The Junior Woodchucks of the World is a fictional
scouting organization appearing in
Disney comics and 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 sea ...
'' animated television franchise, most notably in adventures featuring
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 ...
characters
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
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 ...
as members.
The Junior Woodchucks were created by
Carl Barks in 1951, in the story "Operation St. Bernard" (''
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chi ...
'' #125).
Later stories introduced a similar organization for girls, the
Littlest Chickadees, to which
Daisy Duck'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 ...
,
animal welfare and
international peace, as well as the preservation of knowledge and the furtherance of science & technology. They are also known for their exalted titles & ranks (Huey, Dewey, and Louie being promoted to become ''Ten-Star Generals'' in the 1951 story of the same name) and the awarding of buckets of badges, along with strict ideals as to their certain decorum. In this way Barks poked gentle but pointed satire at some aspects of the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
.
Members always carry with them a copy of the ''Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook'', a fictional guidebook filled with detailed and pertinent information about whatever country or situation the Woodchucks find themselves, ranging from the basic to the incredibly obscure. Its depth of coverage is remarkable, considering that it is a small paperback book. Narratively, the book is a device that allows the story's writer to insert any information or exposition that's needed to move the story forward.
Most of the early Junior Woodchucks stories appeared in ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', with some notable appearances 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 ...
''. In 1966, they got their own title, ''Huey, Dewey, and Louie and the Junior Woodchucks'', published by
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...
for 62 issues, and then continued by
Whitman Comics for another 20 issues until 1983. The stories which Carl Barks wrote for this comic book, among the last comic book stories he scripted, were drawn by Kay Wright, John Carey and
Tony Strobl
Anthony Joseph Strobl ( ; May 12, 1915 – December 29, 1991) was an American comics artist and animator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Cleveland School of Art from 1933–37, with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who actually g ...
. More recently
Daan Jippes has been commissioned by
Egmont to redraw these stories emulating Barks' style and drawing inspiration from the sketches of Barks'
storyboard-like scripts.
The non-Disney strip ''
Big Nate'' also features a scouting organisation with the same name, to which eponymous Nate Wright and his friends Francis Pope and Teddy Ortiz belong, which was later changed to the Timber Scouts.
History
The Junior Woodchucks first appeared in Barks' 10-page Donald Duck story "Operation St Bernard" (''WDC&S'' #125, February 1951).
While the Woodchucks ultimately became a familiar and beloved element in the Duck universe, Barks' original intention was satirical. Thomas Andrae says, "Throughout the story, Barks satirizes the Woodchucks' elitism, obsession with rank, and paramilitary discipline. Major is the lowest rank in the Woodchucks, and every trooper has a lofty title and wears quarts of medals... Parodying the mystique of military language, Barks makes a running gag of converting Woodchuck titles into unintelligible acronyms."
[
The Junior Woodchucks stories tended to "civilize" the nephews, who were usually seen as mischievous and immature in the 1940s. In the second Woodchucks story, "Ten-Star Generals" (''WDC&S'' #132, Sept 1951), the boys are very serious about passing their scout tests in the proper Woodchuck way, refusing to be tempted by Donald's encouragement to take shortcuts. Just a month later, they would be playing hooky from school. In a 1975 interview, Barks explained that he appreciated the mutability of the characters: "I began making them into sort of smart little guys once in a while, and very clumsy little guys at other times, and always, I aimed at surprise in each story so that nobody could pick up a comic book and say, 'Well, the nephews are going to behave thus and so.' They wouldn't know until they read the story just what those little guys were going to be up to in a particular sequence."
''The Junior Woodchucks' Book of Knowledge'' was first mentioned in " The Secret of Atlantis" (''Uncle Scrooge'' #5, March–May 1954). In the next issue's story, " Tralla La", the book made its first appearance as ''The Junior Woodchuck's Guidebook'' (''Uncle Scrooge'' #6, June 1954).] Historian Michael Barrier claims that the use of the ''Guidebook'' had a negative influence on the nephews' characterization, saying, "The ''Guidebook'' soon became something like a crutch. Faced with a dilemma, the nephews were more likely to rely on the Guidebook, seemingly a compendium of all human knowledge, than on their wits."[
Barks introduced a female version of the Woodchucks — the Chickadees, featuring Daisy'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 ...
