late ’80s reboot."
Theme song
The theme song, written by Mark Mueller, has been widely regarded as one of the most memorable for a television program, with Dan Fletcher of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine noting its lasting impact despite being just a children's song: "Some of the lyrics might not make sense to those older than the age of 10 — we're not sure how life in Duckburg is like a
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
, or exactly what a 'duck blur' is — but the DuckTales song is still awesome." An article from '' Vanity Fair'' noted that the song has a tendency to stick in someone's head, a phenomenon known as an
earworm
An earworm, sometimes referred to as a brainworm, sticky music, stuck song syndrome, or, most commonly after earworms, Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI), is a catchy and/or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person ...
.
TVLine
''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs.
History
In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...
lists the theme song among the best animated series themes of all time.
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
and Disney MovieToons, Disney TV Animation division and Disney France. The film follows Scrooge McDuck and his nephews as they try to defeat the evil warlock Merlock from taking over the legendary magic lamp.
The film was well-received by critics and audiences, but was considered a financial disappointment by Disney and several planned sequels were abandoned as a result.
Reboot
In February 2015,
Disney XD
Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
announced a reboot of the original ''DuckTales'' TV series. It premiered on August 11, 2017 and ran for three seasons.
In May 2015, Terry McGovern (the original voice of Launchpad McQuack) stated on Facebook that the entire voice cast would be replaced, stating he felt "heartsick" at the news.
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
and released for the
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
and
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
in 1989. A sequel to the game, ''
DuckTales 2
''DuckTales 2'' is a platform video game developed by Make Software and published by Capcom. It is a sequel to the original '' DuckTales'' based on the Disney animated series of the same name. It was released on the Nintendo Entertainment Sy ...
'', was released for NES and Game Boy in 1993. A Disney's ''DuckTales'' hand-held LCD game from
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) was an independent American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as ''Brain Warp'' and the Br ...
was also released in 1990. A ''DuckTales'' mobile game was developed by Artefact Games and published by
Disney Mobile
Disney Mobile is an American division of Disney Consumer Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, that designs mobile apps, content and services.
History
In August 2000, Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) entered the mobile content mark ...
and released for
Mobile Phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s on 2011 in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
Incredible Technologies
Incredible Technologies (IT) (formerly Free Radical Software (FRS)) is an American designer and manufacturer of coin-operated video games and Class III casino games, based in Vernon Hills, Illinois. The company's most widely used product is the ...
for computers in 1990. '' DuckTales: Remastered'', an HD remake of Capcom's original game, developed by
WayForward Technologies
WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as ...
, was released by
Disney Interactive
Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversaw various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company.
History
1995–1996: Formation and beginnings
In December 1994, Disney announced that it wa ...
for
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
,
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...
and
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
on August 13, 2013. It was also released on September 11, 2013 for
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
. A retail copy for
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
was released on August 20, 2013 with a code to download the game and a ''DuckTales'' collector pin.
Various ''DuckTales'' items appear in the Toy Box of the ''
Disney Infinity
''Disney Infinity'' is an action-adventure sandbox toys-to-life video game series developed by Avalanche Software. The setting of the series is a giant customizable universe of imagination, known as the Toy Box, populated with toy versions of i ...
'' franchise. In 1.0, the Money Bin item and Scrooge and Beagle Boy townspeople appear in addition to the "Scrooge's Lucky Dime" power disc. In 2.0, Scrooge's pile of money and a Scrooge portrait are interior items in addition to the iOS-exclusive "Scrooge's Top Hat" power disc. In 3.0, a Launchpad McQuack townsperson was added.
Launchpad was a selectable character for the mobile game titled ''Disney Snow Sports'' in 2007.
An app was released by Disney in the late summer/early fall of 2013 called '' DuckTales: Scrooge's Loot'', where the player tries to get Scrooge back his money that was stolen by Flintheart Glomgold, Magica de Spell, and the Beagle Boys.
Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack, Webby Vanderquack, Magica De Spell, and Gizmoduck appeared in ''Disney Emoji Blitz''.
Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby appear as playable characters as part of a ''DuckTales'' collection in the video game ''
Disney Magic Kingdoms
''Disney Magic Kingdoms'' is a 2016 city building game developed and published by Gameloft for iOS, Android, and Windows. It is themed off the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. The game was officially launched on March 17, 2016.
Storyline
The game ...
''.
In 2019, Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Gizmoduck, Donald Duck, and Launchpad McQuack were added to ''Disney Heroes: Battle Mode''. Magica De Spell was added to the game in January 2020.
Books
''DuckTales'' releasing on the
Picture Books
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
from the part of ''Disney Gold'' and was Published by
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
.
Comic books and trade paperbacks
''DuckTales''
''DuckTales'' had two series of comic books. The first series was published by
Gladstone Publishing
Gladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of Another Rainbow Publishing, a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to ...
and ran for 13 issues from 1988 to 1990, and the second series was published by
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 ...
and ran for 18 issues from 1990 to 1991. Disney also published a children's magazine based on the show, which also featured comic stories, one of which was written 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 ...
. Subsequent comic stories were also printed 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 ...
'' from 1990 to 1996.
On August 29, 2007,
Gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...
released a trade paperback of ''
Scrooge's Quest
''Scrooge's Quest'' is a seven-part ''DuckTales'' comics story written by Marv Wolfman and published in 1990. The story was originally printed in the first seven issues of the comics series by Gladstone Publishing, and later reprinted in a graphi ...
'' and on October 7, 2008, it was followed by ''The Gold Odyssey''; together they collect the majority of the Disney Comics run.
''Carl Barks' Greatest DuckTales Stories''
On May 24 and July 19, 2006, Gemstone published a two-volume trade paperback, ''Carl Barks' Greatest DuckTales Stories''. The trades contain reprints of stories written by Carl Barks which were specifically adapted into television episodes of ''DuckTales''.
Both volumes start with an introduction and compare the original comic story with its ''DuckTales'' episode counterpart. Volume 1 also includes a two-page article delving into details on adapting the show from the comic series.
BOOM! Studios
Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.
History
Origins
In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...
revival
On February 17, 2011,
BOOM! Studios
Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.
History
Origins
In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...
announced that a new ''DuckTales'' comic series would begin May 2011 under its kaboom! imprint. The series was written by
Warren Spector
Warren Evan Spector (born October 2, 1955) is an American role-playing and video game designer, director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creating immersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how ...
(author of the ''
Epic Mickey
''Epic Mickey'' is a 2010 platform game for the Wii developed by Junction Point Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios, except in Japan, where it was published by Nintendo. The game focuses on Mickey Mouse, who accidentally damag ...
'' videogame) with art by Leonel Castellani and Jose Massaroli. It lasted for 6 issues, with the final two crossing over 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 ...
''. The BOOM! Studios comic will be reprinted in
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
's ''Disney's Afternoon Giant'' in October 2018.
Before its updated ''DuckTales'' comic book, BOOM Kids (later called Kaboom!) featured internationally produced ''DuckTales'' comic book stories never before seen in the US in issues 392–399 of the ''
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 ...
'' comic book. These issues, published 2010–2011, were collected into two trade paperback volumes.
International
The success of ''DuckTales'' led to the translation of the show into many languages. Featured together 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
...
'' in a Sunday morning program titled ''Walt Disney Presents'', the show premiered in the former
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 1991, the first American cartoon shown in the region after the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. One year later, ''
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 ...
'' was also added to this lineup.
However, the show's theme song (written by Mark Mueller and originally sung by
Jeff Pescetto
Jeffrey "Jeff" Pescetto (born November 21, 1954) is an American musical artist who is most notable for collaborating with David Foster on the 1990 recreation of John Farnham's Australian single, "You're the Voice". Pescetto lent the vocals to Fo ...
) remained in English for several episodes. The first Russian version of the song was replaced midway through the series with an alternate rendition that contained completely different lyrics.
The series screened in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
weekday afternoons on
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
. When TV3 started airing in November 1989 they took over the rights to Disney properties previously held by TVNZ, and as a result ''Ducktales'' was later repeated on TV3.
The series aired in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on
Doordarshan
Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
, dubbed in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
. The title track for the original series was sung in Hindi by Amit Kumar. The features were dubbed and the episodes have voice cast of Chetan Shasital, Javed Jaffery, Rakshanda Khan and others. In many countries, the theme song was performed by well-known singers (like in Finland, where it was sung by
Pave Maijanen
Pekka Juhani "Pave" Maijanen (3 September 1950 – 16 January 2021) was a Finnish musician, who worked as a singer, songwriter, bass player, keyboard player, drummer, guitarist and producer during his long career. As well as his solo career, Maij ...