— in "The Chickadee Challenge" (''WDC&S'' #181, Oct 1955), headed by the stern Mrs. Ramrod.[ The Junior Woodchucks' official hound, often called General Snozzie, was added to the cast in "Dodging Miss Daisy" (''WDC&S'' #213, June 1958).][
The Junior Woodchucks had a backup feature for five years in '' Mickey Mouse'', from issue #106 to 128 (April 1966 - Feb 1971), written by John Carey and drawn by ]Tony Strobl
Anthony Joseph Strobl ( ; May 12, 1915 – December 29, 1991) was an American comics artist and animator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Cleveland School of Art from 1933–37, with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who actually g ...
.[
]Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...
published a ''Huey, Dewey & Louie Junior Woodchucks'' comic starting in August 1966. The comic began as an annual, featuring stories by Strobl and writer Vic Lockman. In 1969, Barks — who had retired three years earlier — was prevailed upon to write some scripts in storyboard form for the comic, which became a quarterly. Under Barks, the stories came to focus on environmental themes.[ Other stories in the series were drawn by ]Jerry Siegel
Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...
(co-creator of Superman) and Bob Gregory.[ The series ended with issue #81 in 1984.][
In 1992, the Barks stories for the ''Junior Woodchucks'' title were redrawn by Dutch Disney comics artist Daan Jippes for '' Donald Duck Weekblad''.
In 1993, ]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 for Di ...
published a memorable story about the history of the ''Junior Woodchucks Guidebook'' called " Guardians of the Lost Library", which was first published in the US in ''Uncle Scrooge Adventures
''Uncle Scrooge Adventures'' is a 1987-1997 Disney comic book series published by Gladstone Publishing under license from the Walt Disney Company. It features the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. It wa ...
'' #27 (July 1994).
Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook
The ''Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook and Reservoir of Inexhaustible Knowledge'', or the ''Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook'' for short, appears to contain information and advice on every possible subject. Huey, Dewey, and Louie
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 ...
frequently consult a volume of the set to get themselves and their uncles Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck out of dangerous situations (see deus ex machina
''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...
). It was first mentioned in '' The Secret of Atlantis'' by Carl Barks in 1954, then called the Junior Woodchucks' Book of Knowledge. Its history was later discussed in '' Guardians of the Lost Library'' 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 for Di ...
in 1993.
According to cartoonist Don Rosa, this book was written by the Guardians of the lost Library of Alexandria, compiling the essence of knowledge that was unique to the Library. It was later found by 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 gave the book to his son Clinton Coot who, in turn, was inspired to form The Junior Woodchucks as a continuation of the Guardians of the Library. One story that is not by Don Rosa says that the Guidebook is updated by an unknown author.
The Woodchuck book seems almost magical in its breadth of information; it almost never fails to provide the required information and yet is small enough to fit into a Junior Woodchuck's backpack. In particular, the Guidebook contains information on lost treasure, a complete survival guide, extensive historical and technical information and phrase books for various more or less common languages (like a minimal lizard phrase book), and many more. However, it does not contain information that a Junior Woodchuck is already supposed to know, such as the location of Cape of Good Hope nor does it contain information on allegedly non-existent things. (In one episode of Duck Tales, the three nephews faced a dragon and when they consulted the Guidebook, the entry on dragons read that since dragons did not exist, there was no reason to include information on them. However, in the story on which that episode was based, the guidebook did have an entry on dragons. And, in a story which appeared 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 ...
entitled " The Golden Fleecing" the ducklings looked up the question, how to put a dragon to sleep, and found the answer, Pull the wool over his eyes. The boys then covered the dragon's eyes with 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 ...
, which they had just discovered by going to Colchis
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...
on the Argo and obtaining it from the Harpies.) On the other hand, the Guidebook does have information on Martian technology, despite the fact that 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 sea ...
'' universe, Martians had not been discovered when the book was printed. It is missing only one fact: The ranking order of the original Knights Templar, plus one discovered in an ancient Xanadu manuscript. In short, it is a minimal encyclopedia (although the subset of articles is extraordinarily well-chosen), available exclusively to Junior Woodchucks.
Information is readily available by searching the extensive index; the key skill of a Junior Woodchuck is retrieving information quickly from the Woodchuck book in the midst of a dangerous situation, such as a grizzly bear attack, an earthquake, falling out of an airplane ''sans'' parachute, or being swallowed alive by a crocodile. However, in Carl Barks' story " So Far And No Safari" (1966), it took the ducklings so long to look up a lifesaving question, it was almost too late. Scrooge subsequently offered to buy the Junior Woodchucks a better index for the Guidebook.
Just as the Junior Woodchucks are based on the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
, their Guidebook is inspired by the Boy Scout Handbook. The real Handbook (at least in the 1950s) was the same size as the Guidebook and was believed by all Scouts to contain all necessary information. In this respect, the almost limitless and sometimes esoteric knowledge the Guidebook offers is a gently satirical comment on the "Scout Bible", as the original '' Scouting For Boys'' by Baden-Powell
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...
was sometimes known, the book giving advice on a vast range of subjects, including "Smoking", "How The Empire Must be Held", "Courtesy To Women", and "How to Revive A Suicide".
That guide was the inspiration for the "Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook" (''Il Manuale delle Giovani Marmotte''), a series of several Disney books with tips, advice, general culture, and curious facts about nature and life, released in Italy by Mondadori
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy.
History
The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...
in seven volumes between 1969 and 1974, and later translated into several languages.
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 for Di ...
wrote and drew a story regarding the origin of the Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook, " Guardians of the Lost Library", which Comics Buyer's Guide
''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
mentioned as possibly the greatest comic book story of all time. Rosa's later story "W.H.A.D.A.L.O.T.T.A.J.A.R.G.O.N.
"W.H.A.D.A.L.O.T.T.A.J.A.R.G.O.N." is a 1997 Donald Duck story by Don Rosa. This story was originally made to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Huey, Dewey and Louie's first appearance in a newspaper comic strip drawn by Al Taliaferro.
The stor ...
" tells of how Huey, Dewey, and Louie came to join the Junior Woodchucks.
Fictional organization history
In the story "W.H.A.D.A.L.O.T.T.A.J.A.R.G.O.N." by Don Rosa the history of the Junior Woodchucks of the World begins with the Woodchuck Militia, a defensive army unit that was formed by 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 ...
in the early 19th century to protect Fort Duckburg from Native American warriors and other threats in the area. Clinton Coot, the son of Cornelius Coot, was the founder of the Junior Woodchucks as a Scouting organization for the children and teenagers around Duckburg at the time to uphold the ideals of performing good deeds, protection of the wilderness, rescuing of the innocent, meek & helpless, and the preservation of knowledge. The organization eventually grew larger to include all nations around the world. The first Junior Woodchucks were Grand Marshal Osborne and Exalted Overseer Taliaferro (a reference to Ted Osborn and Al Taliaferro
Charles Alfred "Al" Taliaferro ( ; August 29, 1905 – February 3, 1969), was an American Disney comics artist who produced Disney comic strips for King Features Syndicate. Taliaferro is best known for his work on the ''Donald Duck'' comic strip ...
) and Fulton Gearloose, the father 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 who ...
.
The Junior Woodchucks is a para-militaristic organization with its leadership being much more similar to that of army officers than to real-life Scoutmasters. The scouting groups are organized into troops which include titles such as Trooper, Lieutenant-General, Field Marshal and Ten-Star General. Alongside self-reliance, trust and honor are important to the Junior Woodchucks, as its members never lie, as for instance when Huey, Dewey and Louie promised the inhabitants of the sunken city of Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...
to always keep their city's location secret from the outside world.
As the title of the Junior Woodchucks of the World suggest, it is an international organization and has troops across the globe, including Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
(which consist of Desert Patrol nr. 646), Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(which consist of the Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
troops) and the 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 ...
troops of 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 territori ...
.
Leadership
The adult leadership of the Junior Woodchucks consists of troop commanders (called Grand Moguls in European comics) whom often has vibrantly acronymized titles which demonstrates their ranking position and professional field. They have also been called Generals in a few stories by Carl Barks. The troop commanders' uniforms are militaristic in design. They are often white or brown in color with richly decorated gold embroideries; with their headgear often being a woodchuck cap or other types of military headwear. They are also often wearing a lanyard, filled with a large number of elaborately meritorious medals, badges & ribbons which makes them look very dignified and grandiose, and in some cases exceedingly pompous. Only Junior Woodchucks can later become troop commanders.
Again, according to Don Rosa's story ''W.H.A.D.A.L.O.T.T.A.J.A.R.G.O.N''. the Junior Woodchucks of the World is governed by the Supreme Council; which is probably part of the World Office of the Junior Woodchucks, the organization's top office. The council consists of nine high-ranking members whom collectively is called the B.I.G.S.H.O.T.S. (Bureaucratic and Imposing Gathering of Supreme High Officials of the Topmost Strata) with the H.E.A.D.H.O.N.C.H.O. (Highest Executive Administrator of Divisional Headquarters and Organizer of Nearly Complete Hierarchical Overkill) as the head of the council. The Supreme Council is located in the Junior Woodchucks' World Headquarters in the City of Duckburg.