, or in Germany, where it was sung by
Thomas Anders
Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the pop duo Modern Talking.
Starting his singing career while still in schoo ...
in English).
In Spanish speaking countries of Latin America, the series was called ''Pato Aventuras'' (Duck Adventures). Scrooge McDuck is called "Rico McPato" and the nephews were translated as Hugo, Paco, and Luis, keeping the names of the translated vintage cartoons and comic books. In Spain, while the Latin American dub was used for the first broadcast, a high-quality local dub was produced afterward, keeping the local "Gilito/Juanito/Jaimito/Jorgito" names for the characters. In Brazil, the series was called "Duck Tales: os Caçadores de Aventuras" (Duck Tales: the Adventure Hunters).
In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the series was called ''Avventure di paperi''.
In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the series was called ''La bande à Picsou'' (''McDuck's gang''). The French name of Scrooge McDuck is ''Balthazar Picsou''. Scrooge's last name ''Picsou'' comes from a French expression ''Pique-Sou'' emphasizing Scrooge's stingy behavior. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are called ''Fifi'', ''Riri'' and ''Loulou''.
In
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, the term "''DuckTales'' generation" (''Kacsamesék generáció'') refers to the people who were born in the early to mid-1980s, because the death of
József Antall
József Tihamér Antall Jr. ( hu, ifjabb Antall József Tihamér, ; 8 April 1932 – 12 December 1993) was a Hungarian teacher, librarian, historian, and statesman who served as the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, holdin ...
, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, was announced during a ''DuckTales'' episode in 1993. This was the generation's first encounter with politics.
In
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, the series was called ''Povești cu Mac-Mac'' (''Stories with Mac-Mac''). Only the episodes 1–65 were dubbed and aired. Scrooge McDuck was dubbed by a well-known actor,
Gheorghe Dinică
Gheorghe Dinică (; 1 January 1934 – 10 November 2009) was a Romanian actor.
Career
Dinică showed an early interest in acting, being part of different amateur theater troupes since he was 17. In 1957, he entered The National Institute of Thea ...
, until his death (only 5 episodes remained after his death). After Gheorghe Dinică's death, Valentin Uritescu dubbed Scrooge (episodes 50, 57, 60, 64, 65). Also, Angela Filipescu provided the voices of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Tamara Buciuceanu-Botez provides the voice of Ms. Beakley, Mihaela Mitrache was Webbigail along with the great master Cornel Vulpe as Duckworth. The series was broadcast on
Prima TV
Prima TV () is a Romanian commercial TV channel, famous mainly for the '' Cronica Cârcotaşilor'' show and various reality shows aired on this channel.
Overview
Prima TV was launched as one of the first commercial television stations in Roman ...
and first aired on
TVR1
TVR 1 (; spelled out as ''Televiziunea Română 1'', "Romanian Television 1") is the main channel of the Romanian public broadcaster TVR.
The most important show of the channel is Jurnalul TVR, whose motto is ("The news journal as it should ...
in 1994 and the dubbing studio who provide the Romanian version is Ager Film. The intro song was performed by a winner from
Mamaia Festival
Mamaia () is a resort on the Romanian Black Sea shore and a district of Constanța.
Considered to be Romania's most popular resort,Robert Reid, Leif Pettersen, ''Romania & Moldova'', Lonely Planet, 2007, p. 294 Mamaia is situated immediately nort ...
, Alin Cibian.
in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, this series was broadcast on
IRIB Pooya & Nahal
IRIB Pooya & Nahal (شبکه کودک و نوجوان, ''Shibkâh-e Kudâk vâ Nuju'l'', in Persian), is an Iranian state-owned children's Television channel owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. History of the Channel
The channe ...
from 2018 to 2019 then the 2017 reboot was broadcast on
IRIB Pooya & Nahal
IRIB Pooya & Nahal (شبکه کودک و نوجوان, ''Shibkâh-e Kudâk vâ Nuju'l'', in Persian), is an Iranian state-owned children's Television channel owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. History of the Channel
The channe ...
in 2019 after The DuckTales 1987 series was broadcast in iran.
In the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, the series was broadcast on
GMA Network
GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...
from 1988 to 1993.
In
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, the series was called ''O'rdaklar sarguzashti'' (''Ducks Adventures'').:uz:Oʻrdaklar sarguzashti. DuckTale's uzbek wikipedia article.