However, other high ranking titles of uncertain position in leadership has been used within the organization in stories by Carl Barks and others. Some of these include Commander-in-Chief and Exalted Grand Marshal.
A few other acronymized titles within the Junior Woodchucks' leadership include:
* I.T.S.A.A.D.C.O.T.F.O.I.K. (International Twelve-Star Admiral And Deputy Custodian Of The Fountain Of Inexhaustible Knowledge), a very high ranking title which also seem to have some authority over the Littlest Chickadees patrol in the story ''The Chickadee Challenge'' (Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #181) written and drawn by Carl Barks, by declaring the bridge-building challenge between the two organisations as a tie; suggesting that the Littlest Chickadees is somehow part of or associated with the Junior Woodchuck of the World in some way.
* H.I.S.T.O.R.Y.N.U.T. (Hypercritical Inquiring Seeker into Tales of Old and Rumors of Yore, as well as Noser-outer of Unprovable Tommyrot)
* T.O.P.B.R.A.S.S. (Thunderbolt of Omniscient Perspicacity and Boss Ramrod of Abounding Succor Spreaders)
* O.G.U.F.O.O.L. and M.A.S.L.L.B.P.C.M. (Omnipotent Giver of Unimpeachably Full-bodied Observations on Omniscient Logic and Mighty Admirable Sachem of the Long Limousine and Benevolent Payer of the Clubhouse Mortgage)
* H.I.S.S. and P.O.A.H.M. (Hardheaded Intuitive Sagacity Spreader and Possessor Of All His Marbles)
* J.A.W.B.O.N.E. (Judicious, Abstruse, Wise Bestower of Neolithic Edification) This title is held by the duckbill character Philodemus Gentlefogg of Duckburg Burrow Number 22, seen in The Junior Woodchucks story ''Let Sleeping Bones Lie'' (Uncle Scrooge #358).
On few occasions Donald Duck has taken on the role as a troop commander (although 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 for Di ...
's story "W.H.A.D.A.L.O.T.T.A.J.A.R.G.O.N.
"W.H.A.D.A.L.O.T.T.A.J.A.R.G.O.N." is a 1997 Donald Duck story by Don Rosa. This story was originally made to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Huey, Dewey and Louie's first appearance in a newspaper comic strip drawn by Al Taliaferro.
The stor ...
", Donald is revealed to never having been allowed to join the Junior Woodchucks on account of his "hot temper"), or by 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, ...
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 sea ...
'' TV series. In a large number of stories, including the last ones written by Carl Barks, the Duckburg troop commander is a tall duck, who is either the same character in every story with many different titles depending on the situation or separate characters. In some Italian stories the troop commander of the Duckburg troop is a tall, brave, strong, healthy and wise (but scared of flight) goose whose name is Bertie McGoose.
Troops
To become a full member of the Junior Woodchucks and be assigned to a local troop one must first enlist as cadets, who wears woodchuck caps, and pass the initiation test that proves one's intelligence and resourcefulness. After one has passed this test and become a full member, the headgear of the uniform consist of a backtail woodchuck cap and for higher-ranking members; the Exalted Hightail woodchuck cap. Within the troops there is also leadership titles inspired by the army, in which Major seems to be the lowest rank followed by higher ranking titles like Ten-Star General; which is one grade below Exalted Hightail. Don Rosa has written that One-Hundred-Star General is the highest title in the Junior Woodchucks; after which promotees can proceed to earn titles above the highest ranks. Recipients can issue orders to lower ranking members. To earn titles and get promotions in rank, one will have to pass tests or missions of which there is a vast number and in various fields. These include outdoors and survival skills, science and environmental protection etc. With these promotions, Junior Woodchucks will receive a large number of elaborately honorific medals, badges & ribbons in the specific field that one has mastered. All the different troops also has its own lodge as a base of operation and for gatherings. The most prestigious troop to belong to was the Duckburg Troop No. 1, as it was the first to be created during the time of Clinton Coot and it only admitted high-ranking members from other local troops.
The best known members of the Duckburg Troop Nr. 1 consist of:
* Ten-Star Generals/ Exalted Hightails, Commandants of the Hightails' Hall of Heroes, Chevaliers of the Honor Guard (etc.) Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck
* Field Marshal Fox
* Trooper Hogg, a character together with Field Marshal Fox most often appears in Carl Barks' later Junior Woodchucks stories and also in the modern stories by later writers and artists.
* Lieutenant-General Holsworthy Hog, appears in ''Gladstone's Usual Very Good Year'' (Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #136), by Carl Barks.
General Snozzie
General Snozzie is the Official Hound of the Junior Woodchucks and was created by Carl Barks in his story ''Dodging Miss Daisy'' from 1958. General Snozzie is a bloodhound
The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ...
occasionally deployed by the Junior Woodchucks during tests or missions and he has many skills but his main attribute and discipline is his extraordinary, and at times incomprehensibly, good scent tracking. He also has a number of acronymized titles which include: D.O.G. (Doctor of Odd-ball Gimmickry), S.S.S.S. (Supremely Sagacious Spoor Sniffer), and K.I.N.G. (Knightly, Intrepid, Natatorial Guardian). General Snozzie also has a Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
, B.Sc.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
, and Ed.D.
The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...
The Littlest Chickadees
The Littlest Chickadees, sometimes also called the ''Chickadee Patrols'', are female counterparts to the Junior Woodchucks. The Chickadees first appeared in "The Chickadee Challenge," a Carl Barks Donald Duck story in ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chi ...
'' #161 (1954). The Chickadees' Duckburg patrol is led by a brawny woman named Captain Ramrod. Daisy Duck'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 ...
are members of the Chickadees. The Chickadees are named after the chickadee
The chickadees are a group of North American birds in the tit family included in the genus '' Poecile''. Species found in North America are referred to as chickadees, while other species in the genus are called tits.
They are small-sized bird ...
, a species of small bird; the phrase "littlest chickadee" also suggests "my little chickadee", a term of endearment classically used by W. C. Fields.
The Chickadee Patrols are based to some extent on the Girl Scouts of the USA and the Campfire Girls. In the spirit of friendly rivalry, the 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 ...
Troops of the Littlest Chickadees and Junior Woodchucks once held a bridge-building competition, which ended in a tie.
Carl Barks wrote a poem which mentions the rivalry between the two groups:
''The world is full of clans and cults''
''Abuzz as angry bees''
''And Junior Woodchucks snapping jeers''
''At Littlest Chickadees''
The Little Booneheads
The Little Booneheads is another Scouting organization alongside the Junior Woodchucks, first mentioned in ''Ten-Stars Generals'' (Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #132, 1951) by Carl Barks. They are however often depicted to be much less self-sufficient, and at times even negligent, in their outdoors and survival skills in contrast to the high standards of the Junior Woodchucks. In the Little Booneheads first appearance, it was revealed that Donald Duck was a former member, and thanks to the organization's inferior training, Donald is often getting into trouble for practicing them again. Alongside being a pun of the term "bonehead", the Little Booneheads is also a reference to the pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
; as Donald proclaims: "We had heads like Daniel Boone!".
List of comics
* '' Walt Disney's Comics & Stories'' (1940) (Dell)
* ''Walt Disney's Christmas Parade'' (1949) (Dell)
* '' Donald Duck'' (1952) (Dell)
* '' Mickey Mouse'' (1952) (Dell)
* ''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 ...
'' (1953) (Dell)
* '' Beagle Boys'' (1964) (Gold Key)
* ''Huey, Dewey and Louie: Junior Woodchucks'' (1966) (Gold Key)
* ''Chip 'n' Dale'' (1967) (Gold Key)
* ''Walt Disney Comics Digest'' (1968) (Gold Key)
* ''Walt Disney Daisy and Donald'' (1973) (Gold Key)
* ''Donald Duck Adventures
''Donald Duck Adventures'' is a 1987–1998 Disney comic book series featuring the adventures of Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Publication history Gladstone I: 1987–90 and Gladstone II: 1993–98
Gladstone Publishing pub ...
'' (1987, 1990) (Gladstone and Disney Only)
* ''Uncle Scrooge Adventures
''Uncle Scrooge Adventures'' is a 1987-1997 Disney comic book series published by Gladstone Publishing under license from the Walt Disney Company. It features the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. It wa ...
'' (1987) (Gladstone)
* ''Disney's DuckTales'' (1988) (Gladstone)
* ''Disney's DuckTales'' (1990) (Disney)
* ''Walt Disney's Autumn Adventures'' (1990) (Disney)
* ''Disney's Colossal Comics Collection'' (1991) (Disney)
* ''Walt Disney's Junior Woodchucks'' (1991) (Disney)
* ''Disney's Darkwing Duck'' (1991) (Disney)
* ''Uncle Scrooge: The Hunt For The Old Number One'' (2010) (Boom! Studios)
* ''Disney's DuckTales: Rightful Owners'' (2011) (Boom! Studios)
In animation
Early prototype
Huey, Dewey and Louie first appeared as scouts in the 1938 animated short, Good Scouts, written by Carl Barks. Here, the first prototype of a scouting uniform for the boys was designed, based on early Boy Scout uniforms. The uniforms from this time resembled National Park Service uniforms, with park ranger style hats, as seen in the film. The film did not show the trio wearing 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 assoc ...
s, a style that became popular with boys in the 1950's, nor mention a scouting organization that they belonged to. Donald acts like a wilderness know-it-all, yet keeps goofing up, as in numerous Woodchuck stories. The uniforms were introduced to the '' Donald Duck'' comic strip by Al Taliaferro
Charles Alfred "Al" Taliaferro ( ; August 29, 1905 – February 3, 1969), was an American Disney comics artist who produced Disney comic strips for King Features Syndicate. Taliaferro is best known for his work on the ''Donald Duck'' comic strip ...
and Bob Karp from model sheets while the film's production was wrapping up. Thus, the first appearance of the boys in scout uniforms was introduced in the comics three months before the animated release.
''DuckTales''
The Junior Woodchucks and their guidebook were a frequent plot element in the original ''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 sea ...
'' animated series.
In the 2017 ''DuckTales'' reboot, Huey is the only nephew who is a member of the Junior Woodchucks. Though it sometimes feeds into his vices of overplanning and hunger for approval, he is an enthusiastic scout. he has earned multiple merit badges and keeps his copy of the guidebook under his cap, adding new entries to it as he encounters various supernatural entities or artifacts. 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, ...
also serves as a Junior Woodchuck scoutmaster. Other Junior Woodchucks include Violet Sabrewing, Doofus Drake, and B.O.Y.D., while former Woodchucks include Fethry Duck, 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 th ...
, and Donald Duck, though Donald was kicked out because he has a "bad attitude towards nature". In season three, it is revealed that this iteration of the Junior Woodchucks was founded by renowned adventurer Isabella Finch and her grandson Bradford Buzzard, founder and director of F.O.W.L., was the first Woodchuck.
International versions
*Czech: Mladí svišti - similarly to the Italian version below, "svišť" refers to marmots rather than woodchucks.
*Danish: Grønspætterne
*Dutch: Jonge woudlopers - literally "young woodwalkers"
*Estonian: Noorpiilurid
*Finnish: Sudenpennut
*French : Castors Juniors - junior beavers
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
*German: Fähnlein Fieselschweif
*Greek: Οι Μικροί Εξερευνητές
*Icelandic: Grænjaxlarnir
*Indonesian: Pramuka Siaga
*Italian: Giovani Marmotte - this translates literally as "young marmots": marmots are a ground-living, burrowing rodent, similar to a groundhog, and famous for whistling
*Norwegian: Hakkespettene - literally "Woodpeckers"
*Polish: Młodzi Skauci - literally "young scouts", referring to the Scouting movement
*Portuguese: Escoteiros-Mirins (Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
), Escuteiros-Mirins (Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
)
*Russian: Юные Сурки
*Spanish: Cortapalos or Jóvenes Castores
*Slovenian: Mladi taborniki - literally "young scouts", referring to the national (secular) Scouting movement taborniki.
*Swedish: Gröngölingspatrullen
*Hungarian: Ifjú Mormoták
In other media
In the 1970s Bob Rozakis
Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man".
Career
Bob Rozakis go ...
called his fellow young fans turned DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
editorial employees Junior Woodchucks and they referred to themselves as such in the pages of the pro-zine ''The Amazing World of DC Comics
''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' was DC Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s. Running 17 issues, the fanzine featured DC characters and their creators, and was exclusively available through mail order. Primarily text articles, with ...
'' which they co-edited.
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy once claimed, in his TV show, to have been a member of the Junior Woodchucks in his childhood.
In some episodes of the comic strip '' Big Nate'', Nate Wright and his Middle-school friends are members of the Junior Woodchucks.[''Big Nate and Friends'' (2011), , page 72]
See also
* Huey, Dewey and Louie
* Donald Duck universe
* Disney comics
References
External links
*
Junior Woodchucks
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on October 22, 2016.
{{Authority control
Comics characters introduced in 1951
Fictional organizations in comics
Scouting in popular culture
Characters created by Carl Barks
Disney core universe characters
Disney comics characters